England and Leicester Tigers scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet takes defence tips from Maxime Lucu

England and Leicester Tigers scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet, 25, has been studying the defensive game of Bordeaux-Bègles' Maxime Lucu to improve his own defensive work ahead of England's Nations Championship campaign. Rather than focusing on the more commonly cited Antoine Dupont, van Poortvliet has been analysing how Lucu, part of the European champion side, performs defensively in the line. Van Poortvliet highlighted that defending in the line has become an increasingly important aspect of the number nine role.