
Van Poortvliet makes upbeat admission after England battle past USA
The match in the American capital kicked off an hour later than planned due to a lightning strike in the area, with the game then halted by a further half an hour on 29 minutes when another struck within 10 miles of the ground when England were 14-0 up.
The disruption followed several similar incidents at the recent Club World Cup in the US, with champions Chelsea's clash against Benfica delayed by nearly two hours after the Portuguese giants endured an even longer disruption against Auckland City.
Scrum-half Van Poortvliet, one of six England try-scorers at Audi Field, admits the stop-start nature of the contest hampered England's fluency but hopes experiencing it as a group will prepare them in case a similar scenario unfolds in the future.
'I've never experience it before,' he said
'Going into a game, warming up, having it cut off then again after 20 odd minutes makes it really hard.
'It definitely does take it out of you a little bit – but it's probably great to have experienced now.
'You never know situations that might happen in big games in the future, so now we've all experienced that it's probably great for us.
'The staff were brilliant but we probably came out a bit slow at the start of the game. But we came out a lot better after the second stoppage.'
Van Poortvliet, Curtis Langdon, Luke Northmore, Cadan Murley, Harry Randall and debutant Gabriel Oghre all scored to make it three transatlantic wins from three and extend England's winning run to seven matches – their longest streak since back in 2020.
Langdon, Northmore and Murley – post-half an hour delay – all dotted down in the opening period that also saw USA fly-half Chris Hilsenbeck pick up a yellow card.
And Van Poortvliet, Randall and Oghre added three more in the second to help England power to victory.
USA grabbed a late consolation through Shilo Klein to give the home fans who remained something to cheer about but England's work was done as they ended their triumphant tour in style.
England will now enjoy their summer break before gearing up for crunch autumn internationals against the likes of Australia and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
And Van Poortvliet, England's matchwinner in the second Test against Argentina last weekend, added: 'It was by no means the greatest game to watch today but it's good to end on a win.
'It's been a great few weeks and we wanted to make sure we ended on a high.
'I've loved these few weeks with the lads – it's been an amazing group and it's such good fun.
'We're slightly disappointed with the performance but we're really happy with how the tour's gone in general and to get the win.'
Purchase your tickets to the Autumn Nations Series at Allianz Stadium https://www.eticketing.co.uk/rfu/
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Metro
23 minutes ago
- Metro
£48m star asks to be left out of match after agreeing transfer deal with Chelsea
Jorrel Hato asked to be left out of Ajax's squad to face Como 1907 this weekend after agreeing personal terms with Chelsea, according to reports in the Netherlands. Chelsea have splashed the cash across another busy transfer window, sealing deals for Jamie Gittens, Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Dario Essugo and Mamadou Sarr for a combined fee of around £190million. Despite already strengthening at the back with the addition of Sarr from Strasbourg, the Blues have set their sights on making Hato, 19, their next signing and talks with the full-back's camp have been advancing at a pace in recent days. Hato, who is comfortable operating at both left-back and centre-back, has welcomed the interest from Chelsea and the versatile Dutchman is said to be actively pushing to force through a transfer to Stamford Bridge. But while Hato has informed Ajax that he wants to leave, the Eredivisie outfit rejected Chelsea's opening bid and sent a counter offer back to west London for the teenager. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. With talks ongoing, Algemeen Dagblad report that Hato told Ajax head coach John Heitinga that he would 'rather not play' in the side's Como Cup final defeat to Como on Sunday. It's claimed this is 'entirely related' to his potential move to Chelsea, though 'that doesn't say anything about the status of negotiations, which are currently difficult'. Hato was also absent for Ajax's semi-final win over Celtic earlier in the week. However, Heitinga insisted this was because the defender was yet to gain full match fitness having only recently returned to training. Ajax are said to be holding out for a fee of between €55-60million (£48-52.5m) for Hato, who still has three years remaining on his current contract in Amsterdam. Speaking to De Telegraaf on Wednesday, Hato's agent, Humphry Nijman confirmed that Chelsea had opened discussions to close a deal for last term's Eredivisie Talent of the Season. 'Yes, the club [Chelsea] have contacted Ajax,' he told the Dutch newspaper. Hato featured 50 times for Ajax across the 2024/25 campaign and played a key role as the club narrowly missed out on the Eredivisie title after finishing just one point behind PSV Eindhoven. In an interview with Ajax's official website last month, Hato outlined the goals and ambitions he hoped to fulfil in his career. At the time, the Netherlands international was keen to stress that he felt at 'home' at Ajax. 'The smartest thing is to look ahead to pre-season, that's what I do,' Hato said. 'Of course you want to achieve things in the end: the Champions League, a World Cup and a European Championship, I still have plenty of time. I don't think I absolutely have to win the Champions League in two years. 'In the Dutch league, you have to show how good you are against the big clubs. Ultimately, I have to continue to develop the things I am already good at, so that it becomes top. 'How do I describe my time at Ajax? Ajax is home for me. I just feel at home here.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak rejects £96m transfer offer after Liverpool talks MORE: William Saliba provides major update on Arsenal future amid fresh Real Madrid transfer links MORE: Ruben Amorim explains why Man Utd fans must wait for Bryan Mbeumo debut


Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Ian Wright names 'major favourite' for 2027 Women's World Cup after England win
Ian Wright picked out the USA as the biggest threat to England's hopes of winning the next World Cup after the Lionesses successfully defended their European Championship crown on Sunday evening. Sarina Wiegman's side were once again forced to come from behind after Mariona Caldentey broke the deadlock for Spain, the world champions, in the 25th minute of Sunday's nerve-shredding final in Basel. Just as they had done against Sweden and Italy previously, the Lionesses dug deep and found an equaliser, with Alessia Russo heading home Chloe Kelly's pinpoint cross to make it all square just before the hour-mark. The two teams could not be separated after extra-time and it was England who eventually prevailed after another dramatic shootout, with the contest ending 3-1 in favour of the holders. The Lionesses' latest triumph represents the first time in history that an English team have won a major tournament on foreign soil, three years on from the side's famous victory over Germany at Wembley. 'No, I can't believe it!' an emotional Wiegman told BBC Sport in the immediate aftermath of England's victory. 'We said we can win by any means and that's what we have shown again today. I am so proud of the team and the staff. It is incredible.' Asked if she was shocked to win the trophy for a second time on the trot, Wiegman replied: 'Yes, yes. 'I just can't believe it. I have a medal around my neck and we have a trophy. 'It has been the most chaotic tournament on the pitch – all the challenges we had on the pitch against our opponent. 'From the first game it was your first game and becoming European Champions is incredible. Football is chaos.' USA head coach Emma Hayes, who was on punditry duty for ITV, said she had greatly enjoyed watching England up close across the tournament and how they were being managed by Wiegman. And while the ex-Chelsea boss admitted she was looking forward to the 2027 World Cup, she was keen to stress that the USA's qualification was not a foregone conclusion. 'I'm an international manager and I get the opportunity to learn from two of the best teams in the world, not just in terms of how they play but also how they're being managed in all the things that come with tournament football,' Hayes said. 'I was English for 120 minutes, but these two to the right of me [Wright and Karen Carney] have abandoned me now that we're talking about 2027. 'Listen, I cannot wait for it but as we know, we have to qualify for these tournaments and the USA haven't qualified yet.' In response, legendary ex-England and Arsenal striker Wright insisted Hayes' USA side were the overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy in two years' time. 'They're the favourites, they're the ones to beat. They're so good, they're so good!' Wright said. 'If we get anywhere near them I'd be really happy because they're the ones, they're major favourites.' Despite their painful defeat, Wright is confident Spain will bounce back and be a 'problem' for opposition teams in 2027. 'You can't ignore France either, they seem to be really close,' Wright added. 'I don't know what's missing from them, but there's something missing from them. 'Spain as well, if you look from the forwards point of view, if they can get that centre-forward, because that's what they were missing today. 'If they can get that centre-forward to finish it off then Spain will be a problem. 'They need to do that in the next two years, they need to find that. It might be enough time, it might not. But if they do find that forward then Spain will be a problem.' Former England winger Karen Carney, meanwhile, feels Italy could be a dark horse for the World Cup after their 'exceptional' run to the semi-finals in Switzerland this summer. More Trending Asked if Italy could be in with a shot of the title, Carney replied: 'Yeah, I think they were exceptional. 'They're just developing, probably, a little too soon for them for this tournament. 'Every time there's a European Championship, there's a beacon and everyone is investing and getting better and stronger and every tournament we say that it's the most competitive. That's the levels. It keeps growing and growing and that's the way is should be. 2027 will be exceptional.' Are the USA the team to beat ahead of the World Cup? MORE: England warrior reveals she played whole of Euro 2025 with brutal injury MORE: Hannah Hampton was told she would never play football due to a serious eye condition MORE: Hannah Hampton reveals message Sarina Wiegman gave England players before shootout drama


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Watch: Bronze recalls pain she faced playing entire Euro 2025 tournament with huge injury
England 's Lucy Bronze has revealed that she played the entire Euro 2025 tournament with a fractured tibia. Speaking after the Lionesses' victory over Spain on Sunday (27 July) in Switzerland, the 33-year-old full-back opened up about the pain she'd been facing. "No one knew. And now I've hurt my knee on the other leg," Bronze said of the moment she succumbed to a separate knee injury at half-time of extra time. The Chelsea player is now a two-time European champion with the Lionesses.