“Who else?”

When Jude Bellingham scored an injury-time equaliser against Slovakia to keep England in Euro 2024, the midfielder raced towards the stands shouting that phrase in celebration.

Henry Pollock chose Bellingham’s more familiar outstretched-arms celebration to mark his hat-trick in England’s 73-8 rout of Fiji, but there was that same feeling of inevitability.

Former England wing Chris Ashton, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, had already predicted it.

“A Pollock hat-trick would be a nice way to end this game,” said Ashton on air as England prepared for a last-minute line-out just outside the Fiji 22m.

Pollock duly took a Tom Curry short pop-pass at a sharp angle, whirling through some ragged Fiji defence and cantering over.

If it feels like you have already seen it before it happens, it’s because you have.

That nose for a defensive hole? See Pollock taking a sharp inside ball off George Ford to score on his Test debut against Wales., external

The gas that took him around Fiji’s Salesi Rayasi for his second? Sam Prendergast choked on the same fumes when Pollock raced past him to score in Northampton’s win over Leinster last year.

The warp-speed kick-chase that allowed him to beat Jiuta Wainiqolo to Ben Earl’s grubber for the first? Sale were similar burned back in March 2025. , externalThat time, Pollock even put the kick in for himself.

It is still impressive, but it is no longer a novelty. It is just what he does.

There is plenty in the 21-year-old’s skillset beyond those show-stopping scores.

Pollock has a huge appetite for work, getting through a mountain of ball-carrying and tackling for Northampton on their run to the Prem title.

He is accurate and astute around the breakdown, choosing his moment wisely to dip for a turnover.

But his ability to be in the right place and the right time if something is on, and to magic up a moment if it isn’t, is what sets him apart.

The question now is how best to how best to set him loose.

Because a sky-high try-scoring rate – one every 56 minutes of Test rugby – will keep posing the question of whether and how Steve Borthwick should play Pollock from the off.

Pollock’s only start in 12 England caps was against Ireland in this year’s Six Nations.

England were swamped that day. A back row of Pollock, at eight, with Ben Earl and Tom Curry either side of him, was outmuscled and outfought by Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris.

Was the balance of that back-row short of some complementary heft? Would Ollie Chessum at six, Pollock at seven and Earl at eight be a better mix?

The Fiji game was never going to deliver a clear answer.

By the time Pollock came on, the Pacific Islanders were 27 points down on the scoreboard, a man down after Simione Kuruvoli’s red card, and losing heart fast.

With space aplenty and defence scarce, it was a perfect playground for Pollock to run amok.

Ashton saw enough to make a judgement, though.

“England have a kid who mixes things up and does it very differently,” Ashton said.

“He has beaten the Fijians for pure speed on three occasions. I don’t know what we are waiting for. Stop messing about and put him in. He has to start next week.”

Borthwick, the man who will actually make the call, would not be drawn.

“You can justify it either way,” he said on whether Pollock should be starting or making an impact off the bench.

“There were a lot of people involved in setting up those tries. I know the media try to highlight individuals.”

In fairness, against such scrappy opposition, it was difficult to draw any definite conclusions about England as a collective.

And there were a few other candidates to share the spotlight with Pollock

Noah Caluori, Saracens’ teen try-scoring prodigy, and Benhard Janse van Rensburg, the former Baby Bok who is newly qualified for England on residency, both came off the bench and went over for popular debut tries.

But Pollock, inevitably, took centre stage.

In Friday’s captain’s run, as England trained on the Hill Dickinson Stadium surface for the first time, Earl jokingly chided Pollock for warming up in front of the touchline photographers.

There was certainly no shortage of opportunities to snap him on Saturday. Argentina await England next time out, Pollock potentially the man in focus again.