- Northampton flanker marked his first Test appearance by touching down twice
- He came on smiling and geeing up his senior team-mates during the second half
- Tommy Freeman hailed his impact, saying how ‘nothing fazes’ the ‘special’ star
Henry Pollock’s two-try debut for England led to him being hailed as a ‘joke’ – and a claim that he was so sure of scoring, he was practising his celebration on the eve of the game.
The Northampton flanker and stand-out star of the national Under 20s’ World Cup triumph last year marked his first Test appearance by touching down twice against Wales, after he came on smiling and geeing up senior team-mates in the second half.
Pollock is known as a confident, assertive character and that was apparent as he ran amok and wound up opponents.
Fellow Saint Tommy Freeman was asked about Pollock’s instant impact. He said: ‘Oh, he’s a joke. He’s unbelievable. I don’t want to big him up too much, but he brings some sort of energy like you’ve never seen before in a 20-year-old.
‘I remember my first game… I was shaking in the corner, all nervous. But this guy, nothing fazes him.
‘I remember last night as well. He was in my room telling me he was going to get his first try on the wing – then he gets it. He was doing the try celebrations. But that’s the type of guy he is in and fair play, he backs it up. That kid’s pretty special.’
England’s Henry Pollock confidently predicted how he would score against Wales
Pollock touched down twice and even practiced his celebrations the night before
Pollock himself denied Freeman’s pre-match celebration story, saying: ‘He’s completely lying, I never did that!’
Assessing his dynamic, nerveless cameo, he added: ‘I wanted to be myself, whether that’s giving energy on the pitch or energy in training, and I hope I did that.’
