LONG READ 'Love him or hate him, Henry Pollock has got the rugby world talking.'

Jonny Wilkinson was an exception in many ways, not of least of which was his popularity in France. They loved him. When he bowed out of rugby, by steering Toulon to the Top 14 title in 2014, a packed Stade de France broke into a rendition of God Save the Queen.

But Jonny was the exception. The French are happiest when the English live up to their stereotype: arrogant, contemptuous, provocative. Brian Moore, Will Carling, Wade Dooley, Martin Johnson, Josh Lewsey, Matt Dawson, James Haskell, Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell, to name but a few of France’s least favourite Englishmen.

To that list may soon be added the name of Henry Pollock, described by the Times last year as a ‘wind-up merchant’ par excellence. The Northampton flanker did that to the French TV commentary team who watched the Saints dispose of Castres in last month’s Champions Cup quarter-final. As Pollock showboated to the crowd after scoring a try, one of the commentators sighed and muttered that this kid was good, but also irritating.

In recent weeks Pollock has received rave reviews in L’Equipe and Midi Olympique, the two newspapers both describing the 20-year-old as a ‘phenomenon’. Midi Olympique devoted the whole of its back page to Pollock last week, and in its introduction called him ‘brave, aggressive, skilful, talkative and provocative’.

The paper was waxing ever more lyrically after Pollock’s performance against Leinster. He is Northampton’s ‘X-factor’, an ‘extraordinary’ athlete who if he plays against Bordeaux in the final the way he did in the semis, will pose some serious problems to the French side.

The French rugby press has a tendency to put one player of his generation on a pedestal. Sometimes it’s deserved, as with Serge Blanco and Antoine Dupont, and sometimes it’s not, as was the case with the adulation heaped on Frederic Michalak and Sébastien Chabal.

The British media have also been guilty in the past of singling out players for ‘star treatment’. Wilkinson, Gavin Henson and Danny Cipriani spring to mind. Of the trio, only Wilko lived up to the hype.

The British media have also been guilty in the past of singling out players for ‘star treatment’. Wilkinson, Gavin Henson and Danny Cipriani spring to mind. Of the trio, only Wilko lived up to the hype. Henson and Cipriani became fodder for the tabloids because of their off-field antics.

Take heed, Henry Pollock. Will he be the next Jonny or the next Danny? His gregarious character couldn’t be more different to the introverted Wilkinson’s, old Mr Poker Face, who rarely revealed any emotion on the rugby field. Nor did he rack up any enemies. He was universally respected.

Pollock has already “put a target on his own back”, according to former Ireland and Leinster full-back Rob Kearney. “Maybe that’s what he enjoys – it’s the manner in which he gets himself up for games. Characters like that are far and few between.”

Despite the brash persona, Pollock is a savvy and balanced young man. He is studying for a Sports Management degree at Loughborough University and he has a wisdom beyond his tender years.  He knows he is playing the pantomime villain. “Being annoying is part of my game,” he told the BBC recently. “We need more characters, more players the fans want to come and watch. If you look to the football world, fans very much have their players and the personalities they like.”

Rugby is conservative by nature and it has a tendency to distrust ‘characters’. It prefers conformity.

Pollock is right. Rugby is conservative by nature and it has a tendency to distrust ‘characters’. It prefers conformity. Remember all the fuss with Chris Ashton and his exuberance when touching down tries. “I long for the day clown Chris Ashton injures himself in the idiotic ‘Ash splash’ act of scoring,” wrote the former Ireland fly-half turned journalist Tony Ward. “Every time he makes that ugly dive the rest of the watching world…dislikes English rugby that little bit more.”

Another player tarnished as being too cocky for his own good was the All Black fly-half Carlos Spencer. He sported tattoos long before they were de rigueur in the professional game, and every season seemed to bring a new hair style. But you never heard complaints from Spencer’s teammates or coaches. “We need players who are going to push out the boundaries, express themselves and create opportunities,” said Spencer’s Auckland and All Black coach Graham Henry. “He’s that sort of player. He’s not a maverick. I find him an absolute pleasure to coach.”

Readers of a certain age may see in Pollock shades of another All Black, He has the same build as the legendary flanker Michael Jones, the same athleticism and the same footballing skill. Jones was 20 when he made his debut in the great Auckland side of 1985; he marked the occasion with a hat-trick of tries against South Canterbury. Two years later Jones was the outstanding player in the All Blacks XV that won the inaugural World Cup.

In character, Jones is more Wilkinson than Pollock. Undemonstrative on the rugby field, Jones’ Christian faith precluded him from playing on Sundays. Such piety would be hard to maintain for a professional player today because so many matches are on Sunday, particularly in Europe.

Rugby has changed in other ways, too, since Jones’ time. It has become a global sport, thanks to television exposure, but so have other sports. Rugby faces competition in a crowded market. It needs characters like Pollock: showmen, pantomime villains, wind-up merchants, whatever you want to call them.

Love him or hate him, Henry Pollock has got the rugby world talking and that can only be good for the game.