Alex Mitchell was looking to build on a great season when, on a Thursday morning this summer, he ran into a problem that most people would find incredibly disconcerting.
“I woke up and couldn’t really move my neck,” Mitchell, the Northampton and England scrum-half, tells Mail Sport matter-of-factly.
After a campaign in which he won the Premiership title and became the number 9 in his country’s team, Mitchell’s complaint came out of the blue. It forced him to miss England’s four November Tests.
“I called the club doctor and he told me to come. The problem was that I wasn’t sure I could drive because I couldn’t look over my shoulder,” Mitchell says.
‘I was in a lot of pain and sweating while driving. I was ready to stop and ask someone to come pick me up. But in the end I made it and received treatment and painkillers. The first week was horrible. I just couldn’t move.
“I was in a lot. I did the first four or five weeks of pre-season and I felt good. I took a knock in training but I didn’t think about it. When they did the scan, it showed a bulging disc in my neck.
Alex Mitchell was looking to build on a great season when, on a Thursday morning this summer, he ran into a problem that most people would find incredibly disconcerting.
“I woke up and couldn’t really move my neck,” Northampton and England scrum-half Mitchell tells Mail Sport.
Aside from his neck problem, he has been very kind to the 27-year-old this year.
‘I couldn’t do much. I actually thought I’d be fit to play next week because I’d had a back spasm in the past and I thought it might be something similar.
But the situation did not diminish. It’s been frustrating. In the end it was 12 weeks. Being injured and not being able to help is one of the worst parts of rugby. It’s always frustrating to see. I hate that part. “But it’s good to be back and I feel good now.”
Aside from his neck issue, he’s been pretty kind to the 27-year-old this year. He was not part of England’s initial squad for the 2023 World Cup. But after Jack van Poortvliet’s injury, he became a key figure and Steve Borthwick’s team finished third.
Mitchell continued as a No. 9 starter in the Six Nations and was a central figure as the Saints won their first league title in a decade.
“The whole year has been fantastic,” says Mitchell, who will start Saints’ Champions Cup opener against Castres tomorrow. “I’ve missed playing a lot. When you have a layoff, you value playing a lot more. In some ways, the injury has helped. It’s given me motivation to keep going. There’s definitely been a positive side.”
Mitchell’s return to fitness was a slow process. He received the best possible care and saw specialists in London. His status as the only scrum-half in England’s 17-man roster on Enhanced Elite Playing Squad (EPS) contracts is no guarantee of Test selection. But it’s also indicative of how important he is to Borthwick.
In many ways, Mitchell accomplished the nearly impossible this fall: He enhanced his reputation from the sidelines. Ben Spencer and Van Poortvliet each started two games at scrum-half, but neither marked firmly to take Mitchell’s shirt away.
In November, England only beat Japan and lost to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Mitchell is likely to return as a starting No 9 for the 2025 Six Nations. “It definitely gives you confidence,” Mitchell says of his EPS deal. “It shows that the coaches support you.”
After a campaign in which he won the Premiership title and became his country’s No. 9, Mitchell’s complaint came out of the blue.
Following an injury to Jack van Poortvliet, he became a key figure as Steve Borthwick’s team finished third at the World Cup in 2023.
Ben Spencer started two games at scrum-half this autumn but failed to score firmly to take Mitchell’s shirt.
And about his dismissal in England, he adds: “I feel very frustrated seeing it. I want England to do well, so when they lose narrowly it will be even worse. It’s much easier to be in the country. We just need to find a way to win those close games. We can be better. I know I can do more.’
Mitchell’s first game of the season saw him appear off the bench in Northampton’s 25-17 home Premiership defeat to Gloucester last Saturday. After claiming last season’s title, the Saints are in eighth place.
“Now we’re the team they’re chasing,” Mitchell says. But we like that. The Gloucester result was disappointing. We just didn’t show up. Our energy and intention were not there. Last season, this European period gave us a big boost to get back into the Premiership. “It made us realize that we can beat very good teams both at home and away.”
The Saints bucked the trend of recent problems English clubs have had in Europe to reach the semi-finals of last season’s Champions Cup, where they were beaten by Leinster.
If he continues his form from last year, Mitchell is likely to be one of the leading contenders to tour Australia with the British and Irish Lions next summer.
“When I was younger, I used to go to my friends’ houses to watch the tests and eat bacon,” Mitchell says. ‘The Lions have always been the top. I was very excited to watch those games.
“If you have the opportunity to go on that tour and play for the Lions, it’s a great honor.” It’s always been a goal, but I’ll do it week after week.
“I need to work hard to replicate the last 18 months and I hope to do even more.”