Henry Pollock's tackling needs work but this artist with attitude is the real deal

Times

6 hours ago

A croissant, a cup of tea and a cold, clear-headed analysis of the game the day before. Please let there be some resemblance to the match you watched live on Saturday and to your column in The Sunday Times. In the main my prayers are answered . . . in the main.
This Sunday morning I hazarded to mention Henry Pollock to the sports desk before setting off for the office. The columns offered included a tactical feature on a dog-legged Lions defence, one on restarts (Alex Lowe is handling that particular fiasco) and . . . 'OK, I'll go through Pollock's performance, start to finish'. Online, in print, it's impossible to escape his name.
The British & Irish Lions are the stuff of myth, legends who are determined to remain relevant in an age where professionalism — theoretically — should have killed them off. In reality, they are a brand, a marketing monster. They sell satellite packages for Sky and, yes, they sell newspapers. The hottest commodity finds its way into the headlines and, right now, Pollock is scorching. The first two Sunday papers in front of me to catch a stray croissant flake were proclaiming him to be a potential Test starter, the star act in the Australian tour opener against Western Force.
It doesn't matter whether he is good or bad, everyone — certainly in English rugby circles — is talking about him. The old-timers can't stand his showboating, the new age of fan is in thrall. Like Bob Dylan (not Vylan) sang 60 years ago, 'Everybody's shouting, which side are you on?' Desolation Row, if you are wondering.
In terms of Pollock's readiness for Test rugby, my review over a croissant would be revealing. When you know how the play ends it is easier to focus on the actors and their performance. And then there's the rewind button, too. The numbers tumble into the Barnes notebook. Tackles, carries, offloads and so on. There are plenty of rugby sites online to confirm the statistics, the bald facts.
For example, Josh van der Flier was the top tackler with 21 to his name. Pollock wasn't far behind on 17. God knows, these sorts of statistics are quoted without a second, let alone a first, look. The Northampton Saints back-row forward ticked the tackle box but attackers were half-tackled and able to carry beyond the gainline. They were hung on to, they were grabbed by one leg, hopping their Western Australian way on to the front foot.
In stark contrast, Van der Flier, the Ireland open-side flanker, was much more definitive. So too Joe McCarthy. In the main, when they made tackles, the opposition's attack came to a juddering halt. In the Test arena there's a world of difference between crossing the gainline in the tackle and being knocked backwards. Pollock was unconvincing in the tackle. That could cost him a stunning starting berth.
On the carry he was again incredible. The marketing man's dream, the Lions brand brought to life as he produced a pair of Pollock specials to set up Tomos Williams for a try in the first half and McCarthy in the second. How many viewings online of Pollock the try-creating marauder? He went viral; he's showbusiness.
But he does the hard yards, too. Garry Ringrose's second-half try was a thing of beauty, as Finn Russell and friends manipulated the blind side. Lots of replaying well-timed and overhead inside passes but, for once, Pollock's role is ignored. In the immediate lead-up to the sweet passing, he is hit hard by a defender. There is a momentary pause. If the ball-carrier goes backwards, only one metre, the defence takes the initiative. If the carrier breaks the gainline by the same distance, the phase ball is fast and the attackers have the front foot. These odd metres win and lose you Test matches. Pollock didn't — and rarely does — reverse as a carrier. It's one of those microscopic elements of his game that gives way to the Fancy Dan open-field action.
When he is anonymous in an area of strength, the detractors love to magnify his youthful flaws — or 'flaws', as far as some are concerned. He has a habit of strutting his stuff when he or a team-mate scores. It winds up the opposition, which is no bad thing. In Perth he was at the heart of a small rumpus as Elliot Daly dived in for the third Lions try.
But the croissant watch completely vindicates Pollock. In the build-up to the brilliant Russell quick tap, Pollock is cleverly/cynically tripped from behind by Force's Tom Robertson. If that isn't irritating enough, as the back-row forward sprints into a position from where Russell could pop him a scoring pass, Hamish Stewart, the Force centre, subtly shoves him in front of Russell. Beyond the ball, on the floor, unable to score.
Tripped and pushed, why wouldn't he jump to his feet and give the nearest opponent a piece of his mind and the merest of gesticulations? Nick Champion de Crespigny, the home side's flanker, then reacted to Pollock's legitimate reaction. The speed with which McCarthy sprinted to the mêlée in defence of his team-mate most definitely suggested the players have a soft spot for 'the kid'.
If the spat was erroneously perceived as proof of immaturity, so too the yellow card brandished his way at the end of the first half. I'll confess, in The Sunday Times, I took the detractors' position. Warned by the referee, Ben O'Keeffe, he was the man who went offside 23 minutes later. 'No clear release,' O'Keeffe shouted. But his was an individual yellow card for a collective warning.
Being 20 is a boon for Pollock. There is nothing he feels he cannot do. He may never be this liberated again. His freedom is a bonus but, in the gnarled world of the breakdown, it takes weary back-row warriors to convince the referee they would never go off their feet, come in at the side or — as on Saturday — offer no clear release. It takes a lifetime to become Richie McCaw. TV commentators like to talk of flankers 'painting pictures'. Andy Farrell has to be sure that the picture Pollock ends up painting won't be similar to those of his namesake, Jackson.
But Jackson Pollock, for all the seeming randomness of the finished work, was an artist in command of his craft. Trusting to facts alone, Pollock is an unlikelier contender for the Test series. The worries about his dominance in the tackle may mean his role is that of impact replacement. But make no mistake, this is an artist with attitude. Pollocks to the branding and the marketing, he is the real deal.