Oakham School welcomes back Rugby Star
This week Oakham School welcomed back Old Oakhamian and England and Leicester Tigers rugby player Jack Van Poortvliet (’19).
Jack gave pupils rugby tips and advice and answered questions about his time at Oakham. He also helped coach some of the rugby teams and donated an England shirt from his debut test against Australia to the School. Moreover, a few Lower School girls had the opportunity to tell him about the four tries they had scored the previous weekend, which led to a win for their team.
As a pupil, Jack captained the Oakham School 1st XV team before going on to play for England U18s as Scrum Half. In July 2021, he captained England U20 to a Six Nations Grand Slam. He also became the inaugural winner of the U20 Player of the Championship award. He made his England debut in July 2022 and has just been selected for the England Men’s squad for next week’s training camp ahead of the 2023 Six Nations Rugby tournament.
Jack was happy to be back at his former school and enjoyed meeting all the pupils, visiting his former House ‘Wharflands’ and catching up with the Matron, Sue!
Director of Rugby, Andy Rice, said, “It was a pleasure to welcome back Jack and the pupils were excited to meet ‘their hero’. The rugby teams enjoyed being able to benefit from his expertise and his visit helped them understand that it is possible to progress to his level.”
In other rugby news Form 6 pupil Toby played for England U20s v Scotland, Old Oakhamian Jack Van Pootvliet started for England vs Scotland in the Six Nations tournament and Old Oakhamian Fred Davies scored a Premiership debut for Bristol Rugby.
Oakham has one of the most impressive rugby records in the country with high-calibre players, including Hamish Watson, Alex Goode, Matt Smith, Tom Croft, Lewis Moody, Sam Colstelow and Cameron Jordan. The success of its former pupils within the sport is a testament to its teachers and staff.
Learn more about rugby at Oakham.
