Steve Borthwick has backed Henry Pollock to thrive in the face of any wind-up tactics from Ireland on his first England start on Saturday, tipping his rising star to bring “euphoria” to Twickenham.
Pollock comes into the side at No 8 as England seek to get their Six Nations campaign back on track. He will go up against a raft of players and coaches with whom he rubbed shoulders on the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia last summer. Borthwick, however, has challenged the 21‑year‑old player to express himself in front of the Twickenham crowd.
Pollock’s excitable nature and his penchant for try celebrations has regularly made him a target for opponents in the past, most notably for Northampton against Bordeaux, and he was involved in a post-match scuffle with the French prop Jefferson Poirot after the Champions Cup final last season. Bordeaux players rubbed salt into the wounds on social media after their victory and, when the two sides met again in the competition this season, Pollock came in for further targeted treatment. He also scored a wonder try down the left wing, pinching the ball from Damian Penaud’s hands in the process.
Borthwick said: “He seems to thrive on that doesn’t he? It seems to just keep fuelling more of the energy that is within him. I find it incredible watching him – there are not many players like him. We want superstars in the game.
“I don’t think he needs any motivation from anything external, which I love – he is so intrinsically driven, he is that character. What you see is exactly what you get. He gets people excited, he gets people jumping up and down with joy. He can bring a euphoria to people that not many players can.
“I will challenge him to express himself, be himself and also bring the self-sacrifice that a team sport needs. He does [both] wonderfully well and I am looking forward to seeing him do it from the start.”
Pollock comes into the team with Ben Earl shifting to openside flanker and Tom Curry recalled at blindside flanker. Guy Pepper and Sam Underhill drop to the bench as a result with Borthwick backing Pollock to spearhead a more dynamic back-row performance than in the disappointing defeat against Scotland last weekend.
“He’s a young man who is full of energy, full of character, full of beans all the time and he’s already achieved so much in a very short space of time,” Borthwick said. “Each new level you challenge him with, he seems to thrive. I want Henry to get the ball in his hands. I want him to find the ball as often as possible. Ben Earl had more than 20 carries last weekend, and I want Henry to have as many carries as possible as well. If we do that, it’s another string to the bow of this team.
“We don’t have a huge pack, we have speed and athleticism in our back row, speed in our outside backs, beautiful decision-makers and talented players at 9 and 10. I want the crowd to be on their feet, to enjoy what we’re doing. Having players who bring the euphoria is wonderful.”
Borthwick cited a key turnover won by Pollock when on Champions Cup duty against Munster last year as evidence of his “drive and character”, and reflected upon his first meeting with a teenage back-row who was “wonderfully different”.
15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Joe Heyes, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Tom Curry, 7 Ben Earl, 8 Henry Pollock.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Guy Pepper, 21 Sam Underhill, 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 Marcus Smith
“Henry was barely out of school but I was told when you’re up there, I should meet Henry Pollock, a young player, a huge future ahead of him, he’s not yet played for the first team but I should meet him,” Borthwick said. “I was stood in the car park and this bundle of energy just bounced up to me.
“Typically when an 18-year-old meets the England head coach for the first time they are usually on the shy and retiring side. But this man is the complete opposite, gregarious, loud, the first thing he said was: ‘How are you, mate?’ I thought, right, you’re different. Wonderfully different and that’s the kind of character we’ve got in the squad. He’s larger than life, isn’t he? Just wants to do well, wants to express himself.”
The suggestion on the Lions tour last summer was that Pollock was not selected for the Test series in part for his inability to get up to scratch with the finer details of Andy Farrell’s gameplan, but Borthwick has no such concerns. “There’s a larger-than-life character who definitely exists,” he said. “There is also the guy who sits and studies, watches and makes sure he delivers when he needs to deliver what is required for the team.”
Henry Arundell has been retained in Borthwick’s side after escaping a suspension for his red card for two yellows against Scotland. The Bath wing faced a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday morning but the panel determined that his 47th‑minute dismissal at Murrayfield was sufficient punishment.
