Mitchell Backs Two-Week Break Before Leicester Vs Northampton
Alex Mitchell said the two-week break before leicester vs northampton came at the right time for Northampton Saints, who go to Leicester Tigers on Saturday at 15:05 BST. The league leaders arrive with four regular-season games left and only one league defeat in the 2025-26 season.
“We've got four games of the regular season, then we're into the play-offs, so it was perfect timing for us,” Mitchell said. Northampton sit first and Leicester third, making the East Midlands derby a direct test of where both teams stand in the run-in.
Mitchell and Northampton
Mitchell has been pushing back toward full match sharpness after a hamstring injury suffered in February during the Six Nations. He was out of action for seven or eight weeks before reappearing as a replacement in Northampton's European Champions Cup quarter-final defeat by Bath on 10 April.
He then started the last two games against Exeter and Bath, but was withdrawn after 50 and 55 minutes. “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,” he said.
Leicester and the title run-in
Northampton won the title in 2024, and this season they have kept winning while Mitchell has worked back into the side. He has scored four tries in 13 games, while Archie McParland started five straight games for Saints during Mitchell's absence and recovery.
Mitchell said the squad still has work to do despite the results, adding: “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.” He also said: “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.”
For Saints, the immediate issue is whether Mitchell's fitness now holds over the last four league games and into the play-offs. For Leicester, the derby is a chance to pressure the side sitting above them and test a Northampton team that has still been winning while its scrum-half has been building back toward his best level.
