I practised to be like Jonny until the cows came home… literally!
England rookie Jack van Poortvliet reveals how farm life helped harvest his talent
GROWING up on the family farm in Norfolk, Jack van Poortvliet’s boyhood mission was to emulate Jonny Wilkinson. Using recycled posts and a mini pitch cut out of a field, he would practise until the cows came home.
When England’s new scrum-half sensation was 10, that was the shirt number he aspired to wear. He had played at North Walsham RFC since the age of five and it was there that Jack’s father, Jeff, gave him an ideal Christmas present for a young rugby obsessive to hone his craft.
‘Dad was at our rugby club and they were getting rid of some old posts,’ said Leicester rookie Van Poortvliet, days after his first Test start when England beat Australia in Brisbane to square the series. ‘They had rusted and dad said he would pay for them. He gave them a fresh paint job and put them in the cow field.
‘I used to have to cut the lawn around it. I cut out one line on the 22 and a path around the 22. Then I used to practise kicking off the 22. I would spend hours in that field. We had a little quad bike and sometimes my sister would mess around on it while I was kicking.
‘I struggled to start with but I would do it every winter until the cows came in, about April or May. They would leave in AugustOctober time. For that whole period, every chance I would get I would go out and practise.
‘We had to take the posts down when the cows came in. I stayed clear of the cows. I was scared of cows as a kid but I got over that. The posts are still there. They probably have a few bits of grass growing around them now.’
When he spent all those hours in that cow field, over all those winter months each year, there was one man who Van Poortvliet imagined himself as, every time he lined up another shot at goal. Wilkinson — the kicking king and hero of the 2003 World Cup win.
‘It was always Jonny,’ he said. ‘Mum has videos of me when I was four years old, with the cardboard bit of a toilet roll cut in half. I used to put that down (as a kicking tee) and line it up left footed in the kitchen, then run around the ball to kick it right footed. Mum used to get sick of me doing that when she was trying to cook and I was sending these little rubber balls flying through the kitchen!
‘It was always Jonny growing up, watching him and copying everything I could about him. It was the same for everyone my age. It was the Jonny era.
‘He was a big, big inspiration and someone I grew up idolising.’
There were other inspirations for an all-round sportsman who also excelled at cricket and athletics.
His father was one. Jeff was a good player at the tail end of the amateur era and represented Saracens, before the emergence of World Cup-winner Richard Hill — now England’s manager — played a part in convincing him to return to his local roots.
‘Dad played for Saracens for a few years and left just before rugby went professional,’ said Jack. ‘He couldn’t justify travelling two hours, three times a week when he had to be up at five or six in the morning to start work on the farm. He went back to Walsham and captained there. He was a flanker; an openside. Hilly was younger and coming through at the time, so that’s part of the reason he left, because Hilly started taking his spot. There’s no shame in that! I was always told as a kid that no one hit harder than my dad. He used to run around and whack as many people as he could. I don’t know if his strength has passed down; he’s a bit stockier than me.’ Van Poortvliet’s great, great grandfather moved from Holland to Norfolk before the First World War. BuBut none of his relatives speak Dutch now and Jack has neverneve even visited the country. ‘All I know is that Poortvliet is a village in Holland and vanv means “of”,’ he said. The same farm has been passedp down from generation to generation ever since. England’s No 9 plans to start an agribusinessi degree soon — havingin deferred a previous offerof to study at Newcastle UniversityUn — with a view to takingtakin over the farm one day, after hhe stops playing. Given he is 21, that tha is a long way off.
DESPITEbeing left out of the match-day squad for the Premiership Final, Leicester protege Van Poortvliet still earned a tour callup from Eddie Jones — while feeling the worse for wear after the title-winners’ party.
Van Poortvliet was on alert. ‘I got a text from Charlotte (Gibbons), the England team manager, saying, “Pack your bags just in case”,’ he said. ‘We had a social in London on the Sunday and I was told I’d find out that night whether I was in the squad or not, but I didn’t. I was in the pub, having a big p***-up with the boys, checking my phone every half an hour.
‘I woke up pretty hung over on the Monday morning. I was wide awake from seven, twiddling my thumbs and wondering whether I was coming here or not.
‘I don’t know if that’s how it always works, but I found out from a ping on my phone saying “Australia 2022” WhatsApp group. Then it was about making sure I was awake and on it. We trained on that Monday so I had to have a few cold showers to get ready!
‘It was a crazy few days. It all happened so quickly.’
Having been selected as an ‘apprentice’, Van Poortvliet has quickly earned promotion out of that development category.
He was on the bench in Perth, came on for his debut and scored a late try. A week later, he was a starter in Brisbane and performed with the assurance of an established Test player. His orders from Jones were to look after his basics and be himself. He emphatically did as he was told, kicking to telling effect, passing sharply and sniping repeatedly.
Watched by his mother Sarah and sister Claudia, along with dad Jeff — who caught a lastminute flight — the newcomer seized his moment. His family were emotional during the anthem, so how did he feel?
‘I was just saying to myself, “This is what you’ve dreamed of — this is where you’ve always wanted to be”,’ he said. ‘I’ve been wanting to sing the anthem and play for England ever since I watched the World Cup in 2003 as a two-year-old. So as I was singing, I was thinking, “I’m living my dream here. Cherish it and take it all in”. It was a special moment.
‘I’ve absolutely loved being part of this tour. I wasn’t expecting it and I’ve just tried to throw myself into it. It would make it extra sweet if we get the 2-1 and come away with the win.’
Van Poortvliet has come a long way: from that cow field in Norfolk to the brink of a historic feat on the far side of the world.