Bright future beckons for the ‘absolute pest’, Pollock

Since the days that followed England lifting the Rugby World Cup trophy in 2003, English rugby has been on a search for the next star to ­infiltrate the national consciousness in the way Jonny Wilkinson did. Those were the last days of true stardom for England’s rugby men.

One man not yet born in 2003 was Henry Pollock, the 20-year-old Northampton Saints flanker who has just been included in the 2025 British & Irish Lions squad. He has star quality, and is already capturing attention despite only having one England cap. He’s unbothered by rugby’s conservative tradition that favours quiet, respectful Wilko types, and instead goes for jubilant try celebrations and disruptive antics at the breakdown.

Pollock is in many ways the epitome of the England rugby boy image, reminiscent of Will Carling – he’s privately educated, good-looking, well-spoken and his confidence borders on arrogance. In many ways, he fits the cocky public schoolboy image England Rugby has spent the last 20 years trying to move away from.

“When I was growing up there was a lack of idols. There were one or two that stick in my mind – Courtney Lawes, Michael Hooper, Richie McCaw – but not many,” Pollock told BBC Radio Northampton. “For this game to grow and this sport to get bigger, we need more characters, more players the fans want to come and watch. If you look to the football world, fans very much have their players and the personalities they like.”

As hundreds of Lions fans queued to enter the Indigo O2 for the Lions squad announcement on Thursday, the chatter was mostly about Pollock. When the squad was announced, no name got a bigger reaction than Pollock’s. The roars of the audience, drawn from all four nations, almost deafened the room. Many are pleased they can finally support a team Pollock plays for. “I can’t stand him, but I love him as well,” one Ireland fan said. “He is what the game needs to grow and the game needs money more than ever.”

Pollock has ignited the season for Saints, establishing himself in a competitive back row, recently ­leading the charge against Leinster in a 37-34 thriller. His try celebrations are mocking and skim the touchline between being cocky and funny – like checking his pulse after scoring a beautiful solo-effort try against Leinster. Some love it, others loathe it. Crucially, ­people are talking about it.

Maro Itoje, the Lions captain, has described Pollock as “absolutely annoying” and a “pest”. Lawes says that Pollock is a “cocky little bastard”.

His Lions team-mate Ellis Genge described him as a “really well put-together, young, chirpy lad who went to a very nice school. He’s everything I’ve been brought up to despise, but I actually get on really well with him”. Nobody can deny that his star ­potential is as much on the pitch as off it. “He just comes on and wants to win,” England head coach Steve Borthwick said after Pollock scored two tries on his England debut against Wales. “If there’s something I could change and develop with this team through this whole next generation, it is for them to be energised by the shirt, bring all your personality.”

Rugby is ready for such characters. The most followed rugby player in the world right now is Team USA Women’s Ilona Maher, who rose to fame from her funny TikTok videos during the 2024 Olympic Games. Since then, she has waltzed her way around primetime USA show Dancing With The Stars, before heading to the south west of England to play for Bristol Bears. Maher’s brand is her unapologetic boldness and her 8.5 million followers love her for it. Her impact on rugby is so seismic there have been academic studies about the “Ilona Maher effect.” Bristol’s attendance almost doubled for her first match, shirts were sold out, and TV audience figures rose.

There is a tendency to over­-expose characters in rugby – just look at how much Joe Marler does these days, or how quickly coverage of Marcus Smith’s meteoric rise turned on him. One bad game and your position on ­rugby’s pedestal topples.

Pollock doesn’t have that fear just yet. “I hope to bring a different X-factor and just be myself,” Pollock said after being picked for the Lions. “I am not going to go there and go into my shell, I am just going to be myself and hopefully bring a different side to the squad than other players.”

As brilliant as Pollock is, he is in the very early days of his career, and he runs the risk of being overexposed on and off the pitch this summer. His young, chirpy nature should be encouraged, his game given time to be refined, and doing so on the stage of the Lions tour will be a challenge.

Photograph by David Rogers/Getty Images