Alex Mitchell is one of four Northampton Saints stars who will be making the trip Down Under this summer for his first British & Irish Lions Tour.
His selection is testament to a steady stream of consistent displays for his club side and England, for whom he has established himself as first-choice in the No.9 jersey in recent years.
As he prepares to make his Lions bow, we take a look back at the journey the scrum-half has been on so far…
STEPPING STAR AND SIBLING RIVALRY
To those who knew him as a boy, Alex Mitchell always seemed destined for his British & Irish Lions selection.
Naturally adept at weaving through the opposition as a nippy youngster, Mitchell’s wizardry got to the stage that his childhood coach Steve Downes told the Telegraph he'd “shout 'put the ball out there Alex, don't try to step everyone in the team!'"
Despite his obvious quality from an early age, Mitchell had to work hard to reach the top of the scrum-half food chain in England.
Where others have looked destined to be the best as soon as they entered the professional game, such as Ben Youngs and Danny Care, the Maidstone-born nine has had to scrap his way to the top.
At one stage, he even had to battle to be the best scrum-half in his family. James Mitchell, Alex's elder by two years, was brilliant at age grade level, starting the U20 World Cup final for England alongside the likes of Ellis Genge in 2015.
The Mitchell brothers were in Sale Sharks' academy programme, only for both to leave after graduation from the system, James to Connacht and Alex to Northampton.
James' rugby journey later continued in the Championship with Doncaster and Jersey Reds, for whom he later acted as attack/backs coach, while Alex continued to go from strength to strength in the top tier.
ENGLAND RECOGNITION
Known as 'Mitch' to his friends and teammates, he made his England debut off the bench against Tonga in 2021 but had to wait two years for another call.
Having been the third choice nine in the 2023 Six Nations, Mitchell was initially not included in the 2023 World Cup squad by Steve Borthwick, but an injury to Jack van Poortvliet meant Mitchell got the late call-up.
He seized his opportunity and went on to force his way to the front of the queue, dictating England's game all the way to a narrow loss to South Africa in the semi-final.
Speaking after his selection for that tournament, the Northampton Saint recognised his rocky road to the England shirt.
"It's been a bit of a rollercoaster, hasn't it?" Mitchell told The Times, "Out of the squad, now back in and getting a shot, I'm just massively excited at getting an opportunity to play and putting my hand up. Yeah, it's been a bit weird, but I'm excited."
The belated appreciation of Mitchell's game was a case of ‘about time’ for those in his corner who had been scratching their heads at his lack of opportunities.
"Mitch is one of the best heads-up rugby players in the country," Sam Vesty, Northampton Saints head coach, told The Times.
"He's got great vision, a great skill set to back that up. But his ability to see and find space is his real USP [unique selling point].
"That's something [Antoine] Dupont is obviously very good at, but it's a real strength of Mitch's too. He's very good at finding space for himself and very good at finding space for other people."
Some detractors felt Mitchell was only a 'running nine', and that his all-round game was not at an international level.
Yet the 2023 World Cup proved those doubters emphatically wrong. His performance against South Africa was exceptional, and he put tremendous pressure on the Springbok back three with contestable box kicks.
"His kicking game is really good, and he bosses the game with the skills he's got, that's been his biggest improvement over the last couple of years," Vesty said.
HOLDING THE FORT
Since his breakout in 2023, no-one has usurped Mitchell as England's number nine when he's been fit.
Steve Borthwick told ESPN: "Alex clearly established himself as the first-choice No. 9 at the World Cup and through 2024, we really saw him grow as a Test player."
With Mitchell's continued selection as the pace-setter, England have flourished because of his ability to adapt his natural running game to the Test arena.
The scrum half told The Telegraph: "When I was younger, I just wanted to play quick and attack and try and find line breaks.
"You have got to appreciate Test match rugby is different, defences are better and you need to play in the right areas and put pressure back on the opposition.
“Appreciating that over the last two years has been huge for me, and just getting opportunities playing whether it is for Saints or England."
Although his game is at the top level for everyone to see, he suffered a blow when he sustained a bulging disk in his neck in the 2024/25 pre-season, in the wake of his key role in Saints' memorable Premiership triumph.
But true to form, the scrum-half battled back and became available again in December, helping steady the ship after Northampton's rocky start to the campaign.
"The worst part to rugby is the injuries," Mitchell told BBC Sport.
"You maybe don't appreciate it as much, but when you are sidelined, it gives you a bit of fire in the belly again and more motivation.
"To have that adrenaline back and to be involved in game day is fantastic."
Now fit again and the looking the complete package, Mitchell shows his class week in, week out for Northampton and England.
His love of the big occasion was shown in an outstanding display for Saints in their Investec Champions Cup semi-final upset of Leinster.
Fin Smith, Henry Pollock, Tommy Freeman and Mitchell all starred as British & Irish Lions should do on the biggest stage.
The scrum-half kept the pace of the game up beautifully in the first half, up against his Ireland opposite number and fellow Tour mate Jamison Gibson-Park.
Mitchell told RTE: "We showed up today and the first 20 minutes, we punched them in the face. They weren't really expecting that."
Scrum-half is not a position that people typically associate with fight. It is more often characterised by the class and polished style of the likes of Antoine Dupont or Aaron Smith.
Whilst Mitchell has all these qualities, because of his unique rugby journey, he will never back down from a scrap or a setback.
Now, with the opportunity to prove himself in a Lions jersey, the man known as Mitch will bring the fight to the Wallabies.
