Henry Pollock Emerges as England Rugby New Superstar

HENRY POLLOCK has promised more wacky haircuts as he embraces life as England's new rugby superstar. On the pitch, Pollock is one of the most exciting players in the sport and he will want to excel for the Red Rose against Australia on Sunday at the Allianz Stadium. Off the pitch, the Northampton Saints flanker is a society pin-up, fronting the December issue of Tatler's Little Black Book with teenage influencer Valentina Pinault, daughter of actress Salma Hayek.

A maverick guy, Pollock, 21, turned heads in September when he rocked up to one of Saints' Premiership rugby matches with cornrows. It was similar in look to the style famously donned by David Beckham while playing for England in 2003 and before meeting the late Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa. The Oxfordshire back-row has 13 England caps and is determined to cement his position in head coach Steve Borthwick's side ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup Finals in Australia.

Why Henry Pollock Plans to Keep Changing His Hair

Pollock explained the practical and stylistic reasons behind his bold grooming choices. Talking about the hair, the flanker mentioned he just thought he would change it after the first game of the season and it has obviously stayed with him. It is quite a nice way to keep his hair long and not have to worry about it on game day.

The young athlete intends to document his changing looks for his supporters. We are going to try and change it up loads this year, doing a bit of a behind-the-scenes on my YouTube channel. Definitely doing haircuts along the season is 100 per cent, and it is definitely something we will do.

Commercial Success and Working With Eddie Hearn

Pollock, like Scotland and Bath fly-half Finn Russell, has been signed to Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Talent Agency. Boxing promoter Hearns wants to improve Pollock's profile beyond the rugby pitch, and the player recently signed a deal to become a brand ambassador for cinch, the UK's leading online car dealer. Hearn, 47, has held meetings from his haven in Monaco with Premiership bosses to discuss the possibility of improving the image of the 15-man code.

Working with Eddie has been amazing, according to Pollock. Obviously he is the biggest promoter in the world. To be able to learn off him and take his advice has been amazing, something that I never really thought would happen, but hopefully it can grow rugby union massively. His influence on sport and on rugby now is going to be huge. We need to be open to every idea and really listen to him as he is someone that can definitely change the sport.

Ambitions for the Northampton Saints and the Rugby World Cup

The club aspirations this year are massive, and the World Cup is just around the corner for the talented back-row forward. It is a massive aspiration of mine to go to the World Cup, and hopefully all things good, I will be on that plane. But I know there is a lot of work and you cannot just automatically guarantee yourself a spot. You want to go there and win it, so that is definitely the aim, and I think we definitely have the team this year and a good enough squad that can do that.

Pollock is a title winner last season with Saints. Hopefully we are just trying to find our form and the autumn will be a great stepping stone, with the Six Nations, too. The domestic success provides a strong foundation for international ambitions as the squad builds toward major upcoming fixtures.

Sporting Idols Who Inspire Henry Pollock

In terms of role models, Pollock says he idolises New Zealand's two-time World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw and double Masters champion golfer Rory McIlroy. What an amazing player Richie was and also an amazing captain, probably the best ever, and to watch his game when I was younger and feed off that has been amazing. He is definitely someone that when I was younger, playing through the academies and when I was a little boy, I looked up to him massively.

The flanker also shares a passion for golf. Probably the other role model would be Rory McIlroy, an amazing golfer, as I love my golf. What he did with the Masters, all those years of setbacks and then going to win it back-to-back was amazing. Hopefully, we are going to try and do the same thing with the Saints this year, learning off him from afar has been cool.