Ex-England star’s ‘off the leash’ demand over Henry Pollock and what Steve Borthwick should do now after debut cap for ‘dog work’ Benhard Janse van Rensburg
England subs Henry Pollock and, inset, Benhard Janse van Rensburg in action versus Fiji
Retired England full-back Mike Brown has called on Steve Borthwick to pick Henry Pollock to start this Saturday’s Nations Championship match away to Argentina.
The 21-year-old scored a hat-trick off the bench last weekend versus Fiji, but all but one of his 12 Test caps have come as a replacement.
Ever since debuting with a two-try cameo as a sub versus Wales in March 2025, Pollock has only been considered as a replacement by Borthwick except for last February’s Six Nations clash with Ireland.
Fresh from a deflating loss to Scotland, the English head coach decided to give the youngster his first start the following week, but his yellow-carded display was well below what was required in a match that was lost 42-21.
Pollock has since only been chosen as a sub, but 72-cap veteran Brown has demanded the back-rower must start away to Argentina.
He also insisted that Fin Smith, Pollock’s 24-year-old Northampton teammate, should be considered as the first-choice No.10 and given a clear run in the role all the way to next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia.
“Everything he touches turns to gold…”
Appearing on the latest episode of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, Brown said about last Saturday’s 73-8 win over the Fijians: “Fin Smith, I thought he was controlled and did a good job at 10, controlling territory. “He was playing flat to the line, mixing his kicking and passing well, and now we have just got to nail that flag to the mast and go with him, just go with him for the World Cup now, back him and let him lead this team at 10.
“Pollock, everyone is talking about him – just let him start now. Just let him play anywhere, stop bringing him off the bench. He’s obviously got that aura, he’s riding that wave, everything he touches turns to gold.
“I do think he has added to his game. I was a bit like, maybe he is only a bench player at the moment. But having watched him at the back end of the season and what he did in that (PREM Rugby) final, getting some tough carries in, doing some of the grit as well as the glamour stuff, he has just got something about him that you have just got to play him now.
“Just let him off the leash, let him play. He could be that player like in the football, Jude Bellingham. I am not saying he is up to that level yet, but he has that aura of being able to do something and the lads can grab hold of that, take confidence from it and follow his lead. Nothing affects him, does it, and like I say, everything he does, that he touches turns to gold. He has that knack of being in the right place at the right time. So just play him now.”
There has been a debate over which position would best suit Pollock, openside or No.8, but Brown reckoned his position wasn’t a priority. More important was just getting him in the team and then building the England back row around him.
“I don’t think that matters (playing No.7 or No.8). You put him in, and then you build it around him where you want to put him in. He is a player you just have to put him in the back row and build around him, supplement what he can do with some of the stuff he can’t or won’t do with other players.
“He’s that good now, just let the boy play. I know why they are holding him back because he is not Borthwick’s style of player. You look at the back rows he usually picks, he’s not that. But like I said, he has got that aura, he has got that ability, that knack just to do something and be in the right place at the right time. Just build that back row around him now and let the guy go.”
Another talking point coming out of England’s facile win last Saturday in Liverpool was the try-scoring debut enjoyed off the bench by midfielder Van Rensburg. The 29-year-old South African’s selection for the English under World Rugby’s five-year residency rule wasn’t universally popular.
However, now that he has made his first appearance, Brown suggested the next step was for Borthwick to start him in Argentina and see what he really has to offer in the England centres.
Asked to name his preferred half-back and midfield combinations for Saturday’s round three game in Santiago del Estero, Brown replied: “I don’t think Jack van Poortvliet did anything wrong, so I’d keep him in there for some consistency and then Fin Smith, you have got to give him the keys now and just let him keep playing, so him at 10.
“Henry Slade definitely at 13, he did really well and again, no one has nailed down that 13. I like the experience he brings and he actually did a brilliant job when he went to 15 as well. We talk about Marcus Smith moving there and not looking natural to him – he [Slade] actually looks like a natural and he did it before for England. He could slot in there but keep him at 13, and 12, try Van Rensburg.
“We have made all this effort to get him, so why not let him play and see what he can bring? He could be that guy who does that dog work so the other backs around him can free themselves up. He will do those tough carries, he will make those tough hits, so in terms of the 10, 12, 13 blend, he might fit into that and work really well.
“He has taken some stick and it’s not his fault. He wants to play international rugby. He has done it now – whether it is the country he wanted to do it for is another question. However, he has done it now… and we will now all get behind him as England supporters.
“He has got that first cap and is in there and we want him to do well for us. As long as he shows what he is showing in terms of what he has brought in emotionally and is connected with the players in there, it looks like he is loving what he is doing and loving putting on that England jersey, so we will all get behind him now. I’m fully behind him now he has put on that England shirt.”
Brown’s final assessment of the newcomers in the England side was on 19-year-old Noah Caluori, another debutant from the bench who got on the scoresheet versus Fiji. “He has got that presence and aura, like when we’re talking about Pollock, or he looks like he does.
“He just looks like, again like Pollock, nothing fazes him. He just looked so calm for his first run out. He looked like he had been there 50 times already compared to other players when they have got their first cap looked like a nervous wreck. I was that person, whereas he didn’t seem bothered.
“He was coming on to play a Fiji team who were way off it, and we were miles ahead, but still, it’s your first cap; you expect some nerves and he just didn’t seem to have that.
“He does have that aerial point of difference for me, just his physical profile, how tall he is in the air and how much we know that kicking game and winning that ball back will create chaos off is so important and he can bring that which some other guys may not be able to do in the back three.
“He’s not ready to start yet; I wouldn’t just chuck him into start. He has got to do a bit more before he gets to that, but he is a great weapon to have and he has got that personality which means he could grow into some Test match animal.”
Brown added that winger Caluori should also not be considered for full-back. “It’s a massive step up, it’s so different. I’ve said it before, I don’t think people appreciate it sometimes what comes with play at 15…
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“It’s so different if you haven’t played there before. You have got to be that leader at the back, orchestrating those wingers, telling them when to go up, when to drop off, getting that pendulum moving, being able to cover the backfield at the highest level is the big step up that I had to learn as well.
“A club game you can kind of get away with it because 10s and nines don’t see the space as quick as they do at international level, but if your backfield coverage as a 15 isn’t good in terms of being able to anticipate when someone is going to be kicking to the space, you could be chasing shadows all game.”
