Ellis Genge representing England. (Image: Getty)
Henry Pollock revealed a pep talk with Ellis Genge paved the way for his explosive introduction to senior international rugby. The 20-year-old had been chomping at the bit for after training with the squad for the tournament and being a travelling reserve for the Italy clash in round four.
He finally got off the bench against on Saturday, 48 minutes into 68-14 crushing of the Welsh and marked his debut with two tries.
And Pollock said a chat with veteran prop Genge when he came on the pitch got him in the mood for big boy rugby.
The Northampton flanker said: “He just said, ‘be yourself, don’t go in your shell’. I said ‘let’s do this, let’s do this’ and then he mentioned we had a scrum and I was like ‘okay, were in the game now’.
“What an amazing stadium to make my first cap in. You could see it in my face, just smiling the whole time.
Henry Pollock with his first England cap. (Image: Getty)
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“It was bigger than any game I’ve been a part of before. It was something that I’d never experienced before – the crowd, the atmosphere. As soon as you get on the pitch, it’s another game of rugby.”
Pollock will head back to Northampton, eyeing an England summer tour spot and a run into the latter stages of the Champions Cup with Saints.
But he admits he has been stunned by the speed of his rise from Under-20 World Cup winner to full international.
He added: “It’s come pretty soon.”