Saints star Mitchell can't wait to be back at the Gardens

And the England scrum-half is excited about taking on a team renowned for their physicality as Saints host South African giants Vodacom Bulls.

Mitchell returned to club action last Sunday, securing the player-of-the-match award for a superb 80-minute showing in the 35-27 success at Section Paloise.

After having the previous week off following the conclusion of his England commitments, Mitchell was typically sharp, scoring in the bonus-point victory at Stade du Hameau.

He pulled the strings from start to finish as Saints got their Investec Champions Cup campaign off to a winning start.

And now he's looking forward to his first outing at the Gardens since starting in the victory against Saracens in October.

"The Bulls are a quality side and everyone always goes on about them being the most physical side in the world," Mitchell said.

"We can't wait for that match-up and obviously being back home, it's special for us and I've not played there for a while so I can't wait to be back there.

"I can't wait to get a good performance against a really good side."

Saints reached the Champions Cup semi-finals in 2024 and the final in 2025, beating the Bulls along the way in both campaigns.

And Mitchell said: "We thrive in this competition.

"We love the PREM but we want to go really hard at this competition as well.

"We've got to the semi-final and we obviously made the final last year and that was frustrating in the end so we want to go one better and win it.

"Hopefully we can have a big week this week and push on in the competition."