Ireland great names his ‘three or four nailed-down’ Lions Test places and explains why he would ‘want to kill’ Henry Pollock
Henry Pollock reacts after Friday's British and Irish Lions defeat in Dublin
Former Ireland player Alan Quinlan has named the back-row whose name should be first on the British and Irish Lions team sheet in that position – and it isn’t Henry Pollock, the youngster he would “want to kill’ if he was still playing today.
Quinlan won 27 caps for his country, but his ambition of representing the Lions was dashed in excruciating circumstances in 2009 when foul play on Leinster’s Leo Cullen during a European Cup semi-final ruled him out of the tour to South Africa after he had been selected to travel by Ian McGeechan.
Now 50, the Irishman remains in touch with the game as a pundit and he told Grosvenor Sport in the lead-up to Sunday’s arrival by the Lions in Perth about how important Curry will be in the weeks ahead with the tourists looking to defeat the Wallabies in the three-match Test series.
“In the back-row generally for me, the form that Tom Curry showed in the Six Nations makes him the first player (on the team sheet),” he claimed.
“He has had a lot of injuries in the last number of years, but in more recent times he has been outstanding for England with his carrying ability, tackling, work rate and his many involvements – so he is the first name.
“A little bit more scrutiny and pressure on you…”
“The way the game has gone, there are a lot of guys who can play second or back-row, Ollie Chessum, Tadhg Beirne among them, Even Maro Itoje. Jack Conan is probably your most natural out-and-out eight. Ben Earl has played there and done very well for England. So has Curry, but he has started primarily as a seven.
“If you were picking a Test team tomorrow you are picking Curry, Conan plus possibly Josh van der Flier on what will be fast tracks in Australia. They all have arguments in their own right. But on paper now you could pick numerous different options who would probably do a very good job and would have a strong argument to be there which is a good place for this Lions squad to be in.
“Farrell will mix and match. I don’t think there are too many nailed-down positions for the Test side, probably three or four and the rest are up for grabs. Itoje is one obviously. Dan Sheehan is another. He is probably the other nailed-on person there alongside Finn Russell and Tommy Freeman.”
Curry played the full 80 minutes in Friday’s pre-tour departure loss to Argentina in Dublin in the 1888 Cup. His new England teammate Pollock, the 20-year-old who only debuted last March in the Six Nations hammering of Wales, made a second-half appearance off the bench that didn’t go well.
He was at fault for the costly missed tackle in what proved to be the decisive try from Los Pumas’ Santiago Cordero, while he also lost the ball after going to ground in the final play of the 24-28 defeat.
Pollock has come in for criticism for his grating on-field persona, a personality that Quinlan explained would hugely annoy him if he was still lacing up his boots. However, he saluted the rapid progress made so far by the youngster in his fledgling career.
“He is an extraordinary player. He’s not the biggest guy in the world but he’s incredibly powerful, so quick, skillful and there is also his reading of the game. He is really strong, can physically get involved and is very good at the breakdown as well.
“My message for him is to try and learn off other players, try and enjoy it. He doesn’t look like somebody who is lacking in confidence. He is more mature and more confident than certainly I would have been at that age.
“But he has got to enjoy it. The Lions is just about learning from players around you and enjoying it. He deserves to be there. He is not a token selection and he could easily be involved in a Test 23.
“I don’t think he is a starter in a Lions Test series, but he could be an incredible utility player to come off the bench and change the shape and dynamic of the game. It’s brilliant to see someone so confident who backs up what he says.
“Obviously, if he was playing against me and he was doing that, I’d want to kill him as well! From where I’m sitting now, it’s brilliant and we should celebrate him. He is a great character, a brilliant player. He probably just needs to be a little bit careful because rugby goes around quickly.
“You win a game one week, you over-celebrate, but you are going to meet this crew not too far in the future and then it puts a little bit more scrutiny and pressure on you. But what he has achieved so far in the game has just been amazing.
