England omission no issue as Mitchell savours return to Saints action

Mitchell skippered the black, green and gold during their 31-24 defeat to Ospreys at Dunraven Brewery Field on Friday night.

It was his first appearance of pre-season as he sharpened his sights on next Friday's Gallagher Premiership opener at Sale Sharks.

And Mitchell is clearly happy to be back playing, having enjoyed his summer despite not earning the place in the England squad that many felt he merited.

“It is what it is," said Mitchell, who was Saints' players' and supporters' player of the season for 2021/22.

"It’s frustrating as a player, but I got some good time away over the summer and focused on myself, and I’ve now got a good pre-season under my belt with Saints.

"It was a mixture of emotions but I’m really glad to be back here playing again with the Northampton boys."

Plenty of Saints players were away with England, as Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, Tommy Freeman, Fraser Dingwall and George Furbank headed Down Under.

Lawes, Ludlam and Freeman played a key role in the 2-1 series win.

And Mitchell said: “I watched bits of the tour, highlights and so on.

"I know Luds did really well and Freemo was awesome, but I was abroad for some of it so missed some of the games live."

International action is now a distant memory for many though, with all attention on competitive club action.

Mitchell was given a taste of captaincy in the final pre-season game, against Ospreys - and it was something he relished.

“I loved getting the opportunity to do it," said the 25-year-old.

"Obviously it means there are a few more things to think about out there and a few more responsibilities, but I tried to push the boys as best I could.

"I’m up for doing it some more in future of course if asked."

Mitchell came off at half-time with Saints leading 12-3 against Ospreys, but the Welsh side hit back late on to claim the win.

“It was a game that got away from us a little at the end there – it definitely wasn’t an 80-minute performance," Mitchell said.

“We were really good for periods of the game; when we played with tempo and put the ball in front of them, we attacked really well, and I thought we could have put a few more chances away as it felt like we had them on toast, especially in the first half.

“But we didn’t do that and then let them in for a few softer tries towards the end of the game.

"It was a really good hit-out though as we had some new boys in the team, some others playing in a few different positions, so it was really good preparation for us ahead of the season."

Mitchell looked razor-sharp during his time on the field.

And he said: “I’m feeling good. I was obviously blowing a bit out there and my lungs were blowing, but it was good to be back out there with the boys and playing the high-tempo game I like to play.

“The next few weeks will be about getting our new boys up to speed, but I feel like we’ve done a really good job of that in pre-season.

“The first two games have been sloppy in parts – but that’s a good thing. There’s no point beating Championship sides by 50 points in pre-season; we’ve played two good matches against good opposition over the last couple of weeks, and so we’ve put ourselves in a good position now to fly into the Sale match and do a job there.

“Sharks are obviously a really good side and it’s always a tough place to go, but we know we did the business when it mattered last year so hopefully we can continue where we left off.”

A fine run of form ensured Saints finished fourth in the Premiership last season before losing to eventual champions Leicester Tigers in the play-off semi-finals.

“Last year was a long, tough season and it was difficult to finish the way we did," Mitchell said.

"We got ourselves the opportunity to play in that semi-final against Leicester, but we weren’t the better team on the day, which was very frustrating.

“On another day, we felt like we had it in us to beat them, but that is sport unfortunately."