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Henry Pollock has been urged to drive up competition within the British and Irish Lions squad bound for Australia next month by staying true to himself.
The 20-year-old rising star of English rugby has been picked in Andy Farrell’s 38-man touring party despite playing only 32 minutes of Test rugby as a replacement against Wales in March when he scored two tries.
On Saturday he was instrumental in helping Northampton dispatch Leinster in the semi-finals of the Champions Cup, outplaying several of his more established Lions rivals in the process.
The dynamic, high-energy flanker plays with a swagger and is unafraid to show his personality, earning the description of “absolutely annoying” and “a pest” from new Lions captain Maro Itoje and being described as “cocky” by former Saints back row Courtney Lawes.
Rather than curb his enthusiasm, Farrell wants Pollock to ruffle some feathers as the squad’s bolter.
“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough. That’s 100 per cent,” the Lions head coach said.
“I’ve heard a lot of stuff that is constant, really, about young kids who are coming through – he’s confident, he’s cocky. This is not just about Henry, this is about youngsters in general.
“But what do we want? Do we want a kid to show his confidence as a 23-year-old or 24-year-old instead of as a 20-year-old? It’s just about the here and now. If he’s performing against the type of quality that he has been doing, then he’s ready to compete.
“I think you’ll see the fight in him and I’m sure he’ll push all the others that didn’t realise he was coming. I’m sure that he’ll relish that.
“You are trying to find a squad that is competing against each other and earning respect. By the time we get to the first Test, you want that competition to make us the best team we can be.”
Finn Russell, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith have been chosen as the three fly-halves, leaving no place for Owen Farrell, but the three-time tourist could be added at a later date if his fitness improves following an injury-hit debut season at Racing 92.
Andy Farrell revealed that his son was “in the conversation” and is a candidate for one of the two slots that have been kept open for players who are currently struggling with knocks but could yet be involved.
Marcus Smith was far from certain to be selected but Farrell revealed that his ability to cover full-back was decisive. Alongside Russell, he will be the squad’s most creative player.
“We’ve all see what Marcus can do. He relishes the occasion and there’s no bigger than a Lions tour,” Farrell said.
Big-name omissions from the squad that will embark on a 10-fixture tour of Australia, starting against Argentina in Dublin on June 20, are Jamie George, Sam Prendergast, Courtney Lawes and Ben Curry.
But there was joy for marginal calls such as Scott Cummings, Jac Morgan, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ben Earl, Josh van der Flier, Mack Hansen and Elliot Daly.
Scotland’s Toulouse full-back Blair Kinghorn is the only player based in France to feature among the 38, which is made up of 21 forwards and 17 backs.
Ireland supply the biggest contingent with 15 players followed by England with 13, Scotland with eight and two from Wales.
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