The man at the centre of the derby row between Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints has given his support to Henry Pollock for “getting us going in a good way – he brings a bit of edge and sometimes you need that edge”.

Northampton’s scrum-half Alex Mitchell revealed how he sparked the 30-man set-to just before half-time of Leicester’s 28-7 win over their local rivals at Welford Road on Saturday, when he made a jokey taunt to home wing Adam Radwan over an ineffective carry.

But Pollock became the focus of critical comment for the way he inflamed the ruckus by grabbing Leicester opponents Freddie Steward and Ollie Chessum by the back of their shirts, after which he was shoved up the changing-room steps by Chessum, the Leicester captain – all followed by Leicester scoring four tries for a comeback victory.

Mitchell also spoke about the “flick of the switch” required as he and Pollock, Chessum and Steward got back together as England colleagues the following day, in the national team’s training camp preparing for the Nations Championship opener against Australia on Sunday week.

Pollock’s try celebrations and winding-up of opponents had already made plenty of headlines before the derby ruckus.

“We’re kind of used to it now,” Mitchell, 29, said of his 21-year-old club-mate.

“But it’s really good to have him. He brings a bit of energy and brings a bit of buzz and always starts a bit of niggle, which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing.

“It’s good to have that energy, and he loves to rile up people, and I think he gets us going as well; he gets us going in a good way. Brings a bit of edge, and sometimes you need that edge. If the team’s feeling a bit flat, he can definitely bring that.

“So he’s always going to get a bit of shit and a bit of crap here and there, but we’re always going to back him up. And he’s very good at dealing with it as well.”

The Premiership and its broadcaster TNT Sports are leaning enthusiastically into player confrontations, with X posts during Saturday’s match such as “it’s all HEATING up” and “tempers continue to flare – the scuffle just kept going!”

Mitchell’s first-hand insight showed the players are happy to lean into it, too.

“Many a time, we’ve had derby days and then had to play with each other [for England] the following week, and we are good at flicking the switch,” Mitchell added.

“Before the game, you’d say ‘hi’ but you wouldn’t chat to them and have a laugh, because it’s derby day, it’s a huge occasion. And then on the pitch, regardless of who you’re playing – if it’s your best mate or someone you never met – you’re always going to front up and be full go. After the match, you’re a gentleman and can have a laugh in the changing rooms.”

‘The Leicester lads got into us a bit on Sunday’

On the specific incident, he recalled: “I’m always just coming in and taking the mick a bit. I think I said to Radders [Adam Radwan] ‘oh, good carry, mate’ – just simple stuff. And I think he got a bit annoyed at that, and just made me laugh, and then obviously everyone jumped in.

“The tensions are high, so any bit of niggle, everyone wants to jump in and back their teammates up. We were just laughing during it, enjoying the occasion. It went on for some while, and in the moment you are passionate and quite annoyed. But you know no one’s going to really take it too far over the line, are they? Just a bit of pushing and shoving, and it never goes further than that. If it does, then you get banned.

“Coming in [to England] on Sunday, it was a bit annoying – we were a bit more sore than them [the Leicester players] and they had the bragging rights, so they got into us a bit, which is fair enough because it’s been on our side a fair few times as well. You walk in and I pretended to ignore Chez [Chessum] and Stew [Steward], just for a bit of craic. You just end up laughing, to be honest.”
Mitchell was one of a group of 10 England players from Northampton, Leicester and Saracens, including Pollock and Steward, who holidayed together in Rio de Janeiro after the tour match in Argentina in July.

“I’m actually rooming with Chez now,” Mitchell said. “He has been my roommate for the Six Nations and autumn previously, we’ve known each other for years, and we really get along. Now we’re pulling together for England, so it’s good to flick the switch.

“I did used to hear, when I was speaking to [former Northampton and England players] Dylan Hartley and Tom Wood, that they wouldn’t chat to those different cliques of Northampton, Leicester, Sarries.

But there’s so many camps and we’re so intertwined and we know each other so well nowadays, it’s less so and there’s not many cliques at all. We’re really good with the socials we do, the connections we do as a team, it’s so easy to chat to anyone and everyone.”