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Henry Pollock was introduced from the bench and immediately made a name for himself in the East Midlands derby
England international Henry Pollock had another game to remember on Saturday, with the back-rower getting into a confrontation with Leicester captain Hanro Liebenberg just minutes after entering the field.
With his Northampton Saints side trailing by 30 points at Welford Road, Pollock, who had been named on the bench by Saints head coach Phil Dowson, was introduced into the derby contest and he immediately picked up hooker duties, with Craig Wright having been sent to the sin-bin.
And it didn’t go incredibly well for the youngster, with his darts booed and jeered every time they failed to hit the mark.
His first attempt went long and loose, while his second throw to the front of the line-out was adjudged not straight by referee Matthew Carley.
The crowd roared at the decision, which seemed to provoke a reaction from Pollock, who quickly got in the face of his opponents.
“He may end up being a world-class hooker, but he’s got a little bit of work to do,” joked TNT Sports commentator Nick Mullins.
“He’s trying to wind them up and get a fight going! Concentrate on your throwing, Henry,” added Ben Kay as a scrap ensued, prompted by Pollock pushing and and shoving Liebenberg.
“Eddie Hearn has been having a chat with him, has he? How’s your boxing?” chipped in Scotland international Rory Lawson on co-comms, in reference to Pollock recently signing to Hearn’s management group, Matchroom.
Carley can then be heard saying “let me deal with it”, with the man with the whistle issuing Pollock with a warning.
Fans watching on TV were quick to make their feelings known on Pollock’s antics.
“This is so embarrassing man,” wrote one. “Come on — giving it the ‘you want it then’ while hop skip and jumping backwards. And all while your team’s 30-odd points down.”
“Let’s not forget Hanro would properly fill Pollock in,” wrote a second. “I like Pollock but he’s made a complete *** of himself today.”
“I love Henry Pollock. He’s an exceptional player. But sometimes, you can see why others hate him,” added a third.
Dowson said of the 41-17 defeat: “It was very painful.
“We battled very hard, we had to work incredibly hard and after half-time we couldn’t make the adjustments and we couldn’t get into the game and exert any pressure of our own that would have allowed us to get on the scoreboard and claw our way back in.
“Fundamentally, we didn’t get it right, we didn’t get enough ball, we conceded a lot of penalties and we’ve got to wear that and make sure we’re better.
“Leicester were at it, they’re a very good side, like we knew they would be.”
