Brendan Gallagher: Henry Pollock showing us all he’s the real deal

We here at The Rugby Paper have the advantage of having tracked him for four or five years now.

Indeed history will probably record that the last serious Pollock ‘pile on’ came on May 9 when Leicester Tigers went to work against a substandard Northampton Saints who had already secured a play-off pace and just for once took their foot off the accelerator.

They got walloped 41-17 and when “our Enry” came on midway through the second half, he was soon squaring up boxing style to Hanro Liebenberg, Freddie Steward and a few others.

Silencing the doubters

He copped a load of verbals along with a few condescending pats on the head and shoves in the back for his trouble not to mention a telling off from referee Matt Carley.

He was left looking a tad silly and licking his wounds. For me, it was an ill-judged coltish attempt at humour from a 21 year old kid shortly after signing up with Eddie Hearn and the Matchroom boys but within seconds he was being denounced as a prat and boy blunder and being told to grow up.

Too big for his boots, all mouth and no trousers. The usual stuff.

If memory serves, I made three comments online around this time. First, he needed to concentrate on the rugby, obviously.

Second, that while he was actually on the pitch at Welford Road a misfiring Saints team won what remained of the game 14-7 so at least he had got them fired up and, finally, I predicted Leicester would live to regret their mocking of him.

Thriving: Henry Pollock in action during the Prem final
PICTURE: Getty Images

The real deal

He would be MOM in both the semi-final and final and in a blisteringly good play-off season that proved to be exactly the case.

In those two games he showcased the full range of his talent but, if I had to settle on one defining moment, it was in the first half final when backpedalling in defence and a little flat footed he was suddenly confronted with Manny Feyi-Waboso looking to skin him on the outside which would have seen Exeter Chiefs in for a try.

Not on Pollock’s watch!

In ten metres flat he had closed down the most explosive and powerful wing in English rugby and somehow scragged him down to the ground and forced the Chiefs wing into touch.

There is no other back rower in England who could have made that tackle, possibly even Europe.

You see the thing with Pollock is – and always has been – that he’s the real deal and that’s what really irks some.

Mastering his craft

They are looking for a weakness, an Achilles heel, something to prod away at him to win and that search is becoming increasingly forlorn.

He is getting better and more consummate with every appearance.

Pollock is now mixing the hard yards in traffic with the long flashy runs when his own stellar back division struggles to keep pace.

He is taking big games by the scruff of the neck and controlling them.

He is becoming a master of choosing when to stand off at a breakdown and when to risk body and soul and claim the turnover.

His rips are becoming a real skill with one or two every game, his passing has become precise and clever and he long ago mastered the one-handed basketball style floater as well which he uses to good effect.

Saints have also realised what a potent lineout weapon he can be and he now contributes three of four takes a game.

In that sense he is mimicking what Lawrence Dallaglio did for Wasps and England, moving around the lineout to provide a third or fourth jumping option.

Being a superb athlete and relatively light he doesn’t require a huge amount of lifting so it can all be done quickly and off the cuff, making him hard to mark.

His discipline and focus is improving, he is actually listening to refs rather than painting the picture and reacting when they say the opposition have won the ball.

Thriving at No.8

In the heat of battle he has also become a safe, relatively error free player.

He rarely goes in high on the tackle, he has the speed and flexibility to get into good orthodox low tacking positions.

Nor does he stray offside very often these days, he is learning the outer boundaries of legality or, to be more precise, what a particular ref will allow.

They are not always the same thing.

The one thing that has surprised me is that he is now doing all this mostly at No.8.

Phil Dowson, above, who has forgotten more about backrow play than most of us will ever know, has persisted with him there lately and proved one or two like myself wrong.

I was convinced that openside is his natural position but his improved ball handling and decision making has really seen him thrive at No 8.

With his new-found lineout ability, that can’t even be held against him either in terms of fielding a shorter No.8 than most Test coaches like.

I’m fascinated to see where England play him against South Africa on the fast track at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.