'i Want To Get Under Their Skin' - Arch-pest Pollock Aims For Leinster

Investec Champions Cup semi-final: Leinster v Northampton

Date: Saturday 3 May Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Kick-off: 17:30 BST

Coverage: Live commentary connected BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Radio Northampton

Courtney Lawes called him a "cocky little" something.

Lewis Ludlam's description, external is likewise difficult to print.

Maro Itoje opted for "absolutely annoying" and "a pest".

And they are Henry Pollock's team-mates.

Tommy Freeman, who plays alongside Pollock for England and Northampton, smiles astatine nan inevitable question.

"What's Henry really like? You tin astir apt conjecture what he is like..."

A batch of group person been asking. Because a batch of group person been watching.

It is not conscionable what Pollock has done successful nan past 12 months - winning nan Under-20 World Cup, scoring 2 tries connected his elder England debut, being nominated for nan Champions Cup subordinate of nan year, preparing to statement up against Leinster successful Saturday's semi-final and butting into nan Lions action conversation.

It is nan measurement he has done it.

The 20-year-old backmost statement has swagger and self-possession, and a broadside bid of skulduggery.

There has been nary dutiful trade-learning and spur-earning.

Instead, conscionable prodigious talent, Tigger-ish energy, galloping gait and a presumption that nan world is his for nan taking.

It gets group talking. And has done for a while.

Eighteen months agone a video circulated among Bedford's players.

They had been told that Pollock, past only 18, was joining them successful nan Championship connected loan.

"He came pinch a small spot of a estimation arsenic he was very good thought of by Saints' academy," says Bedford's Alex Woolford.

"This viral clip of him did nan rounds among us. He was being interviewed aft an England Under-18 triumph complete South Africa and swore 3 times successful astir 10 seconds.

"We knew he was going to beryllium very enthusiastic."

He was.

"We were beautiful mediocre successful nan first half against Ampthill," adds Woolford, remembering Pollock's first start.

"Henry tried to springiness america nan hairdryer treatment. He was effing and blinding and telling america we were not bully capable and I retrieve reasoning 'bloody hell, what is this kid doing?'

"But you person to springiness him credit.

"In rugby environments it is very easy to get assurance confused pinch arrogance. For each nan instrumentality he gets, I don't really deliberation he is an arrogant person."

Still, that cognition persists.

Freeman and Woolford opportunity Pollock is simply a different, calmer characteristic disconnected nan pitch, and his Northampton team-mates assured nan remainder of nan England campy that nan incoming youngster wasn't nan "idiot" they were expecting., external

Their PR activity was duly undermined by Pollock gleefully ripping nan shot from Ollie Chessum erstwhile tasked pinch holding a tackle shield successful an early training drill.

"Probably immoderate of nan boys were rather shocked pinch really I was erstwhile I first joined up pinch England," Pollock told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly.

"But I conjecture complete clip they realised this is conscionable him.

"I americium rather loud, personification that conscionable brings a different type of power to different types of players. Whether that is bully aliases bad power depends who you are talking to."

There are plentifulness of fans.

At Franklin's Gardens kids deterioration his unique achromatic caput portion and make cardboard signs asking for Pollock's boots.

They emotion his celebrations. A basketball-style finger-roll lob successful nan guidance of a beaten defender against Castres and an royal swallow dive against Bristol were 2 caller efforts.

They emotion his cunning. Pollock cheekily pulling nan sock of Wales prop Gareth Thomas to beverage a punishment gained societal media traction during nan Six Nations.

And they emotion his abrasive style arsenic he goes nose-to-nose pinch nan opposition, raising tempers and nan stakes.

"I want to entertain and get nan crowd arsenic adjacent arsenic imaginable to nan team," he told BBC Radio Northampton's Saints Show.

"When I was increasing up there, location was a deficiency of a idols. There were 1 aliases 2 that instrumentality successful my mind - Courtney Lawes, Michael Hooper, Richie McCaw - but not many.

"For this crippled to turn and this athletics to get bigger, we request much characters, much players nan fans want to travel and watch.

"If you look to nan shot world, fans very overmuch person their players and nan personalities they like."

Pollock is harder to lukewarm to erstwhile you are up against him.

Woolford, Pollock's Bedford team-mate, besides faced him successful nan Blues' yearly pre-season fixture against Saints.

"On nan transportation he is very loud, very confrontational, very in-your-face," Woolford remembers.

"He conscionable exhausts you, arsenic overmuch mentally and emotionally arsenic physically. But he has backed it up astatine each level he has stepped up to."

In nan teams' astir caller match, 1 Bedford subordinate attempted to sledge backmost astatine Pollock, suggesting he would beryllium backmost pinch nan Blues connected indebtedness by October.

Instead, by then, Pollock was a Premiership regular.

"Being annoying is portion of my game," Pollock agrees.

"I want to upwind nan guidance up; I want to get nether their skin. It is thing I relish."

This play he will beryllium digging into Leinster successful a re-run of past season's Champions Cup semi-final.

The Irish giants could section back-row trio Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan.

"It is astir apt 1 of nan champion backmost rows location is," says Pollock. "I americium conscionable excited to beryllium capable to opportunity I played against them. To stock nan section pinch them is special."

But nan deference won't past past nan first whistle.

"They are beatable," he adds. "We decidedly spot parts of their crippled we tin onslaught and spell aft and hopefully ruffle a fewer feathers."

If Pollock's streak of occurrence extends to nan Aviva Stadium and his last and toughest Lions audition, he could good make nan squad trim 5 days later.

"I person heard nan rumours and stuff, but arsenic a subordinate you can't power that," he says.

"I conscionable person to support playing well, and if it happens, it happens."

So acold successful his career, things invariably do.