Handre Pollard opens up on ‘rollercoaster of emotions’ after fans’ abuse and his ‘biggest blessing ever’

Springboks playmaker Handre Pollard will urge his Leicester teammates to “stay tight” when they return to action on Friday for the first time since being subjected to online abuse from their own fans.

South Africa’s World Cup-winning fly-half has ridden a “rollercoaster” this past fortnight – becoming a father for the first time and then being part of a Tigers team which blew a 19-0 lead in the last 10 minutes against Bristol to surrender their play-off hopes.

That performance and calamitous result led a minority of home ‘supporters’ to turn on their team in such a way the club felt it necessary to take the unprecedented step of publicly calling them out.

Leicester players abused by supporters

“While we understand the disappointment… personal threats or abuse directed at players, coaches and/or staff own social media is not acceptable and will not be tolerated by the club,” Leicester warned.

England’s biggest club added that, if necessary, it would “take formal action against season ticket holders or supporters identified as directing abuse or threatening language towards individuals”.

This was a lot to take in for Pollard, coming two days after the birth of his son Hunter, an occasion he describes as ‘life-changing’.

“You get to experience quite a few highs and lows in rugby but Hunter’s birth by far exceeds anything I’ve experienced,” he said. “It’s the biggest blessing ever.

“To go from that high to the disappointment of the Bristol defeat was a real rollercoaster of emotions. That loss shook us hard, we’ve got to react to it now.”

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Pollard is reluctant to draw attention to the keyboard warriors who sullied the club’s reputation and who, sources confirm, have been identified and will have their future conduct closely monitored.

“That sadly is always going to be a part of the game,” he said. “It’s not right at all that anyone should have to be subjected to that but you can’t control stuff like that.

“Where the world is at the moment you’ve got to learn to put yourself in a bit of a bubble.

“If you go out too much, or read too much, there’s always going to be negative stuff out there. We try to keep it in-house as much as possible and control what we can.

“That means staying tight as a club and a team and supporting whoever is getting that abuse,” Pollard added. “Being there for each other, helping each other through it. I think, as a group, stuff like that makes you stronger when you come out the other side.”

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Coming back stronger in 2024/25

With Tigers down amongst the dead men, lying three places from the bottom of the Premiership just two years after being crowned champions, the focus at Sale Sharks is on self-respect.

Pollard said: “We can’t change what’s happened but we can definitely control our attitude and intent over the next two weeks to try and get ourselves to a positive point – so we can go into pre-season firing on all cylinders.

“It’s about laying a foundation over these two weeks that we can build on next season. We’re a proud club and a proud team and we’re going to show a lot more fight these last two weeks, I can promise you that.

“Finishing near the foot of the table is not something we’ll accept. Table-wise, not a lot can change between now and the end of the season, it’s about showing the fight and pride that we have for this club.”

Away from the rugby field, the 30-year-old says the arrival on April 25 of Hunter Andre, all 3.6kgs and 52cms of him, to he and wife Marise, has changed him forever.

“The boys here tried to explain to me what I was in for but they didn’t do a great job,” he said. “It’s so much better!

“I’ve always had a pretty open mind to rugby. Stuff like injuries can open your eyes to a lot of things and over the course of my career I’ve had quite a few. So I’ve had a lot of time to reflect.

“I’ve tried to enjoy the game as much as I can whilst I still have it. But, of course, my perspective will change a bit now. There is something bigger than myself waiting at home for me.”

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