THIS TIME LAST year Henry Pollock was on the fringes looking in. Northampton Saints came to Croke Park for a Champions Cup semi-final date with Leinster, but Pollock didn’t need to pack his boots. The up-and-coming Northampton flanker would be taking the game in from the stands, meaning he could cut loose across a weekend he later described as ‘a piss-up’.
Twelves months on, he’s coming back to the Dublin looking to leave his mark on the pitch as a blistering breakthrough season reaches it’s toughest test yet.
It’s a challenge he won’t shy away from. His former Saints teammate Courtney Lawes has, somewhat affectionately, described Pollock as ‘a cocky little bastard.’ The player himself seems to have revelled in the opportunity to ruffle a few feathers when brought into the senior England camp earlier this year. Young players are meant to tow the line and earn respect in these situations. Pollock went in determined to make his presence felt, ignoring the accepted rules of non-contact drills and going all-in while running as an ‘opposition’ player in training matches. That approach doesn’t make you a popular figure in the dressing room. Pollock didn’t care.
“I was annoying them in a good way,” Pollock told The Times. “I relished them getting angry with me, or them losing their heads. This little kid was trying to take their position.”
Pollock has been a confrontational presence in the Northampton team. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Pollock, who came through the Northampton Academy, had earned his place in that camp through a series of eye-catching performances in the Saints shirt. Having played just once in the Premiership last season, alongside a host of appearances in the Premiership Cup, the Championship (on loan at Bedford) and for the England U20s, this year he has been a key cog in the Saints machine, featuring 19 times – including five starts in the Champions Cup.
Watch Northampton and it’s hard to take your eyes of Pollock. He’s fast, powerful and brash to a point that rubs some up the wrong way. He might well be the most exciting rising prospect in English rugby, but one recent headline called for ‘Lairy Henry Pollock’ to ‘tone down his showboating antics’.
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The moment in question came during Northampton’s Champions Cup quarter-final defeat of Castres. After running through to score his second try, Pollock took his time before touching the ball down, inviting one more chasing Castres defender to make a desperate dive as he chalked in the score before flicking the ball toward the crowd.
20 years old and expressing himself on the big stage.
That tendency to irritate is part of the Pollock package. Asked to describe himself on the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast this week, he answered “I’d say quite loud. Bring a different energy to other players, whether that’s good or bad energy depends on the person you’re talking to.”
So far, he’s backed up the talk by walking the walk.
The 6’2″, 105kg Northampton player comes from an athletic family. Pollock’s mother ran ultra-marathons, his sister earned an athletics scholarship to the US running 400m hurdles while his father and brother are both scratch golfers. Pollock puts his own baseline fitness down to days running triathlons as a child. The frame is starting to catch up with the engine – last year Pollock was put through a strict weight-gaining programme to help condition him for the step up to senior rugby.
His explosive power has been evident across a superb season which has been pock-marked with highlight reel moments, the standout being his stunning solo score against Sale Sharks in March. A step and two fends carries him past the first three defenders, his perfectly-executed chip and chase beats another and his speed pulls him clear of the final chasing trio.
That was one of 11 tries for the flanker this season, including a brace for England on his Test debut against Wales. Pollock was disappointed earlier in the championship to be released to play for the England U20s against Ireland and France, feeling he was ready for a bigger stage. Cardiff was a nice welcome to senior international rugby but not a true test of what’s needed to mix it with the big boys, with Wales already beaten when he was introduced for the final half hour.
Leinster will provide the biggest challenge of his young career so far, the added spice coming in the fact the game arrives just days before Andy Farrell names his British and Lions squad in London next Thursday. Farrell will have the bulk of that selection pencilled in already but this weekend is the final chance to push yourself onto the plane.
Pollock scored two tries on his England debut. Andrew Fosker / INPHO
Andrew Fosker / INPHO / INPHO
If Pollock can excel against the likes of Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier, then Farrell might just feel the one-Test rookie is ready for a summer series in Australia.
Leinster will be wary of the spark Pollock carries, but more telling will be how he manages the uglier side of the contest. This was a three-point game when the teams met at the same point last season, Northampton summoning a late surge to make for a nervy finish, but a year down the road Leinster look a more complete team while Northampton – Premiership champions last year – have moved in the opposite direction. Phil Dowson’s men have won just seven of their 15 league games but have looked closer to their old selves in recent weeks as a more recognisable matchday 23 has fallen into place.
Northampton can still be a sharp attacking force – scorching Bristol for seven tries last weekend – and will need to be clinical and accurate against a Leinster side yet to conceded a single point in this year’s knock-out stages.
Pollock feels at his best when he’s confrontational and he needs to bring an edge in his contact work and use his jackal threat tomorrow, with Northampton acknowledging they need to front up physically if they are to dent this Leinster machine.
This is the stage on which Pollock feels he belongs. This is the time to show the world why.
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Leinster will be toughest test yet for Northampton's 'cocky' rising star Henry Pollock
THIS TIME LAST year Henry Pollock was on the fringes looking in. Northampton Saints came to Croke Park for a Champions Cup semi-final date with Leinster, but Pollock didn’t need to pack his boots. The up-and-coming Northampton flanker would be taking the game in from the stands, meaning he could cut loose across a weekend he later described as ‘a piss-up’.
Twelves months on, he’s coming back to the Dublin looking to leave his mark on the pitch as a blistering breakthrough season reaches it’s toughest test yet.
It’s a challenge he won’t shy away from. His former Saints teammate Courtney Lawes has, somewhat affectionately, described Pollock as ‘a cocky little bastard.’ The player himself seems to have revelled in the opportunity to ruffle a few feathers when brought into the senior England camp earlier this year. Young players are meant to tow the line and earn respect in these situations. Pollock went in determined to make his presence felt, ignoring the accepted rules of non-contact drills and going all-in while running as an ‘opposition’ player in training matches. That approach doesn’t make you a popular figure in the dressing room. Pollock didn’t care.
“I was annoying them in a good way,” Pollock told The Times. “I relished them getting angry with me, or them losing their heads. This little kid was trying to take their position.”
Pollock, who came through the Northampton Academy, had earned his place in that camp through a series of eye-catching performances in the Saints shirt. Having played just once in the Premiership last season, alongside a host of appearances in the Premiership Cup, the Championship (on loan at Bedford) and for the England U20s, this year he has been a key cog in the Saints machine, featuring 19 times – including five starts in the Champions Cup.
Watch Northampton and it’s hard to take your eyes of Pollock. He’s fast, powerful and brash to a point that rubs some up the wrong way. He might well be the most exciting rising prospect in English rugby, but one recent headline called for ‘Lairy Henry Pollock’ to ‘tone down his showboating antics’.
The moment in question came during Northampton’s Champions Cup quarter-final defeat of Castres. After running through to score his second try, Pollock took his time before touching the ball down, inviting one more chasing Castres defender to make a desperate dive as he chalked in the score before flicking the ball toward the crowd.
That tendency to irritate is part of the Pollock package. Asked to describe himself on the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast this week, he answered “I’d say quite loud. Bring a different energy to other players, whether that’s good or bad energy depends on the person you’re talking to.”
So far, he’s backed up the talk by walking the walk.
The 6’2″, 105kg Northampton player comes from an athletic family. Pollock’s mother ran ultra-marathons, his sister earned an athletics scholarship to the US running 400m hurdles while his father and brother are both scratch golfers. Pollock puts his own baseline fitness down to days running triathlons as a child. The frame is starting to catch up with the engine – last year Pollock was put through a strict weight-gaining programme to help condition him for the step up to senior rugby.
His explosive power has been evident across a superb season which has been pock-marked with highlight reel moments, the standout being his stunning solo score against Sale Sharks in March. A step and two fends carries him past the first three defenders, his perfectly-executed chip and chase beats another and his speed pulls him clear of the final chasing trio.
That was one of 11 tries for the flanker this season, including a brace for England on his Test debut against Wales. Pollock was disappointed earlier in the championship to be released to play for the England U20s against Ireland and France, feeling he was ready for a bigger stage. Cardiff was a nice welcome to senior international rugby but not a true test of what’s needed to mix it with the big boys, with Wales already beaten when he was introduced for the final half hour.
Leinster will provide the biggest challenge of his young career so far, the added spice coming in the fact the game arrives just days before Andy Farrell names his British and Lions squad in London next Thursday. Farrell will have the bulk of that selection pencilled in already but this weekend is the final chance to push yourself onto the plane.
If Pollock can excel against the likes of Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier, then Farrell might just feel the one-Test rookie is ready for a summer series in Australia.
Leinster will be wary of the spark Pollock carries, but more telling will be how he manages the uglier side of the contest. This was a three-point game when the teams met at the same point last season, Northampton summoning a late surge to make for a nervy finish, but a year down the road Leinster look a more complete team while Northampton – Premiership champions last year – have moved in the opposite direction. Phil Dowson’s men have won just seven of their 15 league games but have looked closer to their old selves in recent weeks as a more recognisable matchday 23 has fallen into place.
Northampton can still be a sharp attacking force – scorching Bristol for seven tries last weekend – and will need to be clinical and accurate against a Leinster side yet to conceded a single point in this year’s knock-out stages.
Pollock feels at his best when he’s confrontational and he needs to bring an edge in his contact work and use his jackal threat tomorrow, with Northampton acknowledging they need to front up physically if they are to dent this Leinster machine.
This is the stage on which Pollock feels he belongs. This is the time to show the world why.
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