The future of English rugby HENRY POLLOCK on emulating Luke Littler, marathons in the desert and the eight Under-20 stars ready to burst into Steve Borthwick’s team

Last Friday evening, Henry Pollock and some of his young teammates gathered around the TV at the academy house in Northampton to watch Luke Littler. They threw a few darts themselves, caught up in the hysteria when the boy from Warrington was crowned king at the age of 17.

Another week, another teen sensation making headlines. Like Moses Itauma in the boxing ring in Saudi Arabia, or Ethan Nwaneri in Arsenal’s midfield, Littler showed the fearlessness of youth in the next generation of English sporting stars.

In the world of rugby, England’s Under-20 World Cup winners are demonstrating their own prowess at senior level. Pollock is one of the shining lights, invited to Twickenham this week by Steve Borthwick, who has one eye on the not-too-distant future.

He has already established himself in the senior ranks at Northampton and will play against Stade Francais in Paris on Saturday in the Champions Cup. It seems that full international honor is only a matter of time.

“It was pretty crazy to see Littler doing what he was doing at his age,” said Pollock, 19, who is settling into a suite in Franklin’s Gardens. ‘We wanted to go to Ally Pally to watch, but that didn’t really suit our playing time. There’s a lot of talent coming in – darts, boxing, football – it’s exciting.

‘Last year was so special for us. That group we had under 20s that won the Six Nations in Pau was the first time we played in front of a packed crowd that doesn’t like you. It was pretty cool.

‘We really had a one-in, all-in attitude. There was a fire. It was a high-performing group, Junior Kpoku started for Racing, Asher Opoku-Fordjour made his England debut in the autumn, Afo Fasogbon played for Gloucester and saw off Ellis Genge. You’ve got Arch McParland here at Northampton, Billy Sela at Bath, Ben Redshaw playing the 80s for Newcastle and Kepu Tuipulotu who made his debut against us last weekend.

‘The path system for English rugby excels. You can look back four or five years when Romain Ntamack’s France team were competing in successive Under-20s World Cups. That year group is now the best in the world. If all goes well, the 1920s group we had is only really from here…’

Pollock did not arrive quietly. He’s a screeching, collar-grabbing, action-packed back-row who backs up the noise with carries, tackles and turnovers. He was mentored as a schoolboy at Stowe by former England and Saints skipper Dylan Hartley and shared a similar appetite for confrontation.

“Dylan basically said, ‘If you come to Saints, don’t give a damn about who people are, just sit in the back next to Courtney Lawes and all the big dogs.’

‘I looked at him and said, ‘That’s not going to work.’ He said, “If it’s not going to work, you’re not in the right place.” I said, ‘But I’m going to get beat up’ and he said, ‘Well, you’re going to have to get beat up a bit.’

So was he sitting in the back of the conference room? ‘No! I sat in the front like a little goody two shoes. I think you just have to be yourself and not go into your shell. He was a good role model because I think he’s doing well.”

Pollock talks while he plays. The words roll off his tongue at machine gun speed, stopping occasionally to catch his breath. He is an energetic person; a trait that can be traced back to his childhood, when he ran triathlons on cold winter mornings.

“My childhood was very, very sporty,” he explains. ‘I went to a very nice secondary school and played all the sports there. Swimming, running I had a really good fitness baseline that gives you that aerobic advantage. My mother tried quite hard in the modern pentathlon – horses, shooting, running – but she had to give it up before the Olympics when she became pregnant with my sister. I did the triathlon national championships when I was very young, 13 or 14.

‘It’s a mental battle. It’s a tough sport. I did the Eton Dorney one when I was 13. I did pretty well at that. Mass start, running into the water, shivering because it’s freezing. It was fun. Maybe when I retire it would be cool to do a few Ironman events. There are some in Hawaii that are this hot and this humid.

‘Maybe the Marathon des Sables in Morocco… running through the desert for seven days and seven nights, the only thing with you are your own thoughts. That would be pretty cool. That feeling of pain and then the relief is the reason you do it. I’ve always had that mentality.’

Pollock has the mentality of a fighter. Rather than Littler’s eye for a double 10 or Nwaneri’s ability to cut in from the flank, the Northampton youngster has a more natural affinity for martial arts.

“I like the way they act in the UFC. I’m looking forward to the fight between Israel Adesanya and Nassourdine Imavov, from Dagestan. Some of those guys almost talk themselves into victory. I grew up watching Conor McGregor. He’s gone off the rails a bit now, but I saw him a lot early in his career, before all the lawsuits.

‘He dominated that sport and turned it into something new. All the talk, the swagger, showing up in a Rolls Royce and the chatting. He didn’t care what people thought or what people said about them, he just talked it into existence and put it in the cage.

‘I’m reading The Law of Attraction, about how to bring your thoughts to life. It’s about visualizing yourself doing things and visualizing them into existence. For our match against Stade this weekend I could perhaps imagine something like number 8 on your channel, as you get into the main room to do the action before it happens. I’m currently playing with that.’

His rugby idol? “On the international stage, Ardie Savea is someone I see at the top of the back row. He’s explosive, he’s everything you want in that loose forward area. Those players who never really leave, like Michael Hooper or David Pocock. That’s something I’m trying to work towards, that nuisance, everywhere on the field.

‘I am not someone who avoids confrontation. Just because I’m 19, I’m not going to show myself. I put 100% into everything I do and never take a step back. If you like it, you like it. If you don’t do it, you don’t do it.’

Pollock was named man of the match on his debut for England A in November, smashing the scrumpet off the head of his opponent, Australian flanker Tom Hooper.

England have a wealth of resources in the back row – Tom Willis looks next in line for a breakthrough – and there is every chance Pollock could make his debut against Argentina during the summer tour while Lions players are in Australia.

“Playing for England is the big goal this year,” he says. ‘When I went to Twickenham this week it was really cool to meet all the coaches and the best players in the country. I just have to play well for Northampton and hopefully the coaches see that. As a young kid coming into Saints, they don’t shy away from throwing you in at the deep end. That is what saints strive for. That gives you confidence.

‘It certainly hasn’t been easy, the transition between senior games, you can underestimate how much it takes its toll on your body. I’m young, so my body is still functioning, but you see the older guys who have been doing it for 10 years and how they listen to their bodies. Everyone can say that playing for your country is the best. When I look ten years ahead, Lions is at the top. All those things you wanted to do as a child. That fight isn’t going away.’

As he leaves the suite at Franklin’s Gardens, Pollock looks at the giant photo of the Saints team that won the Premier League last season. Champagne bottles and ski goggles. “I missed that,” he says. “I was in Georgia in the 1920s.”

Did it inspire his generation to do it all again? “Sure,” he answers, with the confidence of a teenager who hasn’t put a step wrong. ‘Back to back?