{"id":360731,"date":"2026-01-09T10:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T10:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/360731\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T10:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T10:48:14","slug":"tiktok-dancer-or-rugby-superstar-i-can-be-both","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/360731\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018TikTok dancer\u2019 or rugby superstar? I can be both"},"content":{"rendered":"

Henry Pollock, who turns 21 next week, is being pulled this way and that by agents, sponsors, brands, influencers and the media after a sensational 2025 in which he stormed into the England team and on to a British & Irish Lions tour.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, he and Northampton Saints<\/a> reunite with Bordeaux B\u00e8gles, who beat them 28-20 in a spicy Investec Champions Cup final last year, which ended with Pollock at the centre of a fight, as the French prop Jefferson Poirot grabbed his throat. Bordeaux also mocked Pollock by copying the \u201cpulse-check\u201d celebration he used when he scorched past Leinster in the semi-final. The bounding, blond boy had struck a nerve.<\/p>\n

Northampton have no interest in clipping Pollock\u2019s wings, however \u2014 rather they want to help him build his profile and help engage a younger following in the sport. Pollock<\/a> laughs that his Instagram account has him listed as a \u201cdigital creator\u201d, and not a \u201crugby player\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cDoes it actually say that?\u201d he says, with a little nod. \u201cOK. Digital creator then, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has led to some amusing exchanges between club and player. Phil Dowson, Northampton\u2019s director of rugby, says he spoke to Pollock about managing his time and energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018You\u2019ve got to be really choosy around what you want your name to be associated with,\u2019 \u201d Dowson says. \u201cThe next day he came back and said, \u2018Is Burberry all right?\u2019 And I said, \u2018Yeah, that\u2019s probably a good one!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Henry<\/p>\n

Pollock celebrates a try for England during the victory over Australia on November 1<\/p>\n

PATRICK KHACHFE \u2013 RFU\/THE RFU COLLECTION VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Pollock has been heavily criticised by many from the old school. Schalk Burger, the World Cup-winning Springbok flanker, has dismissed him as a \u201cTikTok dancer\u201d who \u201cplays a bit of rugby on the weekend\u201d. This sort of sneering \u2014 however tongue in cheek \u2014 pines for an era where tall poppies were slashed. Blessedly, attitudes are changing.<\/p>\n

Pollock barely knows who Burger is \u2014 he was born two years before South Africa won the 2007 World Cup \u2014 and understands that you can now be a marketable athlete in the world of social media and an outstanding player on the pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m big on social media and push that aspect of my life,\u201d Pollock tells The Ruck podcast from The Times. \u201cWhat I\u2019m like around that is very different. What I\u2019m like on the pitch is very different to what I\u2019m like on a Monday morning. I\u2019m two different people, but one person with the same goals in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pollock plays up to his image of pantomime villain, enjoying the niggle. \u201cI like playing games where I\u2019m in it from minute one, I\u2019m my aggressive self,\u201d he says. \u201cThe confrontation and the physical aspect is why I play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Henry<\/p>\n

Pollock speaks to The Ruck podcast at Franklin\u2019s Gardens before heading off to Bordeaux for the resumption of a tasty Anglo-French rivalry<\/p>\n

OLI LEES FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

After he was jeered at Section Paloise in December, where Saints beat Pau 35-27, Pollock posted on his Instagram account: \u201cI\u2019d boo me too\u201d, in an attempt to fan the flames. He inserts himself into scraps that never really involved him, such as when the Argentinians were angry that Tom Curry had hit Juan Cruz Mall\u00eda late in England\u2019s 27-23 victory at Twickenham in November.<\/p>\n

Then there is that Champions Cup final in Cardiff last May. Poirot was handed a two-week ban for grabbing Pollock by the neck, and later Matthieu Jalibert called Pollock \u201cunbearable\u201d and \u201ca classic Englishman you love to hate\u201d. All this makes Sunday\u2019s pool 4 showdown at the Stade Chaban-Delmas a tasty prospect. Pollock brushes off the beef from May, even if he thinks Bordeaux went too far.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no bad blood, I don\u2019t think,\u201d he says. \u201cBut you kind of look at it and go, \u2018There\u2019s not that much need for that.\u2019 Obviously it\u2019s the way they wanted to celebrate and I can\u2019t change that. That\u2019s all done now. He [Poirot] got his ban. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to credit them for how they played in that game. They were the better side on the day. I\u2019m proud of the way we stuck in that game and showed fight, but hopefully it\u2019s different this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those who know Pollock, or have even just met him briefly, see a different side to him from the confrontational nuisance who prowls the rugby field. Ellie Kildunne, the Red Roses star, noted recently how she feels Pollock is just a \u201cmisunderstood kid\u201d expressing himself like the women\u2019s players naturally do.<\/p>\n

Would Pollock like people to know more about the \u201creal\u201d him? Or is he fine with the persona?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy either way,\u201d he says. \u201cIf they want to call me what they call me, I don\u2019t really read into it. But it\u2019s good for the sport. It makes it enjoyable, and the game on the weekend more exciting.<\/p>\n

\"Henry<\/p>\n

Pollock, who only a year ago was representing his country at under-20 level, celebrates a try for England against Australia at Twickenham with Luke Cowan-Dickie<\/p>\n

PATRICK KHACHFE \u2013 RFU\/THE RFU COLLECTION VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

\u201cYou obviously want to be yourself, and on the pitch I\u2019m very different to what I\u2019m like off the pitch, but no one really sees what I\u2019m like off the pitch. But I don\u2019t really care that much. The main thing is my coaches and my team-mates value me. Outside of that, people can make assumptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pollock has been deep into his analysis of Bordeaux this week, returning from a week off where worked on his conditioning and recovery while \u201cbeing a normal 20-year-old\u201d. The back-row forward has noticed his skills coming under extra pressure in games, an exciting challenge he must adapt to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m getting less time on the ball or shut down when I\u2019m in defence,\u201d he says. \u201cThat kind of aspect is enjoyable because it makes you a better player. If they want to come for me, they come for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dowson admits he is not well acquainted with the threads of the red carpet, but he never has to convince Pollock to work hard \u2014 at the moment he is working on his set-piece prowess, his collisions in defence and valuing the ball a fraction more in attack \u2014 but says he excels at the behind-the-scenes elements no one posts on social media. In that sense, Pollock reminds him of James Haskell, who spent one year with Saints in 2018-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate to make the comparison, but Hask was great at that when he came here, having been at Wasps for so long,\u201d Dowson says. \u201cHe would take the mickey, be a jester, but when it was business time, he switched on.<\/p>\n

\u201cHenry\u2019s definitely got that. When we\u2019re on, I don\u2019t have to tell him to cut it out and get involved because he\u2019s already doing it. That\u2019s the same in the technical meetings, and how he drives the energy around the place. <\/p>\n

\"Henry<\/p>\n

Pollock has been partly responsible for a resurgence in the popularity of the game among the young<\/p>\n

OLI LEES FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

\u201cHe might be charismatic but first and foremost he\u2019s a competitor. He wants to win, play well and be in the best team and to get stuck in. I take those things first before any of the japes and the messing about, which is all on the periphery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dowson does an amusing Pollock impression regularly around Franklin\u2019s Gardens \u2014 shouting phrases such as \u201cYes bruv!\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s actually well cold mate\u201d \u2014 imitating his public schoolboy-bro drawl. It is affectionate, even if it is designed to humble him sometimes.<\/p>\n

At Saints, Pollock is surrounded by successful, grounded friends such as Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman, Alex Mitchell, Fraser Dingwall and Alex Coles. They understand Pollock\u2019s talent and want to help him enhance it, while keeping him in check.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re way more open and understanding to the fact that we need to get people interested in the sport,\u201d Dowson says. \u201cWith Henry, you look at the number of kids wearing his headbands and his haircut, and Pollock jerseys. For whatever reason, the way he plays and carries on, it\u2019s caught the imagination \u2014 and that\u2019s very positive. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s lots of people who now have the freedom to be themselves and I think rugby needs that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pollock\u2019s standout moments from his breakthrough year, were obvious; going from the England Under-20 team to the Lions squad, via a senior debut in Wales where he scored twice, to the evisceration of Leinster at the Aviva Stadium and licking his lips at the haka before England beat the All Blacks. <\/p>\n

But there is one, unseen memory he cherishes above all. The day he was picked for the Lions tour by Andy Farrell, he gathered with his Saints team-mates. After his name had been announced, alongside Freeman, Mitchell and Smith, he walked out of the room and it all hit him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw Fin crying, speaking to his mum and dad, Mitch going off to phone his family, then I sat in the car, tried to phone my mum and dad and they wouldn\u2019t answer. I was like \u2018OK, class. Great timing!\u2019 \u201d Pollock says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called my brother and he was like, \u2018Mate, this is crazy, what have you actually done?\u2019 I was like \u2018I actually don\u2019t know\u2019. That drive back I will never forget. We then went to a bar with the boys and went, \u2018This is actually happening, we\u2019re going on the British & Irish Lions tour.\u2019 Those moments no one sees, and they\u2019re special.\u201d<\/p>\n

No doubt there will be more special Pollock moments to come in 2026. What are his new goals? \u201cDefinitely winning silverware with Saints,\u201d he says, \u201cand I want to start for England.\u201d All of his five caps have come from the bench, so does he mind which starting shirt he takes first?<\/p>\n

\u201cAny number, doesn\u2019t matter where it is,\u201d he replies. Even wing, as Steve Borthwick has suggested? \u201cYou never know,\u201d Pollock says.<\/p>\n

The hurricane resumes again this Sunday in Bordeaux. Who knows what stunning path Pollock\u2019s path will follow from here?<\/p>\n

Bordeaux v Northampton Saints<\/p>\n

Investec Champions Cup
Sunday, 3.15pm
TV Premier Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Henry Pollock, who turns 21 next week, is being pulled this way and that by agents, sponsors, brands,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-360731","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}