The Pom you want to hate will be a star for Lions

2 months ago 22

British and Irish Lions flanker Henry Pollock looks like a stereotypical English backpacker you want to dislike, but his performance against the Western Force on Saturday makes that impossible.

His athleticism, ambition and offloads made international teammates such as Lions No 6 Tadhg Beirne, who is badly out of form, look like they were running in mud or playing a different version of the sport before a new software update kicked in. Forget the off-the-ball stuff, it really is peripheral - Pollock’s main contribution in Perth was to remind everyone that games of rugby can still be unlocked by the right type of athlete. The bad news for the Wallabies is that Pollock looks like he can be a 10-year nemesis for the Wallabies - a rare talent.

Henry Pollock on the burst against the Force.

Ask Pete Samu how to stop him

Pollock had a relatively quiet game for Northampton in the Champions Cup final against Bordeaux-Begles, Pete Samu’s club. As a result, Samu - who played in UBB’s loss to Toulouse the Top 14 final at the weekend - might have a few ideas how to shut him down. However, it does appear the French effectively made up a load of nonsense about Pollock to fire up their own players. After the game, the French accused Pollock of calling them “mercenaries”, much to the bemusement of Pollock, who had made no such claim. The end justified the means as Samu’s side won the final, and although the Wallabies aren’t likely to repeat that psychological tactic they will surely now call Samu into the squad to tap into his knowledge about what they did to keep Pollock out of the game.

Reasons for Schmidt to be cheerful

The sight of an Australian Super Rugby scrum winning the set-piece battle with the British and Irish Lions in the first half - they were unlucky not to get a few penalty calls - was eye-catching, Again, as we highlighted last week, the surprising issue for the Lions was the tighthead side, and Irish veteran Tadhg Furlong. The Force’s Tom Robertson did his Wallabies hopes no harm at all with that display, and Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt would have also taken note of how the Lions struggled to come to terms with Ben O’Keeffe’s early breakdown rulings. O’Keeffe has the whistle for the first Test and is clearly not going to tolerate the Lions’ attempts to slow the ball down under pressure.

Eddie smacked in Japan

Eddie Jones’ Japan XV side were smashed 53-20 by the Māori All Blacks in Tokyo on Saturday, an ominous side before Japan’s two-Test series against Wales starts next weekend. Former Reds No 10 Sam Greene made his first start for Japan after becoming eligible and enjoyed a bright first half, but Japan’s defence was poor in the second half and the Māori ran in a total of nine tries. The problems that were evident for Japan in Jones’ first year in charge last year were still there on Saturday, and unless they can find a few more gears physically they will be in trouble against the Welsh, despite the Six Nations side’s own form woes. Jones didn’t play his big guns against the Māori, but it was still a poor display in front of a healthy home crowd against a side with eight debutants and just one week of preparation. Meanwhile, the Springboks hammered a reasonable-looking Barbarians side 54-7 in Cape Town with a performance of pace and power. Watch out New Zealand, these Springboks are coming for that Eden Park winning streak.

Bad day at the office … Eddie Jones at the Japan-Maori All Blacks match.

Wallabies can already start preparing for this backline

Jamison Gibson-Park, Finn Russell, James Lowe, Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose and Mack Hansen will start the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane, with only the fullback position looking particularly contestable between Elliot Daly, Blair Kinghorn and Hugo Keenan.

It was clear in Perth that the Irish contingent are understandably more comfortable with coach Andy Farrell’s style of play, with No 13 Ringrose the key man defensively with his line speed. Schmidt won’t mind that tactic, particularly with Len Ikitau or Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii good enough or strong enough to take the hit from Ringrose and get the ball wider or beat him with footwork. The defensive issues that prevented Lowe from being an All Black also pop up sporadically, so there will be opportunities for the Wallabies if they are good enough. On the flipside, Russell’s quick hands were a joy to watch in Perth - he really does belong among the elite in the terms of the deception he can offer at the line.

All matches of The British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia are live & on demand on Stan Sport, with Wallabies Tests in 4K. All Test matches live and free on Channel 9 & 9Now.