Van Poortvliet eyes Bordeaux's Lucu as England scrum-half battle heats up before South Africa opener

Jack van Poortvliet has identified Bordeaux scrum-half Maxime Lucu as a key influence on his game as he competes with Alex Mitchell and Ben Spencer for a starting berth in England’s Nations Championship opener against South Africa at Ellis Park on 4 July.

The Leicester half-back singled out Lucu’s defensive work — not Antoine Dupont — as the French inspiration behind a deliberate shift in his own approach. “I took a lot of inspiration from what I’ve seen Maxime Lucu do for Bordeaux this season,” Van Poortvliet said. “The difference he makes for his team in defence is ridiculous.”

Defence has become an increasingly central part of the modern scrum-half’s role, and Van Poortvliet says he has made it a priority this season alongside sharpening his running game. “I’ve taken steps forward with my defence this season. It’s a big area now for scrum-halves because you’re defending in the line and filling in gaps a lot more now.”

The 24-year-old also described a mental reset that has underpinned his progress. “Last season I was stuck in a mindset of trying to be consistent. I’ve learned this year that I can only be consistent with a mindset of ‘go out to stand out’.”

England arrive at the Nations Championship under pressure after a four-Test losing run that produced their worst-ever Six Nations finish. The series takes them to South Africa, then Fiji in Liverpool, and finally Argentina in Santiago del Estero — a 25,000-mile itinerary that leaves little margin for error.

Van Poortvliet said head coach Steve Borthwick has been pushing the squad to shed the fear of failure that can grip players in an England shirt. “You always know that playing for England brings added pressure and can create that feeling of ‘I don’t want to make a mistake’. That’s the big thing we’re trying to push at the moment and Steve has been brilliant at it. We’re trying to push ourselves to play big and make good decisions and whatever you’ve done before, back yourself to do it on this stage.”

Borthwick, he added, is equally capable of delivering a sharp half-time message when standards slip — even when the scoreboard looks favourable. “Even if it looks good on the scoreboard, he might have seen something that isn’t up to standard and he will give you the hairdryer for that. We might be losing and it will be a calmer message. His thought process will be around whatever gets the best response from the team.”