Jack van Poortvliet ruled out of the RWC

Scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers) will require surgery on an ankle injury sustained during England’s win against Wales on Saturday at Twickenham Stadium and will not feature in the forthcoming Rugby World Cup in France.

Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints) is called into the England squad as his replacement. 

“It’s really bad luck for Jack, and we send him our very best wishes for a swift and successful recovery,” said England Head Coach Steve Borthwick. 

“We had Alex Mitchell in camp earlier in our preparation period and he played in the Six Nations as well.

“He was involved in four of the five games during the Six Nations and I’ve asked all of the standby players to be ready to be the next man in." 

England take on Ireland at Aviva Stadium in Dublin this Saturday (kick off 1730).