Steve Borthwick has been forced to overhaul his scrum-half plans for the World Cup after Jack van Poortvliet was ruled out of the entire tournament because of an ankle injury with Alex Mitchell called into the squad. Borthwick is braced for further upheaval on Tuesday with Owen Farrell to learn the extent of his expected ban at a disciplinary hearing.
Van Poortvliet sustained the ankle injury towards the end of the first half of the dramatic victory against Wales on Saturday in an accidental collision with his teammate Joe Marchant and was in obvious pain, receiving lengthy treatment before being helped off the pitch. Borthwick immediately headed pitchside to check on the 22-year-old scrum-half and the head coach’s fears have now been realised.
Van Poortvliet’s absence is a considerable blow for Borthwick. He started all five of England’s Six Nations matches this year and though he was competing with Ben Youngs and Danny Care for the No 9 jersey he was the leading option heading towards the World Cup.
He made his debut on the tour of Australia last summer 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 with Van Poortvliet set to undergo surgery. Youngs becomes the favourite for the No 9 jersey for the start of England’s tournament with Care and Mitchell providing backup.
“It’s really bad luck for Jack, and we send him our very best wishes for a swift and successful recovery,” Borthwick said.
Northampton’s Mitchell was Borthwick’s back-up scrum-half 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 Care as the scrum-half 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 joined the squad at their Bagshot base on Monday. Borthwick opted against bringing in any cover for Farrell, despite the fact that a suspension is likely with the head coach insisting he would await the outcome of the hearing before making any decisions. George Ford is the favourite for the No 10 jersey in Farrell’s absence though Borthwick could also turn to Marcus Smith for the match against Ireland on Saturday.
