England’s Jack van Poortvliet has been called up as cover by the Lions with Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park struggling. Gibson-Park, front runner for a Test spot, was pulled out in the morning of Leinster’s URC final win over the Bulls on Saturday with a glute problem and is not fit to train with the tourists.
The Lions have described Gibson-Park’s injury as minor and remain hopeful he will be able to travel to Australia with the squad this weekend.
Van Poortvliet was in England camp on Monday in Bagshot and trained all day before getting the call to join up with the Lions in Dublin.
Andy Farrell’s side are preparing for a clash with Argentina on Friday night and need three scrum-halves in camp to train properly.
England’s Alex Mitchell and Wales’ Tomos Williams, the Premiership player of the Year, are the likely 9s for the Puma game but Van Poortvliet’s call up recognises his good form in Leicester’s run to the domestic final.
The 24-year-old has won 15 caps but missed the 2023 World Cup with a long-term injury and hamstring problems curtailed his season until he was recalled by England for the last two games of the Six Nations.
Van Poortvliet’s time with the Lions could be fleeting like Jamie George and Asher Opoku-Fordjour who trained with them last week and on Monday before being handed back to England.
If Gibson-Park does not make it Scotland’s Ben White is another scrum-half option but he is currently involved in the French Top 14 play-offs with Toulon.
