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'I am going to be biased but he has been outstanding'

(Photo by Dan Mullan/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Northampton boss Phil Dowson believes Alex Mitchell is delivering consistently “outstanding” performances in the Premiership and is backing his scrum-half to force his way back into the England team after being named in the first training squad of the season.

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Mitchell, who won his only cap in the 69-3 win over Tonga a year ago, joins the Leicester duo of Ben Youngs and Jack van Poortvliet as the scrum-halves in the 36-man squad with Bristol’s Harry Randall and Harlequins Danny Care left out despite having been on the summer tour to Australia where England won the test series.

While Care and Randall have slipped down the scrum half pecking order, Mitchell’s form has been too good for head coach Eddie Jones to ignore opening the way for the Northampton No9 to be given a second cap during England’s four match Autumn series with New Zealand, Japan, South Africa and Argentina.

Having missed out on the Australian tour, Mitchell, Saints’ players’ and supporters’ player of the season for 2021/22, could have become disheartened but Dowson has been hugely impressed with his scrum-half’s mental resilience and ability to bounce back. He said: ”We see Alex every week and I am going to be biased but he has been outstanding. He does things other players cannot do and is such a danger around the fringes that he is a real asset to our attack

“I have been hugely impressed with his mental fortitude and he came into pre-season training and drove standards. He was more communicative than he has been in the last couple of years and with a lot of the senior guys away he put a marker down. He is a great competitor and his level of play will always be good because he is desperate to win.

“One of the things he has been working on is the defensive side of his game both positionally and making tackles. He is going really well and we value him very highly.”

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1 Comment
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chris 820 days ago

Excellent player. Deserves his selection

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SK 1 hour ago
What is the future of rugby in 2025?

Set pieces are important and the way teams use them is a great indication of how they play the game. No team is showcasing their revolution more than the Springboks. This year they have mauled less and primarily in the attacking third. Otherwise they have tended to set like they are going to maul and then play around the corner or shove the ball out the back. They arent also hitting the crash ball carrier constantly but instead they are choosing to use their width or a big carrying forward in wider areas. While their maul is varied the scrum is still a blunt instrument winning penalties before the backs have a go. Some teams have chosen to blunt their set piece game for more control. The All Blacks are kicking more penalties and are using their powerful scrum as an attacking tool choosing that set piece as an attacking weapon. Their willingness to maul more and in different positions is also becoming more prominent. The French continue to play conservative rugby off the set piece using their big bruisers frequently. The set piece is used differently by different teams. Different teams play different ways and can be successful regardless. They can win games with little territory and possession or smash teams with plenty of both. The game of rugby is for all types and sizes and thats true in the modern era. I hope that administrators keep it that way and dont go further towards a Rugby League style situation. Some administrators are of the opinion that rugby is too slow and needs to be sped up. Why not rather empower teams to choose how they want to play and create a framework that favours neither size nor agility. That favours neither slow tempo play or rock n roll rugby. Create a game that favour both and challenge teams to execute their plans. If World Rugby can create a game like that then it will be the ultimate winner.

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J
JW 6 hours ago
'Let's not sugarcoat it': Former All Black's urgent call to protect eligibility rules

Yep, no one knows what will happen. Thing is I think (this is me arguing a point here not a random debate with this one) they're better off trialing it now in a controlled environment than waiting to open it up in a knee jerk style reaction to a crumbling organtization and team. They can always stop it again.


The principle idea is that why would players leave just because the door is ajar?


BBBR decides to go but is not good enough to retain the jersey after doing it. NZ no longer need to do what I suggest by paying him to get back upto speed. That is solely a concept of a body that needs to do what I call pick and stick wth players. NZR can't hold onto everyone so they have to choose their BBBRs and if that player comes back from a sabbatical under par it's a priority to get him upto speed as fast as possible because half of his competition has been let go overseas because they can't hold onto them all. Changing eligibility removes that dilemma, if a BBBR isn't playing well you can be assured that someone else is (well the idea is that you can be more assured than if you only selected from domestic players).


So if someone decides they want to go overseas, they better do it with an org than is going to help improve them, otherwise theyre still basically as ineligible as if they would have been scorning a NZ Super side that would have given them the best chance to be an All Black.

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