Mick Cleary: Twickenham proving ground for Henry Pollock - and a few others

There are plenty of questions in the air for England. Saturday will be a proving ground one way or the other.

England's Henry Pollock during a training session at the England Rugby Performance Centre. Pic: Adam Davy/PA Wire.

A peroxide-blond youngster who pays £290 to style his looks at the Queen’s hairdressing salon in Mayfair might not appear to have much in common with a give-‘em-nowt second-row slugger of Cumbrian farming stock - but it is to Henry Pollock that Steve Borthwick has turned in order to keep his World Cup project on course. 

The England head coach appeared to be on the right track with12 successive wins notched on his belt as he headed to Edinburgh last weekend for further affirmation that his team could be considered genuine 2027 World Cup contenders.