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- Henry Pollock will be the youngest player with the British & Irish Lions
- He has been selected for the tour of Australia after just 32 minutes of Test action
- England head coach Steve Borthwick has backed him to make a big impression
Henry Pollock has been backed to continue his remarkable rise and become a Test Lion in Australia this summer by his England head coach Steve Borthwick.
The 20-year-old Northampton back-row has only played 32 minutes of Test rugby.
Pollock was handed his full England debut by Borthwick in the Six Nations, coming off the bench to score two tries against Wales in Cardiff.
That – combined with his sensational performances at club level – saw him selected by Lions head coach Andy Farrell earlier this month.
Asked if he thought Pollock’s form could catapult him into the Lions side to take on the Wallabies, Borthwick said: ‘I think nobody would bet against that.
‘What struck us is that each and every level he steps up to, he really embraces that challenge.
Henry Pollock will be the youngest player on this summer’s Lions tour aged just 20
Pollock pictured preparing for Northampton’s Investec Champions Cup final with Bordeaux
‘I sense he’s somebody who just jumps all into it and doesn’t contemplate it too much.
‘I expect him to do the same again this summer.
‘Look at how quickly he’s grown. He’s performed brilliantly. He’s clearly an incredibly talented player who just loves the challenge.’
On Saturday, Pollock will be part of the Northampton side bidding for Investec Champions Cup glory in their final clash with Bordeaux at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
On Wednesday, he was shortlisted for the Gallagher Premiership’s breakthrough player of the season award and is a hot favourite to win that award.
Pollock’s fellow Lions Finn Russell and Tomos Williams are on the shortlist for the overall Premiership player of the season award alongside Bath prop Thomas du Toit, Sale and England fly-half George Ford and Saracens No 8 Tom Willis.
Borthwick will be without 13 of his best players, Pollock included, for England’s summer tour matches with Argentina and USA after they were selected for the Lions.
Pollock has been backed to become a Test Lion by his England head coach Steve Borthwick
Borthwick (pictured) will be without 13 Englishmen for his summer tour due to Lions call-ups
He is set to take a squad of 36 to the Americas to cover for potential Lions call-ups, but as yet hasn’t discussed players who might be on Farrell’s shortlist for cover if injuries strike.
England face two Tests with Argentina and one with the USA on three successive Saturdays at the start of July.
Borthwick held a training camp this week, but was without his Lions players as well as those from Northampton and Bath who are preparing for European finals.
Bath face Lyon on Friday in the Challenge Cup’s showdown before the meeting between Northampton and Bordeaux on Saturday.
‘Argentina have liked to be the underdog and they are going to go into these games as clear favourites,’ Borthwick said.
‘That’s going to be a different challenge for Argentina to have to deal with – the Argentinean public expecting them to beat us.
‘In the last 12 months, they’ve beaten South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and now they’re playing at home against this English team.
‘It’s going to be a different challenge for them. They can’t use the underdog tag.
‘They’ve got to deal with being favourites.’
