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Dave Rennie hints at former captain return, shares Bledisloe Cup squad plans
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Jack van Poortvliet hopes injury curse won't come back to haunt him
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Jack van Poortvliet has fingers crossed his misfortune before England call-ups is a thing of the past as he prepares to face Harlequins this weekend in the last PREM game before the Six Nations.
The Leicester scrum-half scored the try that won the series against Argentina last summer only for his chances of a place in Steve Borthwick’s autumn squad to be dashed when he damaged his shoulder against Northampton.
It was the latest in a series of ill-timed mishaps which included the agony of missing out on the 2023 World Cup after hurting his ankle in a warm-up game against Wales the month before the tournament.
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“I haven’t had the best luck of games before international blocks,” said the 24-year-old.
“There was the World Cup and the Six Nations last year and then autumn this year – and the Six Nations before that – but you can’t do much about it.
“It’s just one of those things. There’s no good timing for an injury.
“I felt like I was in a good spot post-Argentina so that was a bit of a kick in the teeth. It was more annoying because I thought I’d be able to turn the injury around but it was a bit more complicated than we thought and it didn’t quite get right.
“But I’m happy with how I’ve been able to get myself back in a good spot physically.”
If he is, as expected, included in England’s squad on Friday, the trick will be to stay in one piece at The Stoop.
He insists he will not be holding back.
“I know if I go in with that in the back of my head it’s more likely an injury will happen,” said van Poortvliet who made his England debut against Australia in 2022 and has won 21 caps.
“My job is to go and play well for Leicester at the weekend and go and help us get the win so that’s my sole focus.”
Alex Mitchell, Ben Spencer and Raffi Quirke were named as England’s scrum-halves in their autumn squad.
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