LONDON :Andy Farrell was a rugby league international at 17 and captained his country at 21 so he was never likely to be phased by the “youth” of 20-year-old Henry Pollock, the most eye-catching name in the British and Irish Lions squad.
The feisty flanker began the season as an England under-20 with one Premiership game under his belt but he now has a full England cap – and two tries – is in the European Champions Cup final with Northampton and has been shortlisted for the tournament’s player of the year after bagging seven tries
Pollock was already obviously on Farrell’s radar but he became an unmissable blip last Saturday when he starred in front of the watching Lions coach in his club’s European semi-final win over a Leinster team who would go on to supply 12 Lions in the squad named on Thursday to tour Australia.
A flash of individual brilliance, when he skinned flyhalf Sam Prendergast on the outside like a winger, was an eye-popping moment but Farrell is as likely to have been more impressed by Pollock’s work in the trenches as he battled at every breakdown and was still doing so in the final, decisive seconds when Saints forced the winning turnover on their own line.
“When you see a player like that it doesn’t matter what age he is, if you are good enough, you are old enough,” Farrell said after announcing his 38-man squad where the battle for back row berths was probably the most competitive of all his decisions.
“I’ve heard a lot of stuff, not just about Henry, but all youngsters, that they are confident and cocky, but what do we want? Do we want a kid to show his confidence at 23 or 24 or at 20? It’s about the here and now. If he’s performing against the quality that he has been doing, then he’s ready.
“You can see the fight in him and I’m sure he’ll push the others who didn’t realise he was coming. He should relish that.”
Given how unfazed Pollock was reported to have been when he joined the England camp, he looks very likely to do exactly that.
The star performer in England’s World under-20-winning team last year, he was already brimming with what some labelled arrogance but what his admirers called justified self-belief.
He had already upset, then won the respect of Courtney Lawes at Northampton and then did the same to his England senior colleagues when Steve Borthwick promoted him during the Six Nations.
When he finally got his chance as a 48th-minute replacement in the final game against Wales he grasped it as many thought he would, by charging over for two tries in a crushing England victory.
It still seemed a huge leap to make the Lions, however, particularly with the quality of flankers at Farrell’s disposal.
Pollock though looks a special sort of player. Blessed with a back’s pace, he is powerful and athletic and also has the snarling, aggressive attitude that is a given for all the best number 7s.
“I’ve watched him a couple of times live and I like what I see,” Farrell said. “He’s trying to make a difference. There’s an energy and a bounce about him and that’s how you tend to have big moments in the game. That’s what I like to see in his game.”
