Henry Pollock continues to divide opinion across English rugby, but the back-rower again made the headlines with a starring role as Northampton Saints beat Leicester Tigers 45-31 in the Gallagher Premiership semi-final.
The 21-year-old was everywhere, making 122 metres from 24 carries, beating eight defenders and making 12 tackles. As soon as Pollock took to the field in front of a full-house at Franklin's Gardens he was visibly up for the battle as he shouted "Let's f****ng go!"
Pollock has been the subject of some damning criticism over the past couple of months for his provocative behaviour on the field, with one social media poster describing the England star as "the most performative rugby player to maybe ever exist."
Dowson Defends Pollock
But Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson insists he is maturing and his behaviour on the pitch is changing for the better.
"Henry was excellent and what pleases me most is that – I'm not going to use the word vilified – a lot of flak came his way after the game at Welford Road," Dowson told PA.
"You can talk about loads of things that Henry does really well but his ability to learn from experience and apply that very quickly and effectively, how he talks to referees has changed in probably about three weeks.
"How he deals with confrontations has changed a little bit as well. I hope that gets noticed, as well as how quickly he matures and makes those decisions. I'm really pleased that he's a bright lad.
"His power per kilogramme is nuts, as are his ability to beat players with his speed and his ability to understand when to pass the ball and when not to.
"He's never looked for controversy. I don't think he's gone out there and gone, 'I'm going to wind up Ollie Chesham and see what happens here'.
"He's under more scrutiny than probably anybody else potentially in the league and I think he's dealt with it really well."
Care Impressed
Despite many fans still getting riled by Pollock's attitude, he has plenty of admirers including former England scrum-half and TNT Sports pundit Danny Care.
"He was frightening. Obviously Henry Pollock gets all the plaudits for the flashy stuff, the offloads, the celebrations, but 26 carries in an east Midlands derby," Care told TNT Sports.
"And he was running into brick wall after brick wall. Dows [Saints' director of rugby Phil Dowson] must be so proud of him [for] that performance tonight."
Northampton will play the winners of Bath against Exeter Chiefs in the Gallagher Premiership final at Allianz Stadium Twickenham next weekend.
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