England boss: Henry Pollock ‘inspiring’ the next-generation of ‘world-leading’ players ahead of Six Nations debut
As Henry Pollock prepares for his first cap, his Grand Slam-chasing England Under-20 teammates have been urged to take heed of the decline of Manchester City.
A Six Nations campaign which began last month for Pollock with a win over Ireland Under-20s in Cork, ends in Cardiff on Saturday with Northampton’s shooting star promoted to the senior 23 for the first time.
It continues a meteoric rise for the flanker, a teenager until as recently as January, who was Player of the (U20) Championship last year before helping power England to Junior World Cup glory in South Africa.
Staying at the top
In his absence, Mark Mapletoft’s global champions continue to set the pace and will retain their crown with a clean sweep if they can get past Wales at Cardiff Arms Park tomorrow.
They are white-hot favourites but Mapletoft, whose stunning success with this team has not fully had the acclaim it deserves, saw “vulnerability” in last week’s narrow home win over Italy and has jumped all over it.
“Learning to stay at the top of elite sport is a skill in itself,” he told Planet Rugby. “Keeping at the top of the game for so long when people are coming for you the whole time.
“When that first sign of vulnerability comes you’ve got to stave it right off. For us there was a sense of vulnerability last week. If we keep letting that happen, in the next game and the game after, then it becomes a trend. People will start to think these lads are vulnerable.
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“Look at Man City this season, everyone’s been going after them. They have been an incredible team but, for now at least, you sense that air of invincibility has gone.
“Teams get a sniff. They don’t fear them any more. I love my golf and when the great Tiger Woods was wearing red on a Sunday and was in the lead people didn’t think he could ever be beaten. Until he was.
“Suddenly there’s a chink in the armour. Other players go ‘Right, I’m in there. I’m going hard. I don’t fear this any more’.
“That’s what we’ve got to guard against. We are a good team. You don’t get to where we are without being a good side, but what we can’t do, through that first 10, 15, 20 minutes against Wales is give them too much hope.”
“Inspiring to the other lads”
England’s next generation have certainly been given hope by Pollock’s inclusion on Steve Borthwick’s bench this weekend. Before that, by Under-20 teammate Asher Opoku-Fordjour’s first cap against Japan in November and Junior Kpoku being invited to train with the senior squad last month.
“Seeing Henry and Junior go up [to the senior squad] whilst still a part of this group is inspiring to the other lads,” said Mapletoft, a former England fly-half.
“Our job is to prepare players to perform and excel in a world-leading England team, whatever that world-leading England team’s targets might be. Sometimes it takes time. These lads have got to wait for their opportunity then when the door opens be ready to smash it down.”
