World Cup winner claims Henry Pollock is ‘misunderstood’ after meeting the ‘kid’
World Cup winner claims Henry Pollock is 'misunderstood' and reflects on meeting the 'kid'
Henry Pollock and Ellie Kildunne are two of the hottest properties in English Rugby as we speak.
Pollock has the world at his 20-year-old feet after appearing on his first British and Irish Lions tour in the summer, while Kildunne has recently been named as a BBC Sports Personality of the Year nominee after winning the World Cup with England.
Appearing alongside Ruby Tui, Dan Cole and Ben Youngs of the For The Love Of Rugby podcast this week, Kildunne commented on increased personalities being shown in the game.
“The women’s game, we’ve got freedom to express ourselves without judgment. Now, whether that’s because we are girls, we’ve used that as a double-edged sword and used it to progress the game in ways that it hasn’t been before.”
Speaking about the recent social media dance video involving Henry Pollock, Freddie Steward, Tommy Freeman and Fin Smith, Kildunne added: “So, when once it wasn’t taken as seriously, we’re now using that as a tool to advance the game through TikTok, into getting more people following the game, and we’ve gained so many more followers.
“And, you know, kids love it, and that’s how we get our fandom coming to the games. So when I saw the boys do that, I loved it.”
Henry Pollock is misunderstood
Kildunne has argued that personalities like the Pollocks of this world are the future of the game.
“I met Henry [Pollock] on an appearance the other day, and I genuinely believe he’s so misunderstood. I think he’s just a kid. He’s just a kid that’s been thrown into a senior role within England, where I think for many, many years he’s been in a very structured way.
“I mean, you guys will know more about how Eddie [Jones] was and stuff like that,” she said to former England internationals, Youngs and Cole.
“I don’t know much, but from the outside, you were kind of put in a cage and told to act a certain way.
“Whereas Henry’s come in, he’s got personality, he’s got freedom to express himself, whether it’s a try celebration or he’s starting a bit of a squabble. People love to see it. There’s no such thing as bad press. It’s eyes on the England team, and you guys are starting to play really, really well. So I love that the boys did a dance. It shows a little bit of personality. And you just beat the All Blacks, so enjoy it, celebrate.
“And it’s gone viral. So more people now know these four boys’ names. They know more about the England team. They might start watching the game if they’ve not watched it before.”
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