England scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet has signed a new contract with Premiership outfit Leicester Tigers, one day after wing Ollie Hassell-Collins did the same.
The 23-year-old, who joined the club’s development programmes while still in school and progressed from there, made his debut at the start of 2019/20 campaign.
Van Poortvliet played a crucial role as part of Leicester‘s Premiership-winning side in 2022 and an England international debut would follow in July of that year.
81 games thus far
The scrum-half has made 81 appearances for the club to date and captained Leicester for the first time earlier this campaign against Bath in a Premiership match.
“I’m really pleased to be staying at Tigers,” said Van Poortvliet.
“This place means a lot to me. Coming through the Academy, the U18s, all you want to do is play and win for the club.
“The group of players we have, the tight bonds in the squad, all of that goes into the decision but it’s also the supporters, the feeling of playing for a club that matters a lot to people.
“It’s special and I’m very happy to know my future is here at Tigers.”
Leicester Tigers head coach, Michael Cheika, added: “Jack is a quality player and a quality person.
“He’s come through our academy, so he’s grown up with Tigers in his rugby life.
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“He knows what it means to play and win for Leicester. He is already at international level, and I believe there’s still lots of growth left in his game.”
The news follows Leicester Tigers wing Hassell-Collins also signing a new deal with the club.
Hassell-Collins joined in the summer of 2023 and has made 31 appearances for the team to date, scoring 16 tries.
Born in Reading, the 25-year-old made over 100 appearances for London Irish before making the move to Leicester and made his senior England debut in February last year.
“It’s great to have this sorted and to know I’ll be playing my rugby here,” Hassell-Collins said.
“Playing for a club like this is a privilege and I’m enjoying life in Leicester.
Happy at Leicester
“We have a great squad, brilliant coaches and amazing support so there’s nowhere I’d rather be right now.”
Cheika added: “Ollie’s form so far this season shows exactly why we really wanted him to continue his rugby journey at Leicester.
“He still has plenty of upside also and together we can definitely realise that.
“He is a great character in our squad and it’s great that he will be in the green and red going forward.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/this-place-means-a-lot-to-me-england-duo-commit-their-futures-to-leicester-tigers
