A healthy queue of effervescent young No.9s has formed behind Ben Youngs at Leicester.
Joining Ben White and Harry Simmons in seeking to depose England’s venerable schemer is 18-year-old protégé, and current England U20s squad member, Jack van Poortvliet.
Born and bred in Norfolk, albeit with a Dutch surname and heritage courtesy of his great, great grandfather, who relocated from Holland to acquire a farm in the area, van Poortvliet followed in the footsteps of his rugby-mad father, Jeff, in learning his trade at North Walsham RFC.
“I’m from a small village called Colby, just south of Cromer, which is about 10-15 minutes from where the Youngs brothers are from,” van Poortvliet said. “My dad – a flanker – was a bit of a legend at North Walsham, where even now they remind me that nobody ever hit harder, so I played all my mini and junior rugby there and he was huge for me and coached me from an early age.
“He played a bit for Saracens in the 90s but then came back to Norfolk and played for Walsham for pretty much the whole time after that. I loved my time there and it’s great to see them on the way back to where they were. They’re comfortably the best team in East Anglia again and are top of London One North, with a really good chance of winning promotion this season.”
With Norfolk being part of Leicester’s catchment area, van Poortvliet came on to their radar as a 12-year-old, quickly progressing to the point where he needed to leave the county.
“When I was 13, I went to Oakham School,” he added. “Norfolk’s a bit of a vacuum when it comes to top-class rugby and you really have to move if you want to progress, but it was really good for me as it got me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to grow.
“From there I managed to get into the Tigers academy set-up and now I’m part of the development squad and have had a few first team opportunities this season.
“There’s good competition at scrum-half and with Sam Harrison having moved on now, hopefully I can keep playing well, get some more game time with England U20s and get further first team chances at Tigers.”
Asked to name his role models, there is only one. Van Poortvliet said: “I’ve always looked up to ‘Lenny’ (Ben Youngs) and he’s proved throughout his career what a terrific scrum-half he is through having made so many England appearances and starred for the Lions as well.
“It’s pretty weird in a way because from being my idol he’s now a teammate. He’s been really good with me and he’s always been the one I’ve aspired to be most like.”
After featuring for England U20s in their opening Six Nations victories over France and Scotland, van Poortvliet adds: “Getting into the U20s squad a year early has been brilliant. I’m hoping to play more Six Nations games now and get involved in the Junior World Cup.”
NEALE HARVEY
