Henry Pollock has 'target on' on his back warns ex-Leinster star

Leinster legend Rob Kearney has warned Henry Pollock that he will have a bounty on his head at the Aviva Stadium this weekend.

The 20-year-old has received rave reviews for his performances since breaking into the Northampton side and brought the spotlight onto himself with his try celebrations too.

While many fans have welcomed Pollock’s antics, claiming they are just what rugby union needs, Kearney says Leinster will have noted them with interest ahead of Saturday’s Champions Cup semi-final.

He predicts there will be the equivalent of a ‘Wanted’ poster with Pollock’s face on in Dublin.

“There will be a target on him for sure and he’s put that target on himself,” said Kearney.

“He’s young and there’s an element of a breath of fresh air to how he carries on. There’s also an element of: ‘You’re learning your trade, you’d just be better off keeping the head down.’

“The battle of himself and Josh van der Flier is going to be huge.

“Josh was head and shoulders a couple of seasons ago above any other player in the world.

“He had a little bit of a dip in the Six Nations in terms of his own form along with, you could argue, a lot of the Irish team.

“But he was one of the guys who really bounced back in that last round of 16 and the quarters a few weeks ago.”

While most observers discount the relevance of Leinster’s surprise defeat against the Scarlets in the URC last weekend, given that they fielded a second team, the former Ireland full-back feels it will actually help Leo Cullen’s side.

“When I was playing for Leinster in these games when you got a rest the week before a big game, I often – in a perverse sort of way – enjoyed it when we had a loss,” he said.

“Everyone comes in on Monday morning with a focus and a disappointment and a realisation that we’re not where we need to be.

“Sometimes I think that boot up the backside the week before is the best thing to sharpen the focus of the whole environment – coaches, players, staff.

“I think Northampton have an enormous challenge ahead of them. If they do win this game, it’ll be up there with one of the greatest victories of the club – and that’s taken into consideration that they have won big tournaments.”

Rob Kearney is part of the Premier Sports team bringing all the action from the Investec Champions Cup semi-final between Leinster and Northampton Saints this Saturday. With a full-hour of build-up from the Aviva Stadium, join the Premier Sports team of Martin Bayfield, Pat Lam, Lawrence Dallaglio, John Barclay, Andy Goode, Miles Harrison, Ryan Wilson and analyst Ross Hamilton for this must-see international club rugby showdown. All the action starts at 4.30pm on Premier Sports 1.  To watch visit www.premiersports.com .