SYDNEY :Henry Pollock’s rise in the rugby world has been nothing short of meteoric and on Saturday he gets a chance to make another mighty leap in a red British & Irish Lions number eight shirt against Western Force in Perth.
The explosive 20-year-old has gone from England under-20s representative, to full international and then Lion in little more than five months and made his debut for the tourists in the loss to Argentina in Dublin last week.
Number eight is traditionally the province of the biggest and brawniest man on the pitch, but Pollock has been given licence by Lions coach Andy Farrell to make it his own.
“He knows what we want from our eights, but he’s got to find his own version of that, as that’s what we want, him being himself,” Farrell said after naming his team on Thursday.
“His point of difference is his ability to see things quickly and act upon that and his line running, for example, is pretty good.
“His awareness of space and how sharp he is in his mind and his athletic abilities are up there with the other lads in the squad.”
After setting the rugby world alight with a brilliant display in his normal openside flanker role as his club Northampton beat Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-finals last month, Pollock was named number eight for the final.
It did not go as well as he hoped with the Saints losing 28-20 to Bordeaux Begles but Farrell said such experiences were all an important part of his development.
“The final was perfect for him as at the top end of club level, and international level, and the top end of British & Irish Lions matches, they’re all experiences that you’d hope to get,” he added.
“He’s had one of those where it all didn’t go his team’s way. He’s got to find a way within that. That’s going to happen on a tour like this.”
By contrast with the 2013 Lions tour of Australia, which Warren Gatland won with what local media described as “large slabs of meat”, Farrell is more blessed with athleticism than size in his loose forwards.
Injury robbed him of Ireland captain Caelan Doris, who fits the more traditional mould, and Ben Earle, the archetype of the smaller, more athletic eighth man, was at the back of the scrum for the Pumas match.
Replacement Jack Conan gives Farrell another bigger man to turn to if he needs to against a Force team who have built a reputation for physicality under Simon Cron, the nephew of longtime All Blacks forwards coach Mike.
Cron senior is now an assistant coach under Joe Schmidt at the Wallabies and he will no doubt be keeping a close eye on the balance of the Lions pack on Saturday.
Western Australia, and the Force since 2006, have never provided that much opposition to the Lions, losing 44-0 in 1989, 116-10 in 2001 and 69-17 in 2013.
Even with four players held back in Wallabies camp, however, the 2025 Force team is studded with internationals hoping to do enough to be in Schmidt’s squad for the three tests in late July and early August.
