"You're in the good old days" - Alex Mitchell: Saints scrum half is savouring the moment in pursuit of Champions Cup glory

The Saints are currently enjoying the rewards of a green, black and golden generation, with scrum half Alex Mitchell believing that the 'good old days' are now for the Northampton faithful. With an abundance of England stars and four British & Irish Lions now decorating their relatively young squad, the reigning Premiership champions are out to write another chapter of success into the Saints history books.

The preparations are well underway for the upcoming finale at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, and Mitchell wants to savour the occasion as his side pushes for a history making European title.

"It's a bit of a different field, the Champions Cup. Because you grow up watching the Premiership and that's the one goal that you want to do. But in regards to the Champions Cup, not many English teams get a chance to even play the final, let alone win the competition.

"So it's a huge occasion. I've been here for 10 years, and we've never even got close to a semi-final or final. So, you can't take these experiences for granted. You've got to appreciate it sometimes, you're in the good old days at the moment. We're in a good reign of form, and hopefully we can push on and and take the chance while we're got the chance to win some silverware in the Champions Cup."

The bookies are taking a far more favourable approach to Northampton's hopes this weekend, after being all-but 'written off' for their semi-final clash with Leinster. Northampton backed themselves and stunned the Irish giants with a 37-34 win at the Aviva Stadium, to make amends for last season's Dublin defeat at Croke Park. Mitchell expressed how the Saints are by no means favourites for their title fight with Bordeaux, yet his side are gunning to be held in their rightful conversation amongst Europe's elite.

"We don't really change our mindset too much. It's another game, we had that slight motivation against Leinster, with everyone writing us off. We're probably underdogs again for this game, Bordeaux are quality, up near the top of the Top 14. So, we could use that as motivation. But every week has a different motivation to it. We can appreciate their (Bordeaux) a quality side, but we backed ourselves in the last 16 and the quarter final, we've just done what we needed to do and we got a result."

Having experienced the highest of highs in Dublin, Mitchell expressed how Northampton's key players have been managing their emotional peaks ahead of the upcoming clash in Cardiff. The halfback enjoyed jubilant celebrations after dumping Leinster out of the competition, before being given a week to cool off as a rotated Saints side took a heavy defeat to Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership.

A full-strength Saints outfit then returned this past weekend to snatch a dramatic win over Saracens, with the cogs kicking into gear ahead of what could be an era-defining weekend for Phil Dowson's side. Mitchell discussed the emotional roller-coaster that transpired since Dublin, and how he is gearing up for the challenge ahead, all without peaking too soon in the mid-week training sessions.

"It's pretty natural to have a peak in that emotion, but it's been quite nice these last couple of weeks. Most of the boys had a week off for Exeter, and then we needed to get that fitness and game time back into you against Saracens. So, it's been quite nice to come back down for that week, come back up slightly for the Saracens game, and now we'll slowly build this week.

"We spoke a bit about the emotion on Monday. But like I said, it's business as usual. It's a normal week. So, it's a lot more outside noise in regards to the final on social media and whatnot. But, we've got to trust what goes into this occasion and do what we do week in, week out. So that's the main plan."

Boardeaux enter the fray with a squad decorated with French internationals, with the likes of Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Matthieu Jalibert and Maxime Lucu taking starring roles in Les Bleus' back-line throughout their triumphant 2025 Six Nations campaign. Northampton Director of Rugby Phil Dowson will be calling upon the Test match experience of his England stars, as the likes of Mitchell, fly half Fin Smith and wing Tommy Freeman all starred in England's 26-25 win over France back in February.

Mitchell understands how important any inside knowledge on his opponents will be, as the England players have led the latest scouting mission on Bordeaux's danger-men. Bielle-Biarrey, Lucu and Jalibert have all been focal points, as Northampton aim to nullify Bordeaux's blistering back-line.

"He's (Maxime Lucu) been quality hasn't he. If anyone's watched Bordeaux or France, he's being quality this last year, hasn't he? The same as Jalibert. We've got to look after him there. I think same with Leinster, that it was (Jamison) Gibson-Park and (Sam) Prendergast, you have to look after (them).

"They're quality players, and you'll appreciate that. But personally, I love these occasions. I love going toe to toe with the best, and think Lucu, especially with (Antoine) Dupont out now, he's been one of the best nines in the world. I appreciate that, enjoy the occasion, and then try and get one over on them."

"We know that they've got some quality individuals, especially in their back three. They're electric. They can score tries from anywhere. I think we experienced that against France, didn't we? They can score from their own line. We need to appreciate that if there's a loose ball, they'll look to go.

"So, I think we're going to imprint some of our knowledge this week on that, and try and appreciate the threats they've got and nullify that. But again, we've got players in the same boat, and we're really good in that sense as well. So it's, it's going to be a great battle there."

With such a critical match coming ever closer in Cardiff, the leadership and mentality of the Saints senior players has taken up a greater importance this week. Whilst Henry Pollock takes a lead in getting the side fired up, and Fin Smith's tactical nuances has the Saints back-line studying the playbook, Mitchell's approach is all about chilling out until the biggest moments come around.

"I'm very relaxed. I'm not the motivational guy. I'm not going to be screaming at boys to get up for massive games. I like to think I'm quite calm and collected, and I like to go into games with a level head and be pretty chilled about it. Some people may sometimes think that's probably a bit too chilled, but I think it works for me. Everyone's different. Some people need to be banging their head against the wall, being sick in a bin, (Ollie) Sleightholme loves all that stuff."

"I'll be pretty relaxed until game day. I think it's just a feeling as well. If you're relaxed and not losing your head as a sense, or getting hot headed, the team get a feel of that. If one person is just losing their head and not staying calm, it can then set off a chain reaction, and everyone's panicky, and everyone can change. So, you need a good mixture of that, a few boys that motivate the lads and a few boys that stay calm, especially when the pressure's on."

Despite proudly boasting a football team in League One, there's no denying that the pride of the town of Northampton is their beloved Saints. Mitchell expressed how when his team enjoys a hot run of form, the iconic green, black and gold proudly lines the streets, as the 'shoe army' comes out in force in support of their boys. Whilst the Champions Cup title would mean a tremendous amount to the club, Mitchell explained how bringing the trophy to Northampton would have an incredible impact upon the East Midlands town.

"It's massive. Similar to the Premiership last year, it gets people involved in the game, puts our town on the map. It's not massive (like) Saracens, or a place in Paris, it's a small town, but a massive rugby town. So it's put a name on the map and put on name out there, the fan base here is massive. I think one of the biggest things for the people that live in Northampton is the rugby. So, to try and bring some silverware back for them is huge. To try and get people into the rugby and get the town buzzing is huge.

"You can tell the difference when we're winning, because you go around town and people want to chat. They're stopping you, and there's a bit of a bitter feel around town if we're losing. You've definitely felt that after the Premiership (title win), you just see Saints shirts everywhere as well. So it does echo on do a lot of things for the town."