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

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.

Yet that mission hit the Murrayfield buffers in no uncertain fashion as Scotland not only won the Calcutta Cup for the fifth time in the last six contests, they also shredded the notion that Borthwick had cracked the code with his approach: well-organised, hard-working, nuanced as well as nuggety. 

What happened? Was it all a mirage, a con trick, duping us all with premature delusions of grandeur, the aura of the pompous and presumptuous Anglo-Saxon well and truly pricked?

Well, here comes another big dollop of English hype. Pollock makes his first start against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday. If he thrives and England prosper, then everything is back to sweetness and light. If the elevation of the 21 year old proves to be little more than an act of desperation, a PR stunt to get the fans back on side, then Borthwick’s England are hurtling back towards square one. 

If Andy Farrell is battling away in the trenches to persuade his own constituency that Ireland can still hit the heights and that his own faith in young talent in the shape of an already wizened 23 year old, Sam Prendergast, is not misplaced then so too is his former Saracens colleague, Borthwick, under duress after the Murrayfield misery.

For all his dour, downbeat image, Borthwick has proven himself to be a bold selector. He is not afraid to make tough calls. Pollock fits into that category. It’s a considered pick, and not a rash judgment. Pollock may be young but he has already shown that he deserves to be where he is. He may be flash and brash, a show pony but one that can deliver the kick of a mule as he has illustrated on each of his seven appearances from the bench. 

The Northampton back-row forward may be the antithesis of a Peter O’Mahony type but he is blessed with the same hard-nosed, get-stuck-in qualities.

Pollock brings energy and up-beat vibes, traits that were badly missing against Scotland. England’s status going into the Calcutta Cup game may have been over-stated – they have yet to nail down a statement away win – but their rise up the rankings has been no fluke. A dozen wins on the bounce does not happen by chance. Borthwick is responsible for laying solid foundations. 

The scrum carries heft as Ireland might discover on Saturday, not at Springbok levels but effective nonetheless. The line-out functions well albeit it is more reliable when Jamie George is on the field than Luke Cowan-Dickie. That said, Pollock’s inclusion does reduce the height of the back-row.

Above all, Borthwick has put together a well-moulded unit, one in which players trust each other to perform. They didn’t do so against Scotland, although it’s worth noting that in the 50 minutes they had 15 players on the field they scored 20 points to Scotland’s ten. Saturday, though, is an acid test for this group. Borthwick would have been justified in making more changes than he did (five). The likes of fly-half George Ford, inside centre, Fraser Dingwall, full-back, Freddie Steward and red-carded wing, Henry Arundell, under-clubbed.

Ford’s uncharacteristic panicked moment in attempting a drop goal was only part of it. He also kicked far too much when it was clear that the strategy was not reaping any rewards. The England attack is something that Borthwick thought he had refined, especially since well-regarded coach, Lee Blackett, had come into the fold. The manner of the fluid, flowing, interlocking 33-19 victory over New Zealand in November was text-book – crisp, authoritative and proactive. All that is still there. Potentially.

Pollock was the fanfare selection yet it is the return of Bath outside centre, Ollie Lawrence, that might well have the most impact, in its own right as Lawrence is a powerful entity but his presence also means that Tommy Freeman moves back to his more natural position on the wing.

England’s attack is under scrutiny. Their average return of 1.4 points from their visits to Scotland’s 22 was pitifully low. Murrayfield was either a blip or there are deeper issues in play for Borthwick.

You won’t win a World Cup without scoring points at regular intervals, be it the through the relentless hammer of the Springboks or the gorgeous elan of the French. Are England back on track or has it been a streaky run, flattering to deceive?

One final thought – will Maro Itoje be able to get back on the horse and lead the charge as befits an England and Lions captain? Perhaps he is suffering from post-Lions fatigue as many in Irish colours seem to be, weighed down, too, by the recent death of his mother. This is the time for him to show Borthwick that he can rally not just himself but those around him and be the leader to take England through to the World Cup.

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