'Mad' rise of the game's new poster boy

SPOTLIGHT: When Northampton Saints flank Henry Pollock scored a barnstorming double against Stade Francais in the Champions Cup pool stages in January, he was not close to being involved in England’s upcoming Six Nations squad.

Five months later, he has made his Test debut, been named in the British and Irish Lions tour squad, and scored six more times for his club.

The 20-year-old’s form has been crucial in the Saints’ run to Saturday’s Champions Cup final against Bordeaux-Begles in Cardiff.

“The journey has been mad,” former England Under-20s captain Pollock told reporters.

“It’s every rugby kid’s dream to play in these European finals and these big stages.

“I can’t wait to get it started.”

Pollock, a UFC and golf fan, shot to fame at international level exactly seven weeks after his 20th birthday, dotting down for another double on his England bow against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in March.

One of his six touchdowns since then came in the emphatic Champions Cup semifinal win at four-time winners Leinster, which came days before the Lions squad was announced.

“It was only really in the last six weeks leading up to the Lions that his place was being considered,” retired former England back row forward Lewis Moody told AFP.

“All of a sudden, he went from being considered to being an absolute, in my opinion, an absolute nailed on.”

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Pollock-mania

Pollock has now become a poster boy for not just Northampton but the English game on the whole.

Fans wear black headbands in his honour, children have ‘Pollock’ on the back of their shirts, and his energetic personality makes him popular on social media.

“I love his rise, it’s awesome to see,” Northampton’s England wing Tommy Freeman told The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast last week.

“It’s painful though when he comes up to you and says: ‘Mate you have 20 caps for England, I’ve got one, and you’ve got 50,000 followers and I’ve got 111,000’,” Freeman jokingly added.

Pollock and Freeman, as well as fellow Lions squad inclusions Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith, are members of the current Saints generation combining an attractive game on the field with impressive results.

“The fact that you have a few guys that come through at the same age, able to support each other,” Moody said.

“I think that’s massive,” he added.

This weekend, Pollock is set to start for the Saints as they eye a first Champions Cup title since 2000.

It also marks his first return to the Welsh capital since his sensational Test debut two months ago.

“Those memories are very fond,” Pollock said.

“I look back on that day, it was quite a blur.

“It will be cool to go back and see the stadium again in ‘real life’ and hopefully relive those good memories.”

What a run to the #InvestecChampionsCup Final 🔥@SaintsRugby‘s best moment?

Get your tickets to the Principality Stadium before they’re gone ➡️ https://t.co/O7bnPkk91G pic.twitter.com/Ft2Zm8QeDt

— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) May 20, 2025