The big interview: Tom Vickers talks to Saints and England star Alex Mitchell

The England star suffered a hamstring injury back on February 21, ending his Guinness Six Nations campaign.

He had to refocus on rehab, resting up and doing what was necessary to return to action for his club as they pursued glory on two fronts.

Mitchell made his comeback from the bench as the Investec Champions Cup flame was extinguished in cruel fashion at Bath on April 10.

And he was in from the off in the Gallagher PREM game at Exeter Chiefs eight days later, scoring during the first half as Saints took another step towards securing a top-two spot.

He helped them to beat Bath last time out and, after the whole team had last week off, Mitchell, who spent some time playing golf in Portugal with some of his Saints team-mates, is now setting his sights on squaring up to Leicester Tigers at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Saturday afternoon.

Such big matches make all of what he calls the 'boring' rehab worthwhile.

And he was happy with how his body responded, allowing him to get back in action sooner than initially estimated.

"Initially it was said it could have been about eight weeks (to return to action), but we got another scan a couple of weeks later, which said the recovery was going very well and I was in a better spot," Mitchell explained.

"I don't know what I did in that first couple of weeks because I didn't change anything. I just slept and ate so that's probably the key!

"I'm not too old yet, still in my 20s so I think my body is still in a good spot."

Discussing his overall season so far, the 28-year-old reflected: "It's been good, I've really enjoyed it.

"It was obviously frustrating getting that hamstring injury and missing some of the Six Nations.

"It's the toughest part of the job but we've got a great (medical) team here and I got back a couple of weeks early.

"I've done a decent job with Northampton this year, it's been a bit up and down with England but that's just part and parcel of the game.

"On the whole, it's been a reasonably good season so far."

On his return to action in the European encounter at Bath, in which Saints were denied late on, Mitchell said: "It was a massive game and I'm lucky enough to have a lot of experiences like that now.

"The only tough thing was that I was in camp with England, did a bit of my rehab there and then coming back you usually get a couple of weeks of training to learn the new moves.

"Lucky enough I've had a lot of experience of that and I loved being back out there.

"It's so boring, rehabbing, and you don't see the boys a lot in the changing rooms so you spend a lot of time by yourself in the rehab room.

"It's so much better being back and playing."

While Mitchell was sidelined, Archie McParland made his mark.

The talented 21-year-old stepped up to ensure Saints didn't miss a beat in the PREM and Champions Cup, also helping them to reach the PREM Rugby Cup semi-finals.

And Mitchell has been hugely impressed with McParland.

"He's been fantastic!" said the England and British & Irish Lions scrum-half.

"It's great to see these young boys coming through: Edo (Todaro), James Pater, even (Henry) Pollock in that bracket.

"These young boys are great and to see Archie's form on the pitch has been great for us.

"Competition is what we need because you can't play every minute so he's been great coming through with the energy he brings."

When asked whether he can take any credit for McParland's rapid rise, Mitchell said: "I don't think so. Some of these young boys just know what they're doing. They're bred a bit differently.

"I've tried to help him here and there where I can, but a lot of these players, and especially Archie, have got great talent and a great head on them so they probably just earned it themselves."

So has Mitchell given McParland any help to get him through the trickier times during the formative stages of his Saints career?

"Here and there, small bits of advice after training," he said.

"It is tough at that young age and the best thing is experiences because you need to be put out there and play on the pitch - that's the best way you learn.

"You can be in the analysis room and watch clips all you want but the best thing is to be on the pitch actually doing it first hand.

"He's been great this year because he's had a lot of opportunities and really shone."

When asked who helped him the most when he came through the ranks at Saints, Mitchell said: "A bit of everyone.

"The coaches were great and we had a lot of senior scrum-halves with Lee Dickson, Kahn (Fotuali'i), Cobus Reinach so it's not always verbal. You watch them play, how they go about their business and learn a lot from them.

"It's not always in your position as well. You learn a lot off loads of senior players.

"It's great to see the cycle go on and on."

Mitchell and McParland will now look to steer Saints to PREM glory in the weeks ahead.

And next up is a tricky trip to take on Leicester Tigers at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

"First of all, we want to try to get that top two, home semi-final, but first and foremost, these games are the ones you want to play in: derby days at Welford Road," Mitchell said.

"I've heard there's a new away end so I'm looking forward to that. It's going to be something new. Speaking to my family, it's kind of hit and miss as to whether they like it or not, but it'll be good to see if it builds a bit of atmosphere.

"These derby days are the games you always want to play in, the first ones you look at in the season because it always brings a bit of edge and hopefully it's going to be a lot of fun."

Saints will be backed by plenty of travelling fans at Leicester.

And Mitchell said: "It does give you a bit of a boost, and sometimes that's needed, especially when things aren't going your way and you're not quite clicking.

"But even when the game's tight and their fans get a bit nervous you can hear your fans and it gives you a boost.

"It's always great to see that support."

Saints have been much improved away from home in the PREM this season, losing just once, at Bristol Bears, so far.

And when asked about their results on the road, Mitchell said: "It's been a massive thing for us.

"We spoke about it last year because our away form was poor, we were just inconsistent and we didn't get the results we wanted.

"We spoke about it at the start of the year and it's come to fruition, which is fantastic for us.

"Hopefully it keeps going for these last four games and we get a decent spot into the play-offs because obviously we want that top-two spot for a home semi-final and then push on from there."

So what have Saints done better on their travels in the PREM this season?

"The start of the game has been big for us," Mitchell said.

"We've spoken about it a lot more because if you lose that first 20 minutes it's tough, especially away from home, to get back into it.

"We use the motto kicking the door in quite a bit, just going after teams and not waiting to see what happens and that's been a massive learning for us this year.

"It's helped most of the time."

And Saints have also finished games well, too.

"It's a massive thing we've had for the whole year: that confidence you get from getting results in tight games," Mitchell said.

"We know in the last 20 minutes, with the way we train with the fitness we do off the pitch, it's going to stand us in good stead.

"We're lucky enough to have such a great squad that the bench coming on now is also great.

"It's been a good work-on for us this year.

"I guess it's the experience you have in tight games and you understand that, but it's great to have some of the young lads, who haven't experienced it, bringing the energy and confidence they have at such a young age and it's great to see."

Saints edged past a heavily-rotated Bath team before taking last week off.

It kept the black, green and gold at the PREM summit, even though they weren't fully satisfied with their showing.

"It was obviously a bit frustrating but you can't be too annoyed because we still got five points at home against second in the league so you can't be too disappointed with that," Mitchell said.

"But we know our performance probably wasn't there and we've said that this week.

"But it's a good place to be because we know there's a lot of learnings and we know coming into these last few games and if we're lucky enough to get into the play-offs, we need to be on better form than we were."