Alex Mitchell intends to be the calmest man in Cardiff when Northampton aim to lift the Champions Cup for the first time in a quarter of a century with victory over Bordeaux-Begles on Saturday.
A stunning 37-34 semi-final win against tournament favourites Leinster in Dublin has Saints fans dreaming of a first European champions crown since edging out Munster at Twickenham 25 years ago.
Northampton and England scrum-half Mitchell, though, is determined to stay focused on the job in hand and not get swept up in the occasion at the Principality Stadium.
“I like to think I am quite calm and collected,” said Mitchell, who has been named in the British and Irish Lions squad for the summer tour of Australia.
Fixture
Investec Champions Cup
Northampton
Bordeaux
“I like to go into games with a level head and be pretty chilled about it. Some people may sometimes think that is 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 or being sick in a bin.
“But especially as a (number) nine or a 10, you need to stay calm. You can’t be up and down.
“You are trying to run the game, to put yourself in the right places, so technically I try to push on that.”
Mitchell added: “It is a massive occasion, but you can’t get too ahead of yourself.
“You can’t be a rabbit in the headlights – you have got to just focus on your jobs, stay calm and stay collected.”
Bordeaux will present Northampton with another stern test of their trophy ambitions, having reached the final with a 35-18 victory over defending champions Toulouse.
“We don’t really change our mindset too much – it is another game,” Mitchell, 27, said.
“Obviously, we had that slight motivation against Leinster, with everyone writing us off.
“We are probably underdogs again for this game. Bordeaux are quality, (near) the top of Top 14 (in France), so we could use that as motivation – but every week has got a different motivation to it.
“We can appreciate they are a quality side, but we just kind of back ourselves.
“We have just done what we need to do, performed well and got results, so nothing changes too much in regards to that.”
Northampton – through to a first Champions Cup final since 2011 when they were beaten by Leinster despite having been in control at half-time – have a few injury concerns.
Curtis Langdon and James Ramm were both forced off in the Gallagher Premiership win over Saracens, while Temo Mayanavanua and Alex Coles are also carrying knocks.
Club captain George Furbank – who suffered a broken arm in December, ruling him out of the Six Nations – could, though, return to lead Saints out in Cardiff.
The England full-back took another blow to his arm when making a comeback appearance in the quarter-final win over Castres, but has been able to join in some training with the squad ahead of the trip to Wales.
