Online praise was something Jack van Poortvliet was used to seeing as his rugby career progressed, but following his England debut he became aware of more criticism; it started as abuse targeting him personally, then celebrating an injury that ruled him out of a first Rugby World Cup which has meant he has had to step away to develop a healthier relationship with social media.
The Leicester Tigers scrum half also discusses growing up on a family farm and how he plans to take it over post his rugby career, the Dutch origins of his surname and dealing with being a smaller child as his rugby career developed. Van Poortvliet also goes into how missing out on an academy place brought him to tears, the childhood friends he now plays Test rugby with and why Taylor Gough’s recovery from an accident is so inspirational to him.
In this podcast you will also hear from his dad Jeff, former school coach Ian "Dosser" Smith and teammates Alex Coles and Alex Opoku-Fordjour.
This podcast was recorded in October 2026.
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