Henry Pollock ‘not stupid enough’ to rile Bordeaux as Northampton Saints hit back at France star’s disinformation
Henry Pollock and Matthieu Jalibert during the Champions Cup final.
Phil Dowson has claimed that Bordeaux-Begles made up comments attributed to Northampton Saints and Henry Pollock in order to motivate themselves for the Investec Champions Cup final.
In the aftermath of the showpiece event, France and UBB fly-half Matthieu Jalibert accused Northampton of lacking “respect”.
Jalibert insisted that the Saints – and likely Pollock – said some unpleasant things about their club in the build-up to the Champions Cup clash, which the French outfit won 28-20.
Jalibert’s comments
“I told him (Pollock) that he didn’t know our club,” Jalibert told BBC Sport. “They said some things in the press which we didn’t really appreciate.
“They said that we were a club of mercenaries who are here for the money. I just told him that he doesn’t know our history, where we came from and that he must respect all clubs.
“I know it is their way of preparing for matches, but they must have respect too.”
While the match was played in good spirits, following the final whistle Pollock was involved in a scuffle and claimed that he was grabbed by the throat.
Bordeaux prop Jefferson Poirot has since been cited for that incident and will appear before a disciplinary panel on Thursday.
Bordeaux-Begles player cited following Henry Pollock ‘fracas’
There have also been several pictures of UBB players and staff mocking the 20-year-old by mimicking his ‘pulse-check’ celebration.
According to Jalibert, the response in the immediate aftermath of the triumph was partly as a result of what the Saints apparently said ahead of the match, but Dowson insisted that Northampton were always respectful of the French club.
“If someone could find that [mercenaries] quote, I’d be really interested, because that’s certainly not something we have come across,” Saints’ director of rugby Dowson told reporters.
“From my point of view, I can only talk about what I said but I would back the playing group to the hilt in terms of their manner. We have been very complimentary about Bordeaux; their class and quality in terms of a playing group but also as a club.
“I haven’t seen any evidence, and neither has the media team here, that we have ever used that language or even alluded to or inferred that. So I don’t think that’s necessarily fair.”
Fake news
Bordeaux had evidently been riled by Northampton and Pollock in the build-up to the final, but Dowson believes that the opposition coaches used fake news to motivate their players.
“Now, what they are driving as a narrative behind the scenes is different and is entirely their prerogative, but I don’t think anyone from this group has ever suggested that they are a group of mercenaries,” he added.
“Coaches pull on lots of levers. There have been lots of times when I’ve twisted different things and our group are firstly principled enough not to describe anyone like that and secondly not stupid enough to do it to motivate a group in a final.
“I don’t think we’re that dumb. We’re media savvy and well managed in that space.
“Coaches and management will pull loads of levers in order to get a response and maybe that’s what has happened.”
