Northampton and England back rower Henry Pollock is the talk of rugby again today after a stunning individual performance inspired Saints to the Gallagher Prem title at a packed Twickenham.
Pollock, playing at number eight for the entire match, was the standout player in the 26-17 win over Exeter and is receiving rave reviews from some major rugby figures in the aftermath.
The English media are purring about the 21-year-old after his man-of-the-match performance, with Planet Rugby saying the “Pollock haters were humbled”.
Ireland and Lions legend Brian O’Driscoll was hugely impressed, telling TNT Sports his divisive personality and off-field commercial interests since signing with promoter Eddie Hearn are no issue if he delivers on the pitch.
“He can do all of that because there is something behind it all in work-rate and graft,” O’Driscoll said.
“The thing is, players like that don’t survive for long in a team environment if they are not delivering, and he is. The amount of carries, the tackle count was phenomenal. He gets through so much work and has key moments.
“Even though we didn’t see any big long runs, we saw hard carries in close quarters. No wild genius but we saw consistency, effort. That’s what you want when it comes to an arm wrestle. It’s about getting stuck in with your team-mates and that is why he was man of the match.
Wales legend Sam Warburton added: “On all accounts, everyone who has ever met him says he is such a lovely down-to-earth guy. He loves the big stage which is great and he has got even better these last six weeks.
“His maturity was the one thing that was going to challenge him but he is a very mature player and he’s coupled that with a very selfless performance today. He has shone.”
Planet rugby awarded Pollock a 9/10 for his performance, writing: “Even the hardiest of Pollock haters would struggle to claim that he wasn’t sensational. He was constantly on the ball and led the charts for players beaten, with eight defenders left in his wake.
“In defence, he was ferocious, making a joint team high of 15 tackles and did brilliantly to null the threat of Feyi-Waboso during none of his trademark runs. His 76th-minute turnover was met with a stadium-wide cheer and echoes of ‘Shoe Army’.”
Former England player Stuart Barnes wrote in The Times: “The favourites never found their best game. Henry Pollock was the exception. He was unquestionably the man of the match. Stripping Exeter ball-carriers, frequently carrying over the gainline; his timing of the pass was as good as you would expect from a Test centre, let alone a back-row.”