HENRY POLLOCK ‘MANIA’ HAS TAKEN OFF
If you want an idea of Henry Pollock mania sweeping the nation, just speak to his team-mates and look at the Northampton Saints club shop.
Alex Mitchell dubbed the 20-year-old rugby union’s answer to darts sensation Luke Littler after his meteoric rise continued with selection for the British and Irish Lions squad this week.
The Pollock zeitgeist has long been a subject of fun for club colleagues, with fellow Lion Tommy Freeman jokingly begging for fewer headlines on Friday, but you only have to look at items on sale in Northampton’s shop to realise this is just the beginning.
Saints are planning to sell headbands with his name on it this weekend and men’s and women’s jerseys with his name on the back have sold out in regular sizes.
An online auction of player memorabilia from this season has also proven Pollock’s new-found popularity is sweeping across rugby. A signed match ball is already at £305, while a match-worn away jersey, which is also signed and has over a month of bidding left, has reached over £750.
Saints, the reigning Premiership champions, contributed four members of the 38-man group that was unveiled by the Lions. Fin Smith and Mitchell complete the quartet, who are all rested for Sunday as Phil Dowson rotates his squad for a trip to Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership.
Having secured their place in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final against Bordeaux-Bègles later this month, they celebrated Lions selection together on Thursday evening at a gathering hosted by Northampton captain Fraser Dingwall.
Mitchell, among the most influential figures in a thrilling victory over Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-final last weekend, was the first to draw parallels between Pollock and Littler, the 18-year-old world champion.
“He has been fantastic hasn’t he?” said the scrum-half of Pollock. “When he came through the academy last year, we knew he was going to be a quality player. We just didn’t know how soon that was going to be.
“He had everything there. He had the energy, the talent, the mind-set; pushing other people. At the start of the year, he was struggling to get into the Saints side but as soon as he got his opportunity he took it.
“He loves the limelight. He is so confident. He is obviously a quality player and it is class to see. It is great stories like this, similar to Luke Littler. People love it. It is fantastic to have someone like that around the squad.”
Mitchell suggested that a sense of “freedom” has helped Pollock to meet every challenge he has faced thus far. “A lot of boys who have come through the system, they stick to a system or overthink things,” added Mitchell.
“He is full of heart. He is being himself and that is what people love to see. I am buzzing for him that he got selected for the Lions. I think he deserves it. He has got a very bright future.”
All being well, Pollock will travel to Australia with a single cap; that coming after a half-hour cameo for England off the bench in Cardiff at the end of the Six Nations.
Freeman scored in each of England’s fixtures that tournament and has consolidated that purple patch by dotting down in each of his subsequent six matches for Northampton. A hat-trick at the Aviva Stadium helped down Leinster and brought the wing’s spree to 15 tries in his last 10 matches.
The 24-year-old was sitting next to Pollock when the latter was the first Saints players to be confirmed as a Lions tourist.
“He’s getting so much, guys, honestly,” Freeman told journalists on Friday. “Give it to someone else. He’s got all these [social media] followers; he’s just nailing it, isn’t he? It’s unbelievable. He’s one hell of a character.
“You just want to give him s---, but you can’t. Until he plays really crap, you can’t. He’s just a legend. I just hope it continues and he keeps doing this thing, strutting about the way he does.
“I do think rugby needs it. I’m not saying it’s in a bad spot, but it needs characters. It needs people to [bring] interest. There are Pollock headbands going for sale and, yeah, you need that.”
Pollock was first introduced to the Lions aged 12 when watching the 2017 series alongside his father and brother, recognising it as “the pinnacle of the sport”. Pollock revealed that his stunning solo try against Sale Sharks in March caused him to believe that the 2025 tour could be a possibility, chiefly because of “mates messaging me saying ‘what a try’”.
“Probably the end of the Six Nations, potentially,” Pollock said of when Lions selection first appeared on his radar. “Or maybe that Sale away game. I think after that try, potentially, the hype over it in the media did increase. I thought about [the Lions] then.
“But I’ve not been going into games trying to think about that. I’ve just been trying to do my job for the team, whether that’s hitting rucks or throwing a line-out.”
Maro Itoje, named as captain of Andy Farrell’s squad, has urged the tyro to be himself and Pollock intends to do precisely that while pushing for game-time Down Under.
“I don’t think the coaches would have picked me unless they thought [I could aim for the Test side],” Pollock said. The last year has been mad, a whirlwind and everything has come so fast and I am definitely going on the tour to try and play. I don’t want to sit there and watch… but if I am doing that I would be happy to.”
Pollock’s evident popularity at Saints is aided by his sense of humour and he signed off with tongue in cheek on the tradition of the youngest tourist carrying around BIL, the Lions mascot.
“I feel bad for him spending time with me,” Pollock said. “It is going to be a long trip, so all the best to him.”
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