‘Any team is going to struggle to play against us’ – England star reveals Northampton Saints blueprint to beat Leinster in Champions Cup
Northampton Saints scrum-half Alex Mtchell and director of rugby Phil Dowson.
Alex Mitchell has revealed the blueprint Northampton Saints must follow if they are to spring a major Investec Champions Cup shock at Leinster on Saturday.
The Dublin outfit are favourites to reach a fourth consecutive final and go on to win the competition for a fifth time.
They have Aviva Stadium home advantage and sky-high confidence born of having scored 142 points without reply in their last three Champions Cup games.
Saints are on a revenge mission having come up agonisingly short in last year’s semi-final, played at a sold out Croke Park.
The English champions have won away from home in the Gallagher Premiership only once since January last year and are available at 33/1 to lift this trophy.
They are a team hitting form at just the right time, however, having eliminated Clermont and Castres in the previous two Champions Cup rounds before, on Saturday evening, scoring seven tries in a comprehensive win over Premiership play-off chasing Bristol Bears.
Led the way for Northampton against Bristol
Architect of the 48-31 triumph was Mitchell, who scored a brilliant solo try, had a hand in numerous others and left the field to a standing ovation.
The England scrum-half faces an audition for British and Irish Lions selection when he goes up against Jamison Gibson-Park in the Irish capital.
He knows the size of the task facing him and his team. He also thinks he knows the way to get the job done.
“We have to appreciate every part of the game,” said the player, recalling how Northampton let Leinster race into a big lead last year and give themselves just too much to do to claw it back.
“When you’re playing pretty much an international outfit you have to stay engaged in every little bit because if you make a mistake they’re going to capitalise. Every moment of the game, every minute, we need to be switched on.
“Appreciate they’re going to be on top in parts of the game but if we deal with that, put our game onto then, I think we’ve got a very good chance.
“100 per cent we believe,” he added. “But we need to put them under pressure, especially in that first 20 minutes, that first half. Then it really becomes a Test match after that.
“If we get a performance out there, get the boys ticking and scoring some tries, I think any team is going to struggle to play against us.”
‘We’ve got to get stuck in’
Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson agreed, saying: “We’ve got to make sure we don’t sit off or stand back and watch. We’ve got to get stuck in.
“We are obviously going to have to play very well. The only thing we can focus on is our performance and our preparation, and that is what we’re going to do.
“We understand the copious amount of threats Leinster have, we had the experience last year and they’re probably better than they were then.”
When Northampton won the tournament in 2000 they were captained by Pat Lam, back at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday as boss of Bristol Bears.
“They will take a lot of confidence out of this win,” he said of his old club. “They’ve got good players, class players. They can draw on some big international experience.
“Obviously, Leinster are red hot, the odds are stacked against Saints. But it’s sport. It’s going to be on the day. I certainly wish Phil and the team well.”
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