Van Poortvliet signs new deal to stay at Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers have tied England scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet to a new multi-year contract. The club announced the deal on 22 October, and BBC Sport has since reported the news.
The scrum-half is the player who takes the ball from the base of the scrum or from a ruck (the contest for the ball on the ground after a tackle) and sends it along the back line. It is a role that demands quick hands, sharp decisions and a good kicking game. Van Poortvliet, 25, has held that role for Leicester for years.
He came up through the club's academy and graduated in 2019, having joined its development programmes while still at school. Since then he has made 118 first-team appearances for the Tigers. He was part of the side that won the Premiership, England's top domestic club competition, in 2022.
His international career has been a mix of progress and setback. He has played 27 times for England. He missed the 2023 World Cup in France after hurting his ankle in a warm-up game, which meant watching the tournament from the sidelines. He is under an England contract for the 2026-27 season.
The next men's World Cup takes place in Australia in 2027. For a player who lost out on the last one through injury, it is an obvious target, though selection calls are made by England's coaching staff, currently led by head coach Steve Borthwick.
Off the pitch, van Poortvliet has talked about his love of farming. He has described it as a place of calm, and said it helped him through some hard moments in his rugby career. For a player whose days are often spent under pressure, that is a useful reminder of what keeps him grounded.
For Leicester, the deal keeps a long-serving player at the heart of the squad. Head coach Geoff Parling now has one of the club's most experienced scrum-halves on a long-term basis, with the new contract running into the future.
