England and Northampton forward has made a huge impact, but his burgeoning profile does not remotely reflect how far he still has to go to become an established Test star

The proud remnants of rugby’s old status as a sport in touch with its followers was demonstrated beautifully at Twickenham in the autumn. One very young lad in the crowd had prepared a huge banner. On it was the following message: “Henry, I cut up my duvet for this, can I have your shirt please?”

The England team were walking around the ground to greet fans after the game, always a popular gesture; nothing was more certain on this earth than that Henry Pollock would see the plea and react to it. He tore off his England jersey, walked up to the seats and gave it to the youngster. The pair exchanged fist bumps. Talk about responding to your followers and giving them something else for the price of the ticket. It was a marvellous gesture.

Pollock, 20, gained further publicity recently when he was nominated for World Rugby’s breakthrough player of the year. It was also suggested last week — apparently, not as a joke — that he has been the sensation of the season. He did not win. All his rivals had become established Test players.

Pollock has never started for England, or come onto the field particularly early as a replacement. On the British & Irish Lions tour, after what I said at the time was a terminally premature selection, he started three tour matches but did not get in the Test side. Could it possibly have been that Andy Farrell, the Lions head coach, realised early on that the promising Pollock was not yet remotely the player that others had assessed him to be?

None of this is Pollock’s fault and generations of actors have found that there is no point being on the fringes of the stage. Pollock has augmented his profile in any number of ways, and good luck to him — his light-coloured hair has now grown into a vast white-blond mass, to add to the fist pumps and gesticulations and hysterical congratulations and the rest.

He has also learnt from Doug Howlett, the former All Blacks wing — and a very fine player he was. Howlett realised that if you cannot score yourself, then a profile is to be gained by being the first to congratulate the scorer as the cameras beam in on the moment of glory. Pollock is a regular attendee.

England's Henry Pollock celebrates after scoring the team's third try in an international rugby match.

Pollock relishes being the centre of attention for England and Northampton Saints

Nothing was more certain than it would be Pollock who would try to find a way of diminishing the significance of the haka when England played New Zealand this autumn. The camera searched unerringly for the back-row forward and his reaction. Rather disappointingly, he did not contribute much more than a licking of the lips. Remember that the Irishman Willie Anderson once advanced directly into the haka at the old Lansdowne Road; remember that Richard Cockerill advanced almost up to the nose of Norm Hewitt at Old Trafford on that marvellous occasion when England broke the bonds of Twickenham by playing up north. The licking of lips was not in that aggressive standard.

A man with blonde hair and a black headband standing with other athletes.

It would also be highly ambitious to believe that there is unanimity about Pollock, and all his buzzing around, within the England squad. At least a few believe he should concentrate on something else; and the whole thing dissolves completely if opponents believe that an England player is taking the piss. That simply makes them angry and more difficult to play against.

He has livened rugby up. Some of us have for years been demanding that the players are allowed to show us their colourful side and their characters, so how can we complain if sometimes that goes just a little over the top?

But what is significant is how little proper analysis there is about his merit as a potential international player. His best position is probably open-side flanker. He has a genuine turn of foot, and not simply because he tends to come on fresh when all the others are knackered.

One explosive, 24-carat moment for Northampton Saints against Leinster was genuine class. He came on a perfect angle and with perfect timing on to a pass, carved his way down the wing and left Leinster for dead on the way to a glorious Saints win last season in the Champions Cup semi-finals.

Leinster Rugby v Northampton Saints - Investec Champions Cup 2024/2025 Semi-Final

Pollock showcased his raw athleticism with his stunning score against Leinster

A good deal of the rest of his canon has been because he was where he was supposed to be against a tiring defence; the praise he got for slicing the ball off the side of his foot, leading to a try for Tom Roebuck in the win against New Zealand, was one of those occasions when the fog of profile blanks out the clarity of analysis.

He has always been a bench man for England to date. So for the easily impressed and the soft-soapers, how many would play him on the open side of the England scrum over the rock that is Sam Underhill? How many would interrupt the heady progress of Ben Earl as a converted No8; or the emergence of Guy Pepper, said by some to resemble the great Richard Hill, on the blind side.

As yet, you see, Pollock is the most famous rugby player the sport has ever seen, in relation to his present achievements. We can go further. He is the first men’s rugby giant of TikTok. He and others can be found in a galaxy of short clips, many of them gloriously funny, although possibly you become just a little queasy halfway through the barrage.

Henry Pollock of England takes a selfie with young fans.

The 20-year-old is a big favourite with young England fans after developing a significant following on TikTok

He is England’s first megastar of the TikTok era, and for that we must praise the accessibility it gives to young players. His character shines through, gives us access to something different. It is the reason that the young lad at Twickenham with his duvet received the shirt he wanted. It was a lovely moment.

But rugby is a deadly serious business. Some are entirely confusing fame and accessibility in life and on social media with true, ironclad class as a rugby player. The two are miles apart. We hope that Henry can continue being accessible. But his next step is to force himself into big teams as a regular starter, and that prospect is also a distance away.

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Henry Pollock has livened up rugby — now he must become a serious player