Borthwick called on Premiership-winning Northampton number nine Alex Mitchell, Bath’s Ben Spencer and Bristol’s Harry Randall for the summer Test matches against Japan and New Zealand.
Van Poortvliet, who has earned 14 caps since making his England debut against Australia in the summer of 2022, said he refused to dwell on what his pre-World Cup injury last year has cost him as others further solidified their place on the international stage.
“You get dealt your cards in injuries, or the timing of it, and that is out of your control, freak stuff like that, so I just have to control what I can control,” Van Poortvliet said.
“For me, that’s to focus on myself and I’m not too worried about others.”
He said a pre-season working under new Tigers boss Michael Cheika, the former Australia and Argentina head coach who led Leinster Heineken Cup glory in 2009, was a positive to come from his England omission.
“It was then a focus on ‘right, I have a big opportunity now, with a longer pre-season, to improve in the areas I want to improve on’ and I’ve come back refreshed, fit and ready to go.
“The pre-season has allowed me to do that and I’m feeling really good.”
