England’s Jack van Poortvliet has been added to the British and Irish Lions squad for Friday’s warm-up game against Argentina at Aviva Stadium.
The Leicester Tigers scrum-half, who had been due to feature for England in their game against a France XV on Saturday, has linked up with the squad this morning as cover for Jamison Gibson-Park, who is carrying a minor injury.
Gibson-Park was a late withdrawal from Leinster’s squad for last weekend’s BKT United Rugby Championship final win against the Bulls.
The Lions say the Ireland scrum-half is “managing a minor glute strain”, with Van Poortvliet supplementing England team-mate Alex Mitchell and Wales’ Tomos Williams as the specialist nines this week.
Van Poortvliet made his England debut against Australia in Perth in 2022 and has since won 15 caps for his country.
The 24-year-old played 23 times for the Leicester Tigers in all competitions this season, scoring six tries, while he started in Saturday’s Premiership final defeat to Bath.
The injury to Gibson-Park is unlikely to have a major impact on his tour, with the Lions set to depart for Australia at the weekend.
Their first of nine games in Australia takes place in Perth on Saturday, 28 June against Western Force, with their opening Test against the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday 19 July.
