Ben Spencer will look to impose his kicking game on Alex Mitchell and Northampton at Twickenham. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers
A few years ago it was hard to imagine an England team without Ben Youngs and Danny Care in the scrum half. Ahead of the summer tour of Japan and New Zealand, England manager Steve Borthwick has a clear favorite in Northampton's Alex Mitchell, with a wide supporting cast vying for seats on the plane, with three scrum-half.
Mitchell will face Bath's Ben Spencer in Saturday's Gallagher Premiership final. It's a combination of contrasting styles, Mitchell's appetite for sniping and Spencer's excellent area control with his kicking.
Harry Randall and Jack van Poortvliet have spent the last two weeks going toe-to-toe in training at Pennyhill Park, with Raffy Quirke, so promising back in the autumn of 2021 before the torrid injury run, fit again and back in the squad this year. a week after Sale's semi-final defeat. All three have worked closely with assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth to get the ball away from the ruck as quickly as possible, an important part of England's push to speed up their attack and a change in style that certainly suits Randall's game.
“It's a great position to be in.” for English rugby, right?” Randall talked about resources halfway through the fight, sitting around an ill-timed bonfire in Pennyhill Park. “You have a lot of No. 9s that push you to play for England. What else do you want? Some may think this is unfortunate, but it is not.
“We have a great back nine, deep strength, we all push each other and in the end that will only make you a better player, won't it? We've worked really well together and it's about working together and making each other better for the team, right? I think we did well this week.
“The most competitive part of rugby at the moment is the breakdown, isn’t it? This is how quickly you can get the ball in and out before allowing the breaking contest. And even when there's a competition going on, how quickly can you get in and out without them scratching you trying to get to the ball? So Viggy works very well there. He has all sorts of little things, pads, he puts pressure on us, takes it and takes it out of our hands as quickly as we can, just to try to avoid situations like this. Even when we are in such situations, how can we win the ball to avoid such situations?
It's better to have many options than just a couple – think about England's current midfield depth, for example – but that leaves Borthwick with a lot to think about before announcing his squad, according to Care, who will be part of TNT's coverage of the Premier League final.
Mitchell's quick hands are a key part of Northampton's creative play. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers
“I wouldn’t want to be Steve right now,” admits Care. “You've got Quirke, who I still think is brilliant, Van Portvliet is back, who Steve spent a lot of time with [at Leicester and England] and likes a lot, Randall, who has incredible speed and pace and can play faster than anyone. He had a brilliant end to the season, showing how Bristol had returned to the type of play that suited Harry perfectly. He is incredible in this.
“Alex is the pace for the Northampton team. His super skill is speed on the ball and quick clearances, but I think he is the best attacking number 9 in terms of manipulating defenders on the edges of the ruck, bringing people outside to create space for others with his serpentine hips. The ball movement with his hands is incredible, as is his ability to offload. He creates one-on-ones for himself, which means he can pass the ball to others.
“With Ben Spencer you have the best striker in the league, a guy who puts the ball on the money time after time. With Will Muir in particular chasing those balls and winning them back, and then this transition play with Finn [Russell] with an unstructured defense in front of him, they could cause Northampton some problems. And I think the leadership Spencer has shown this year has been incredible. He won trophies that cannot be underestimated, reaching such a big final. As Bath captain, he's been there and done that before and a lot of players will be relying on him this week.
“Five doesn't fit into three. It will be very difficult. If you're Ben and Alex, you're desperate to go on tour. You won't be thinking about it this weekend, they'll be thinking about winning the trophy, but you'd like to think they'll both continue to play the way they've been playing. But how do you choose one of the other three? I'm not sure. Good luck Steve!”
Really. However, the England manager has bigger problems to worry about.
- Watch Northampton Saints v Bath Rugby in the Gallagher Premiership final this Saturday live on TNT Sports 1 and Discovery+ ; from 14:00
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