{"id":687682,"date":"2026-01-10T22:47:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T22:47:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/687682\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T22:47:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T22:47:41","slug":"from-borthwicks-odd-man-out-to-cool-head-marshalling-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/687682\/","title":{"rendered":"From Borthwick\u2019s odd man out to cool head marshalling England"},"content":{"rendered":"

He\u2019s 28 now and you\u2019d forgive him for believing that, at last, he\u2019s arrived at the foot of Mount Olympus. His club, the one he\u2019s played for since he was 18, Northampton Saints, may be in the foothills of a journey to somewhere special. As for England, who have won their past 11 Test matches, he\u2019s the only scrum half in the national team\u2019s 25-man elite player squad. Alex Mitchell, you could say, has nailed it. <\/p>\n

Meeting him in a warm corporate box on a cold afternoon at Franklin\u2019s Gardens last week, I remind him of how the world has spread itself at his feet. \u201cThis season, you\u2019ve played 11 games; seven for Northampton, four for England. Eleven victories. Not bad. You went with the British & Irish Lions to Australia and were the only player to feature in all ten Lions match-day squads.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chilled is his default temperature. Ten years of earning his living from the game have taught him lessons, but he has always been someone who takes these things in his stride. His plan had been to go to Loughborough University to study maths and economics, play rugby for the university and enjoy student life. Saints then put a \u00a37,000 academy contract on the table and his agent said offers from a big club like Northampton don\u2019t come round that often. Alex said he\u2019d try it for a year. <\/p>\n

There were times he wasn\u2019t sure he\u2019d ever get to play a first-team game for the club. Other times when he thought of taking up the deferred offer from Loughborough, but he stayed with rugby. If there was one thing that kept him going, it was a refusal to overthink things. He uses this phrase multiple times during the interview: \u201cI try not to overthink things.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/p>\n

Mitchell has established himself as England\u2019s first-choice No9, collecting 27 caps<\/p>\n

ALEX DAVIDSON\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

So, on the cusp of what could be an outstanding season, he says he\u2019s thinking only of Sunday\u2019s first visit to Bordeaux B\u00e8gles. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to enjoy the good moments, I accept that. Be grateful for them, but I\u2019ve also been at Northampton when I think we lost 12 games on the bounce. When you\u2019re winning, don\u2019t think you\u2019re better than everyone else. If you\u2019re losing the whole time, you\u2019re not as bad as you think you are. Right now, I don\u2019t think we\u2019re as good as we probably think we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says this in a matter-of-fact way \u2014 understatement his weapon of choice. His life, he says, might have been very different. <\/p>\n

Born in Kent, he spent the first five years in Maidstone. At that point his mum, Rebecca, and dad, Glyn, separated. He and his older siblings, Jordan and James, moved with their mum to Grappenhall in Cheshire. \u201cI was lucky. My mum bought a house just across the river [Mersey], so we\u2019d be in the catchment area for Lymm High School. Otherwise I would have gone to a different school, one that didn\u2019t play rugby. The alternatives to Lymm weren\u2019t as good, so our mum managed to get a bit more cash together and buy on the side of the river that got us into the best school. Looking back, that decision made a huge difference to my life.\u201d <\/p>\n

I ask if he was affected by the end of his parents\u2019 marriage? \u201cNo, no. Not at all. I think I was far too young anyway. When I was nine or ten, getting really into rugby, Dad used to come up every weekend and take me to rugby. He\u2019d watch me play and stuff, and then drive back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Mitchell has won all 11 matches he has played for club and country this season<\/p>\n

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND<\/p>\n

That was an almost four-hour drive each way. \u201cI took it for granted at the time. There\u2019s memories of when I\u2019m playing, looking up to Mum or Dad on the touchline. That gives you a boost. I remember it giving me a sense of wanting to try harder, but at the time you don\u2019t appreciate why. And then you get older, more mature, and you feel a bit more gratitude. You learn to appreciate \u2014 \u2018Oh, they\u2019ve come to watch. That\u2019s why you\u2019re buzzing. Your parents are here.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Now retired, Glyn still goes to every game. He and Rebecca have new partners and Alex has a stepmum and stepdad. They also come to games. \u201cIt\u2019s all very civil \u2014 very, very nice,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Not that it was ever much different. They were three boys, each blessed with a passion for sport. Jordan, the eldest, was a decent scrum half and an excellent cricketer. He\u2019s now a PE teacher. James, the middle boy, was an outstanding scrum half, who blazed the trail in the Mitchell household; playing seven times for England Under-18 and ten times for England Under-20, including the 2015 World Cup final against New Zealand, a game England lost 21-16. <\/p>\n

Some memories have no dim switch. For Alex, there is the day James, 18 at the time, came home from training at Sale Sharks, where they were both in the academy. \u201cI\u2019d just got selected for the England 16s and was at an age where you\u2019re thinking you could be quite good at this. So James walks in and says, \u2018I got a contract\u2019. I don\u2019t remember the money but it was probably like three grand a year. And he said, \u2018Have I made it?\u2019 <\/p>\n

\"Ireland<\/p>\n

Mitchell was able to take inspiration from the achievements of his brother James, who represented England Under-20<\/p>\n

BRENDAN MORAN\/SPORTSFILE<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought, \u2018It\u2019s a cool, cool thing, a professional contract with a professional club, and that kind of spurred me on. I was going to work hard to get myself in the same position.\u201d <\/p>\n

He could see that James was better than him, but he was two years older. Though they were both enthusiastic trainers, James was more driven, more methodical in his approach. Relative to his brother, Alex was almost laid-back. He applied to Loughborough because he knew that even if you played for England\u2019s under-16s, 18s and 20s, the likelihood was that you wouldn\u2019t graduate to the senior team. Even his dreams were chilled.<\/p>\n

Something a teacher and rugby coach at Lymm High School said startled him. \u201cThere was one game for the school. I think I was 17. Afterwards Len Davies, the coach, came and said, \u2018That was the best scrum-half performance I\u2019ve ever seen on this pitch.\u2019 Len was a really good coach and that got me thinking. Andy Davies, who was then a professional, had played for the school, as did my brother James, and now I\u2019m thinking, \u2018I might be better than them.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Progress in the early years was slow, which was mostly down to an ACL injury when he was 18, and then an equally serious meniscus injury three years later. Each cost him nine months. He did the rehab and the tide did turn, first at Northampton and eventually with England. He made his England debut off the bench against Tonga in the autumn of 2021 and waited until the 2023 Six Nations for his second cap.<\/p>\n

Having played off the bench in four of England\u2019s five games in that year\u2019s Six Nations, he could be forgiven for thinking he would be one of three scrum halves in England\u2019s squad for the 2023 World Cup. \u201cWe were in camp, about a week or so before the World Cup warm-up games. There were four nines in the squad but they told us that they were only going to take three [to France]. <\/p>\n

\"England<\/p>\n

Mitchell wins his first England cap against Tonga in 2021 alongside Mark Atkinson \u2014 another debutant in that match<\/p>\n

DAN MULLAN\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve [Borthwick] took [me] for a walk round the pitch. It was a really positive talk. He said I had done really well and was up there with the other scrum halves, but for the World Cup he needed experience and that meant he was going with Ben [Youngs] and Danny [Care]. As Jack [van Poortvliet] was starting most games at the time, that meant I was out. Obviously I felt very frustrated.\u201d <\/p>\n

Did you ask Steve why? <\/p>\n

\u201cI think so, yeah. I can\u2019t actually remember fully what I said. I was more just taken aback a bit. And he said, \u2018If you want to chat about anything, give me a call.\u2019 He was very open about it, which I love from Steve. He told me what I needed to work on, what I was good at, and why he\u2019d gone with the other nines. I appreciated the honesty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Was it your game management?<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I think a bit game management, and I think experience as well. At a World Cup, experience is massive.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Northampton<\/p>\n

Mitchell admits there were times he wasn\u2019t sure whether he would play a first-team game for Saints<\/p>\n

DAVID ROGERS\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Not much about the sporting life is written in stone. In England\u2019s warm-up match against Wales at Twickenham, Van Poortvliet suffered a bad ankle injury and one man\u2019s cruel injury became another\u2019s opportunity. \u201cI was determined to make the best of the summer and had taken three holidays, then I was back in the squad,\u201d Mitchell says. At the World Cup, he established himself as England\u2019s No1 scrum half. That\u2019s how it\u2019s been ever since.<\/p>\n

Last summer, he went with the Lions and loved every moment. Not getting off the bench in the second Test was disappointing and Andy Farrell, the head coach, spoke to him about it immediately after the game. \u201cHe just said, \u2018Sorry you didn\u2019t go on, Mitch. Obviously close game, and it\u2019s tough to change the nine and ten.\u2019 So, yeah, I appreciated that. And I really enjoyed our celebrations nonetheless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it true that rivals have now become friends?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so. After we came back, I went to Bali with [Henry] Pollock, Joe McCarthy and Jamie Osborne. After that, I joined up with another group of Lions going to Las Vegas. Jac Morgan, who I got on really well with in Australia, drove up from Wales to Heathrow and we travelled out together. There, we linked up with Tadhg Furlong, Bundee Aki, Dan Sheehan and Conor Murray. I was in Dubai for a short break recently and met up with Blair Kinghorn.\u201d <\/p>\n

Jac Morgan comes across as hugely likeable?<\/p>\n

\"Western<\/p>\n

Mitchell\u2019s successful 2025 included featuring in every match-day squad on the Lions tour to Australia<\/p>\n

JAMES WORSFOLD\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s so good. He\u2019s the nicest bloke going, such a genuine fellow. And, yeah, everyone loved him. No sides to Jac, certainly not a bad side. Even when you know he was frustrated by not starting, he just got on with it in the right way. Yeah, a properly genuine bloke. And you know within the group, after the second Test, we played the clip of Jac making that clean-out over and over again. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat was probably the most important moment in terms of winning the Test series.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was then. Exhilarating at the time, then gone and now just a memory. Now Mitchell is with his beloved Saints in Bordeaux, preparing for a Champions Cup game against the defending champions. Bordeaux B\u00e8gles are a talented team with a formidable pack. Saints know they too have quite a squad, with a depth that few teams in this competition come near. <\/p>\n

\"Northampton<\/p>\n

Mitchell and Saints were beaten by Bordeaux in last season\u2019s Champions Cup final and are out for revenge on Sunday<\/p>\n

DAVID ROGERS\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Many of their players will be offered more money to go elsewhere. Mitchell is now one of the senior men and I wonder if he would feel comfortable telling younger players they should stay for the chance to do something amazing on the pitch rather than go for a better wage? \u201cOh, I think so. You probably have different words from different people but if you\u2019re in a good side, and you\u2019re winning, you\u2019re going to accept a bit less to stay in that group.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think our boys appreciate that. This year a lot of our boys have already done that [accepted less money than available elsewhere]. People enjoy their time here. Great coaching staff, well-run club, team playing good rugby, winning a lot of games, you\u2019re definitely going to take a bit less to be involved in that.\u201d <\/p>\n

There are many who believe Northampton can be the next English club to win the Champions Cup. I mention this and he reminds of how unbothered he is by others\u2019 expectations. No need for a deep dive to find the chilled Alex, the one who isn\u2019t going to overthink this. \u201cWe go in as big underdogs against Bordeaux but we don\u2019t really mind,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know how we can perform and put our stuff on the pitch. We\u2019re in a good place. If people think we won\u2019t get out of the group stage, so be it. If they think we can win the whole thing, so be it. We\u2019re doing what we\u2019re doing, and we\u2019re going hard at it.\u201d <\/p>\n

If this is the soul of Saints, they\u2019ve got the perfect man in the No9 shirt. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He\u2019s 28 now and you\u2019d forgive him for believing that, at last, he\u2019s arrived at the foot of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":687683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4102],"tags":[4151,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-687682","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115873241398723988","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=687682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/687683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}