Pollock's 26-carry masterclass fires Northampton into Premiership final

Henry Pollock delivered a commanding display of power and discipline as Northampton Saints defeated Leicester Tigers 45-31 at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday, securing a place in the Gallagher Premiership final at Allianz Stadium next weekend. The 21-year-old England and British and Irish Lions back row finished the East Midlands derby with a remarkable 26 carries, the most of any player on the pitch.

Fin Smith was named player of the match in front of watching England head coach Steve Borthwick, but it was Pollock who drew the most attention — and not for the first time this month. Just four weeks ago, Pollock was widely criticised for a fiery cameo off the bench in a 41-17 defeat at Welford Road, where he became embroiled in several flashpoints.

Head coach Phil Dowson was keen to highlight how quickly his young forward had responded. “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 said. “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.”

Dowson was equally effusive about Pollock’s physical attributes. “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 under more scrutiny than probably anybody else potentially in the league and I think he’s dealt with it really well.”

Northampton finished the regular Premiership season at the top of the table and have now backed that up with a statement victory in the play-offs. They will face either Bath or Exeter in the final at Twickenham.

Dowson acknowledged the weight of expectation that came with hosting a home semi-final. “We’re delighted and probably a little bit relieved as well. The expectation is you have a home semi and you’re supposed to win those. To put that performance together and to stick at it under some decent pressure — very proud, delighted and relieved.”

Leicester head coach Geoff Parling was left to reflect on a painful exit despite a thunderous effort from his side. “Devastated. The group has been an unbelievably good group that’s just worked hard for each other and just to fall now hurts,” he said. “But also I’m incredibly proud because of the way the group has gone about the business over the year when everyone at the start of the season wrote us off.”