England have called up the Northampton scrumhalf Alex Mitchell to their World Cup squad after confirming that Jack van Poortvliet will undergo ankle surgery and miss the forthcoming tournament in France.
Van Poortvliet suffered the injury towards the end of the first half of Saturday’s dramatic victory over Wales at Twickenham and was in obvious pain, receiving lengthy treatment before being helped off the pitch. Steve Borthwick immediately headed pitchside to check on the 22-year-old scrumhalf and the head coach’s fears have now been realised.
Mitchell was Borthwick’s back-up scrumhalf during the Six Nations, appearing off the bench in four of their five matches and catching the eye with impressive cameos. That Borthwick did not include him in his initial plans was a surprise – the head coach opting for the experienced Danny Care as the scrumhalf option to add tempo – but Mitchell has now been offered a second chance.
The 26-year-old was officially released from the training squad at the end of June but Borthwick has made clear to his standby players they should be ready if called up and Mitchell joins the squad at their Bagshot base on Monday.
Van Poortvliet’s absence is nonetheless a blow. He made his debut on last summer’s tour of Australia under Eddie Jones and impressed when making his first start in the second Test. He is also well known to England’s new attack coach, Richard Wigglesworth, from their time together at Leicester but Borthwick must do without him in France.
Ben Youngs becomes the favourite for the No 9 jersey for the start of England’s tournament with Care and Mitchell providing back up. “It’s really bad luck for Jack, and we send him our very best wishes for a swift and successful recovery,” said Borthwick. – Guardian
