Break came at right time for Northampton - Mitchell
England scrum-half Alex Mitchell believes a two-week break since Northampton's last game could prove to be ideal timing for the Prem leaders. Saints are away to Leicester Tigers in the latest East Midlands derby on Saturday (15:05 BST), a match which pits first against third, with both teams on course for the end of season play-offs. Northampton won the title in 2024 and have only lost once in the league in 2025-26, but Mitchell admitted it had been "a long old season".
"We've got four games of the regular season, then we're into the play-offs, so it was perfect timing for us," he told BBC Radio Northampton's Saints Show. "We're getting the results, we're getting five points but our performances aren't always there [of late], we're not getting 80 minutes on the pitch which can be a bit frustrating. "We know we're getting to crunch time in the season with some quality games coming up and that we need to step it up.
"It's a good place to be that we're still getting results but there's so much to work on. " 'It's like Boca v River' - how Argentine Moro was sold East Midlands derby Exeter approve takeover by AFC Bournemouth owners Mitchell suffered a hamstring injury during the Six Nations in February and was out of action until he reappeared as a replacement for Northampton in their European Champions Cup quarter-final defeat by Bath on 10 April. That left them with just the league to focus on and he started the last two games against Exeter and Bath but was withdrawn after 50 and 55 minutes.
He is, though, hopeful of being at his best for the remainder of the campaign. "It takes a bit of time to get that full match fitness back but I feel I'm in a good place now. I'll be pushing on to the end of the season," Mitchell added.
"I was out for seven, eight weeks - I was in the international camp, then coming back here, different moves, different players, so it takes a bit of time to get used to. "And with a hamstring injury, it's a bit different to some other injuries, it's something to get used to, especially when I'm doing the top speed stuff. Hopefully I'm getting better week on week.