England trust Pollock factor to rebound against Ireland

Back row Henry Pollock will make his first international start on Saturday as they look to respond from defeat to Scotland

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE RUGBY CORRESPONDENT

Steve Borthwick remembers in vivid detail his first meeting with Henry Pollock. The England head coach had not long taken the role and had travelled up to Northampton to check in with the club’s contingent within his squad. Before travelling up to Franklin’s Gardens, though, he got a tip about a teenage talent barely out of school but already making waves within the Saints setup.

“I was told when you’re up there you should meet Henry Pollock,” Borthwick recalled after handing the 21-year-old his first England start against Ireland. “He’s a young player with a huge future ahead of him; he’s not yet played for the first team, but you should meet Henry Pollock.” Borthwick heeded the call; there was no shock of blonde hair at that stage, but the youngster still made quite an impression.

“I was stood in the car park and this bundle of energy just bounced up to me,” the England boss continued. “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.”

It feels strange, in a way, that Pollock’s profile already greatly exceeds his relative position within the England squad. While he has served a vital role as a bench energiser in the seven appearances since his two-try debut against Wales at the end of last year’s Six Nations, and earned a spot on a British and Irish Lions tour, clamour for the back rower to start has not exactly been deafening. In part, that has been due to a run of 12 consecutive wins snapped by England’s tough evening at Murrayfield; so, too, the form of a cackling pack of hyenas in the back row.