Jack van Poortvliet lined up alongside captain Owen Farrell, Ollie Lawrence, and Ben Earl in England’s post-World Cup squad announcement press conference yesterday as they gave an insight into the mood of the England camp.
There was plenty of jubilation among the 33 players that were selected to be a part of the elite squad as they arrived for their pre-World Cup photoshoot on the hallowed Twickenham turf, however the flip of the coin is always with those players that sorely missed out.
Big names like Henry Slade, Joe Cokanasiga, and Jonny May all found themselves ousted from a side they had all worked so hard to be a part of. But that’s sport, unfortunately.
Speaking to Jack van Poortvliet during the press conference, Rugbydump reporter Jack Tunney asked the 22-year-old scrum half what words of advice he would give to young players looking to emulate his incredible early success.
Referring to his academy days, van Poortvliet said: “Be patient in a lot of ways, but almost not too patient and push as hard as you can, but understand that it will come”, indicating that hard work was a major factor in his rise, and to take the opportunities when they arise.
“I think if anyone was in my shoes they would be really small until 16/17, and suddenly grow a bit and sort of grow into yourself, and then it all comes quite quickly.
“So just work as hard as you can on those core parts of your game, your fundamentals and push as much as you can, but understand [that] you're going to have to be patient at times and trust the process and how it all works, but keep working as hard as you can on those on those core skills.”
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