'Absolute madness': Ireland fans are particularly furious at Henry Pollock

Ireland fans, in particular, are absolutely furious at England flanker Henry Pollock following the sensational denouement to the 2026 Guinness Six Nations.

Irish rugby fans found themselves in the awkward position of supporting England in the match with France, an English win more or less handing the trophy to Ireland, who had earlier that day dispatched Scotland 43-21 in Dublin.

However, it didn’t quite go to plan, despite England’s heroic performance in Paris.

What has sparked uproar online is the moment, with barely a minute left and England leading, that Pollock chose to move the ball rather than simply hold on.

After brilliantly ripping the ball, instead of taking contact and burning precious seconds, he flung a risky offload that not only went forward but handed possession straight back to France. A few phases later, Maro Itoje was penalised, and Thomas Ramos stepped up to nail a 45 metre penalty, sealing a dramatic French win and Six Nations title and denying Ireland the championship.

Speaking on RTE, former British & Irish Lions flanker Stephen Ferris said: “It was around the halfway line, Pollock got a rip on the ball and stole the ball. Instead of just putting the head down and taking it into contact, going two or three phases and kicking the ball out, the game would have been over, he went for a pass.

“Him shushing the crowd after the try came back to bite him unfortunately and it cost Ireland the championship… He’s the type of player where it doesn’t matter if it’s the first minute or the 80th minute, he’s going to try and run over somebody or score a try from his own tryline if he could.

“You don’t want to take that out of a player either, but at the same time he’s got to understand the current situation that his team are in.”

It was a sentiment that was echoed online.

One account wrote: “I am genuinely lost for words. Ireland would almost certainly have won the championship but for this moment of absolute madness. Perhaps the rugby gods did curse Pollock for the hubris of that celebration.”

Karl Brophy wrote: “I’ve just realised why Henry Pollock inexplicably threw the ball away last night when all he had to do was keep possession for Ireland to win the championship.”

Humble Leinster Supporters Club wrote: “There was less than a minute left in the game and Pollock throws a loose pass instead of going into contact. That’s how close we were.”

Others defended him.

Welsh rugby journalist and writer Simon Thomas defended Pollock: “It would seem that the initial penalty was for a high tackle by Atkinson a couple of phases before the ref actually signalled it, while the match winning kick was landed from where a subsequent offence was committed – Itoje’s deliberate knock on.”

Henry Pollock going from shushing the French crowd to throwing it forward and losing the game two minutes later. Llongyfarchiadau 👏 pic.twitter.com/9pQ3OqfZfv

— TheWelshDragon 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🐉 (@TheWelshDragon9) March 14, 2026

His shushing of the crowd after Tommy Freeman’s try earlier in the game was also hotly debated, one French fan writing: “Sorry, but I love it. The Stade de France didn’t stop whistling at him; he just responded. Rugby is a game for him. He lost tonight. But a lot of respect for Henry Pollock.”

Another fan wrote: “This [the steal] was great from Pollock and he was unlucky spilling the pass. For most players great kudos for the steal but it’s the added extras that cost him. The shushing of the French crowd is just crass and graceless.”