Sam Warburton hails Henry Pollock but believes B&I Lions back-row is still ‘wide open’ for the Test series
British and Irish Lions flanker Henry Pollock and former captain Sam Warburton
Former British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton has hailed Henry Pollock following his performance against the Western Force.
The youngest member of Andy Farrell’s squad earned his first start for the touring team as he packed down at number eight in their 54-7 victory in Perth.
Pollock produced an outstanding performance despite spending 10 minutes in the sin bin after he conceded a penalty in his 22 after repeated infringements from his teammates.
Louis Rees-Zammit-esque
Warburton, who skippered the tourists in 2013 and 2017, likened Pollock’s rise to the Lions team to that of Louis Rees-Zammit four years ago in South Africa and pinpointed the areas of his game that could be lacking compared to the more experienced players in the squad.
“It’s almost a carbon-copy print of four years ago when Louis Rees-Zammit burst onto the scene and everyone was talking about him,” Warburton said during Sky Sport’s coverage.
“But Rees-Zammit ultimately didn’t start in the Test matches because against South Africa, you have got to be able to receive high ball, which most rugby fans will overlook.
“So when you are looking at what will win Test matches versus what wins at the club level; they are quite different things.
“So Pollock showed today everything that we know he is brilliant at, he has got that line-break ability, and he brings amazing energy in attack and defence. But the longer this tour goes on, the closer these games will become and then the speciality of playing back-row – breakdown, physicality and collision dominance – comes into play more.
“That’s where guys like Tom Curry historically have a little bit of an edge there but this [brilliance in attack] is something that he can do that nobody else can. That’s why it wouldn’t surprise me if the coaches look at him and think ‘This guy brings something that nobody else does, we have to have him in our Test match 23’.”
Back-row completely open
While Pollock impressed, Warburton still believes that the Lions’ loose trio for the three Tests against the Wallabies is still up for grabs.
“I still think that Test match back-row selection is wide open. I don’t think there is a set three of 6, 7 and 8 right now – it’s still all to play for,” he added.
The former Lions skipper highlighted areas of the game where the 20-year-old can improve and what he offers something that the other back-rowers in the squad simply can’t.
“He has some great moments,” he continued. “But there are little bits like this [his penalty that resulted in a yellow card], and the good news with this, is that’s easy to coach out.
“You can’t give someone pace and this ability here [his chip and chase], you can’t coach that. But you can coach some of the simple mistakes that any young 20-year-old back-rower makes, including myself. I was called a penalty machine when I was 20, that’s just what it’s like when you are coming through.
“If they can get him more measured at the breakdown in defence, then you have a pretty complete player. ”
