"Be Yourself" – Henry Pollock reveals what Ellis Genge said to him upon his England debut
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After months of anticipation for his senior England debut, highly rated back row Henry Pollock won his first senior Test cap this past Saturday, at the Principality Stadium. Pollock exploded off the bench to a roar of travelling support in Cardiff, as the Northampton Saints man grabbed two tries in England’s emphatic 68-14 win over a dejected Welsh outfit.
Pollock could not have dreamed up a better start to his senior England career, as Steve Borthwick’s side racked up their biggest ever away win in the Welsh capital. Whilst the bad times continue for Wales following a 17th consecutive Test defeat – the worst ever from a tier one nation in the professional era – Pollock was delighted to make his mark as a senior England player at just 20-years-old.
“I wanted to come into this environment and be myself.” Pollock said, after England ended their 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations campaign on a high. “Whether that’s giving energy on the pitch or energy in training, (I’m) just trying to be myself, and I hope I did that.”
“(I was) Just so excited to get out there. What an amazing stadium to make my first cap in. I was so grateful and so happy. You could see it in my face, just smiling the whole time.”
Pollock’s grin stretched from ear to ear, with the cameras pinned on the Northampton Saints star when he made his way into the action at the 48th minute. Pollock replaced his Franklin’s Gardens teammate Tommy Freeman, with Ben Earl shuffling across to the centres as England packed down for a scrum.
Before the bolter bound up for his first senior scrummage, prop Ellis Genge was seen giving the young gun a quick pep-talk, with Pollock explaining what the Bristol Bears man said as the cameras picked up the rather confrontational exchange.
“He just said, be yourself, don’t go in your shell. I said ‘let’s do this, let’s do this’ and then he mentioned about the scrum and I was like okay, were in the game now.”
“Beforehand, it was bigger than any game I’ve been a part of before.” Pollock added. “It was something that I’d never experienced before – the crowd, the atmosphere. As soon as you get on the pitch, it’s another game of rugby, so just focusing on what I was doing in the moment. Once you’re on the pitch there’s not really anything else.”
Pollock certainly maximised his minutes upon his England debut, as the back row crossed over for a brilliant brace of tries upon his Test debut. Both of the Saints man’s scores came courtesy of the inch-perfect distribution of replacement fly half George Ford, who too got his long awaited involvement in the 2025 Six Nations campaign.
“The first one I held the width. I got a ball from Fordy and was lucky enough to get on that.” Pollock explained, as he reminisced on his first England tries. “Second one was Fordy again, just putting me in good positions. He talked to me, put me on the inside and that’s the experience he has, giving me that little pointer saying inside ball. I was in the right place at the right time.”
“What a win that was. Credit to the boys, they really stuck in there and we fought right to the end. We’re so happy with that performance.”
After the win in Cardiff, England captain Maro Itoje expressed how Pollock had been an ever-present ‘pest’ in the England camp, who has been tirelessly knocking on the door for his first Test match cap. Pollock relished the remark as one of praise from his skipper;
“Yes it’s good, but also they’re probably getting quite annoyed at me. Just trying to be myself and train hard and very fortunate to get the opportunity in this game. It’s really fun.”
“They (England coaches) wanted me to come into the environment and be myself. They gave me the freedom to do that. I’m so grateful for that. They’re such good leaders and world-class players, so to say I played with them is a massive honour.
“I’m very much someone who plans the future out, and see where I’m going. It’s (England debut) come pretty soon, and I’m very fortunate for that. Credit for the England coaches for putting their trust in me. I’m very grateful.”
Looking to the future, and Pollock has his sights set on a place within England’s squad for the Summer. Steve Borthwick will likely be without an assortment of his top talents, with Andy Farrell expected to call up plenty of his players for the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia.
The England squad head to Argentina and the United States for an intercontinental tour, which could see Pollock earn his first England start. When asked what his plan is for the rest of the season, Pollock kept his head down but his dreams sky high.
“Go back to Northampton and keep playing well, keep working hard each week and keep playing well.”
“I’m just going to focus on today and tomorrow. Focus on the next week, I don’t look too far ahead. There are some world-class players in this back-row so I wouldn’t be surprised if lots of them went on the Lions tour.”
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QUIZ: Can You Name Every Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam Winning Captain (2006-2023)
England are defending the Grand Slam heading into the Championship, as they search for a sixth consecutive title in an era of dominance. We challenge you to look back upon previous Women’s Six Nations Grand Slams, and name the captains of each side to go undefeated in the competition.
Unfortunately, the record books only go back so far and the winning captains can only be found as far back as the 2006 Women’s Six Nations. Nonetheless, this list names some of the all-time great Women’s rugby captains, in a quiz that will put your mind to the test!
You have six minutes, good luck!
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