Henry Pollock is soaking up a superstar summer on the French Riviera after being flown to Cannes by private jet to join Eddie Hearn and the Matchroom inner circle. Fresh from an impressive campaign with Northampton Saints and England, the 20-year-old has been sharing posts from luxury surroundings and late nights with the agency's biggest names.
Scotland international Finn Russell, also signed to Matchroom Talent, joined the group after getting married in Scotland and honeymooning in Greece. A Matchroom post showed the two rugby players with the agency's deal-makers under the caption "Big meetings", while other images captured Pollock and Hearn partying on a plush yacht.
Hearn announced in March that Pollock had become the first rugby player signed to the newly launched Matchroom Talent agency, backing someone he believes can take rugby union beyond its traditional audience and into the mainstream. He described Pollock as a player with limitless potential whose appeal extends well beyond the rugby field, and has argued that rugby fails to market its biggest stars. His aim, he said, is to build Pollock into a household name while ensuring rugby remains the priority. Hearn has also called Russell the "Lionel Messi of rugby".
A New Kind of Rugby Star
Rugby has long taken pride in humility, with players often avoiding the celebrity culture that thrives in other sports. Pollock, by contrast, appears completely comfortable in that world, and his confidence, personality and growing social media following have made him one of the game's most recognisable young faces both on and off the pitch.
His profile has exploded over the past 12 months after a stunning rise: he broke into Steve Borthwick's England squad, starred for Northampton Saints and earned selection for the British & Irish Lions, cementing his status as one of world rugby's most exciting young talents.
Public Enemy Number One
That status has brought backlash. Pollock has been booed by rival fans, confronted by opponents and criticised by pundits, becoming public enemy number one among supporters of some rival nations. The 21-year-old was told he was "public enemy number one" by a stranger in his South African hotel during England's tour earlier this month.
Springboks great Schalk Burger labelled him a "TikTok dancer who plays a bit of rugby on the side", while legendary number eight Duane Vermeulen admitted he would love to come out of retirement briefly just to face Pollock.
The hostility even reached a church service outside Pretoria ahead of the Springboks v England match. "How many of you are looking forward to the Boks playing England? Raise your hands!" the pastor asked. "Keep your hands raised if you are looking forward to it because you want to see that young chap, Henry Pollock. You know who he is. I want to say bimbo… but I’m not going to say bimbo. That cocky guy." He added: "We just want to see Jasper Wiese go and smoke him! He needs to be taught a lesson!"
Pollock's England team-mate George Furbank says the attention does not seem to faze him: "Every time we’ve spoken about the opposition hating him, he seems to go out and perform. I genuinely think it doesn’t actually bother him. I don’t know how because if that was me, I would be a little bit different."
