Steve Borthwick shares his advice to Henry Pollock ahead of first England start

England head coach Borthwick said Pollock "seems to thrive" on being the pantomime villain

All seven of Henry Pollock's caps for England have been won off the bench. Pic: Adam Davy/PA Wire.

Henry Pollock has been told by Steve Borthwick to express himself after England’s rising star was given his first Test start with the aim of bringing Twickenham to its feet.

Pollock has been promoted to number eight for Saturday’s Six Nations clash with Ireland after all seven of his previous appearances were made as an impact replacement.

The swaggering 21-year-old thrives on the big stage having blazed a trail into England’s senior team at the end of the 2025 Six Nations and then winning a place on the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia.

Now Borthwick wants him to ignite the revival after last Saturday’s 31-20 defeat by Scotland damaged England’s title aspirations.

“Henry’s full of energy, full of character and full of beans and he’s already achieved so much in a very short space of time,” the head coach said. “He’s larger than life and each new level you challenge him with, he seems to thrive.

“As a player, he gets people excited, he gets people jumping up and down with joy. He can bring a euphoria to people that not many players can.

“I will challenge him to express himself, be himself, while also bringing the self sacrifice that a team sport needs. Do both.

“He does it wonderfully well and I am looking forward to seeing him do it from the start.”

Pollock’s promotion sees the back row reshaped with Ben Earl moving to openside flanker and Tom Curry coming in at blindside flanker. Sam Underhill and Guy Pepper drop to the bench to make room.

While the Northampton showman is a favourite among England fans, he is cast as a pantomime villain by opponents with French teams in particular looking to wind him up during European games.

Borthwick added: “He seems to thrive on that doesn’t he? It seems to just keep fuelling more of the energy that is within him. I find it incredible watching him – there are not many players like him. We want superstars in the game.” 

Borthwick has also adjusted his midfield by pausing the experiment of picking Tommy Freeman at outside centre, instead reinstating him on the wing.

Ollie Lawrence fills the number 13 jersey in his first appearance of the Six Nations and Henry Arundell continues on the left wing. Tom Roebuck makes way for Freeman on the right wing.

Arundell starts after avoiding a ban for the two yellow cards he received in the 31-20 mauling at Murrayfield that resulted in him being sent off.

Borthwick has made clear that by opting against further changes in response to England’s emphatic defeat in Edinburgh, he is giving those players who underperformed a second chance.

“I’m backing them to put in a performance that they’ll want to put in after last weekend,” he said. “If the game had gone the way we wanted, perhaps I would have changed them as well. I want players to feel backed.”