July 12 (Reuters) - Pressure is piling on England coach Steve Borthwick to unleash hat-trick hero Henry Pollock from the start when his side face Argentina in the Nations Championship next weekend, but the coach is keeping his cards close to his chest.
The flamboyant flanker showed a remarkable turn of speed after coming on to put the polish on an easy 73-8 victory over Fiji at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday as England ended a five-game losing streak in impressive fashion.
It was yet another high-impact performance from the 21-year-old Northampton player, already marked out as a future star of the sport.
In his 12 caps, Pollock has made only one start and averaged around 30 minutes of playing time per game. With opportunities to experiment before the 2027 World Cup running out, pundits are urging Borthwick to give Pollock a more high-profile role.
“I don't know what we are waiting for. Stop messing about and put him in. He has to start next week," said former England wing and BBC analyst Chris Ashton after the Fiji win.
“He really is the real deal,” former England scrumhalf Danny Care added in his television commentary. “This kid is box office.”
But Borthwick was non-committal after the Fiji victory, stepping around reporters’ questions on whether Pollock would start in Santiago del Estero in the third of England’s Nations Championship fixtures.
"He did a pretty good job coming off the bench, didn't he? Pretty good impact," the coach said.
"Henry is an outstanding player, but we’ve got many real top-quality back-row forwards. He finished his chances really, really well.
“I understand why you focus on individuals, and I myself have also said we want superstars in our game,” Borthwick told reporters.
“But it’s also quite right that I focus on the team that creates the opportunities for somebody to score those tries.”
Pollock’s profile already extends past the English game, where he was the star of Northampton’s Premiership success this season, but his self-confident gait and Cristiano Ronaldo-style celebrations are not to everyone’s taste.
SA Rugby reprimanded the stadium announcer at Ellis Park in Johannesburg after he taunted Pollock ahead of the Springboks’ win over England on July 4 while the crowd also jeered him.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Toby Davis)
