Alex Mitchell will mark a century of appearances in the Gallagher Premiership this weekend, as Northampton Saints return to league action at Saracens on Sunday (22 December, kick-off: 3pm).
The 27-year-old reaches the milestone against the same side he faced in his Premiership debut back in 2017, starting at scrum-half for Saints as the men in Black, Green and Gold face the fourth-placed Londoners in Round 8.
Saints defeated Saracens three times in 2023/24, first claiming a 12-18 victory at the StoneX Stadium and a 41-20 win at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, before a dramatic 22-20 semi-final triumph sealed Saints’ place in their first Gallagher Premiership Final in a decade.
Alex Coles steps in to lead the men in Black, Green and Gold at StoneX Stadium in the absence of injured Club captain George Furbank, and starts in Saints’ back row for the second time this season.
The 25-year-old is joined there by openside flanker Tom Pearson and No.8 Juarno Augustus, while Chunya Munga comes into Saints’ engine room to join in-form Tom Lockett.
Tighthead prop Trevor Davison shifts into the starting line-up this weekend, with the front row otherwise unchanged as Emmanuel Iyogun and Curtis Langdon start at loosehead prop and hooker respectively at Saracens.
Saints also remain unchanged across the half-backs, with Fin Smith – whose precision with the boot has seen him make more crossfield kicks (11) and more kicks that have led to a break (4) than any other player across the league this season – joining Premiership centurion Mitchell there.
Rory Hutchinson leads the way for turnovers in the backs across the league (8), and reprises his role in Saints’ centres alongside Tom Litchfield for the trip to London.
George Hendy starts for Saints at fullback after a try-scoring appearance off the bench in South Africa last weekend, while James Ramm and Tommy Freeman man the wings for Northampton at Saracens to complete the starting line-up.
There is room amongst the replacements for internationals Elliot Millar Mills (Scotland), Temo Mayanavanua (Fiji), Fraser Dingwall and Ollie Sleightholme (both England) – while England A stars Tarek Haffar, Henry Pollock and Archie McParland are also set to enter the action at StoneX Stadium.
SARACENS vs NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
Gallagher Premiership, Round 8
Sunday 22 December, 2024
StoneX Stadium
Kick-off: 3pm
15 George Hendy
14 Tommy Freeman
13 Tom Litchfield
12 Rory Hutchinson
11 James Ramm
10 Fin Smith
9 Alex Mitchell – 100th Gallagher Premiership appearance
1 Emmanuel Iyogun
2 Curtis Langdon
3 Trevor Davison
4 Tom Lockett
5 Chunya Munga
6 Alex Coles (c)
7 Tom Pearson
8 Juarno Augustus
Replacements:
16 Nathan Langdon – Gallagher Premiership debut
17 Tarek Haffar
18 Elliot Millar Mills
19 Temo Mayanavanua
20 Henry Pollock
21 Archie McParland
22 Fraser Dingwall
23 Ollie Sleightholme
Not available for selection:
Emeka Atuanya, George Furbank, Sam Graham, Callum Hunter-Hill, Burger Odendaal, Toby Thame and Robbie Smith.
SARACENS TEAM TO FACE SAINTS:
15 Elliot Daly, 14 Tobias Elliott, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Ivan van Zyl; 1 Rhys Carre, 2 Theo Dan, 3 Fraser Balmain, 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Theo McFarland, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Ben Earl, 8 Tom Willis.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Phil Brantingham, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Harry Wilson, 20 Toby Knight, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Brandon Jackson.
Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant referees: Sara Cox and Jonathan Healy
No.4: Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: Dan Jones
