'I'm the kid living out his dream' - Pollock

Rising rugby union star Henry Pollock said the past year had been a "mad ride" after appearing for both the British & Irish Lions and England.

The 21-year-old back-row forward is fresh from his senior debut in the Six Nations and has helped Northampton Saints maintain top spot in The Prem.

Pollock is arguably the most talked-about player in the sport at the moment, recently signing a promotional contract with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom agency.

He told The Saints Show on BBC Radio Northampton: "Everything off pitch is through them (Matchroom) now. He (Hearn) has amazing contacts and amazing people around him, and the brains to take me to the next level through this sport."

At the weekend he was invited to watch the boxing match between Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder at the O2 in London.

It was a chance for Pollock to meet the former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who is also represented by Matchroom, and he said the experience was "very cool".

Pollock said: "Chatting to him for ten, fifteen minutes was amazing. Learning of his experiences and what he has done in the sport of boxing is amazing.

"He's a superstar of sport, he's one of the biggest boxing stars there is. So to be alongside him and learn from him as a young person, it is amazing to be around him."

Pollock has 279,000 followers on Instagram, 68,000 more than the Northampton Saints team account.

Regarding negative comments on social media, Pollock said: "I am aware of it. I obviously don't read it, I don't want to read it.

"For me, the main thing is my family, my coaches and my team-mates, and everything outside of that, they can say what they want and have any kind of opinions.

"But no-one really knows me unless they're in that kind of circle."

Pollock said that he was seen as a role model by some: "It definitely is responsibility, I like to think I rise to it.

"I love inspiring the next generation. I think that's where the sport needs to grow and look to, and making sure the pathways are in place."

He said he gets recognised a little bit but thinks that the profile of players needs to increase.

"The recognition of players needs to go up, we put our body on the line each week and no-one is talking about it," he said.

"The sport of rugby is amazing and it's at a junction where it needs to make these individuals big, big names like football has."

Pollock has already hit many career milestones, including being selected for the Lions tour of Australia and becoming England's youngest try-scorer in the Six Nations.

On his success, he said that he is "the kid living out his dream".

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