England head coach Steve Borthwick has revealed plans are already in motion to utilize winger Henry Pollock after he scored the decisive try that eliminated Australia at Twickenham.
Pollock scored the decisive goal eight minutes after coming off the bench, sparking a disjointed game at Allianz Stadium. A brilliant pick-up on the move and a finish after recovering from a tap tackle gave England a 25-7 win over the Wallabies.
This was the 20-year-old’s third Test try in his career, and despite only making two substitute appearances, he is already convinced of his infectious ability.
“When Henry Pollock steps on the pitch, everyone gets excited because of what he brings. There’s no doubt about that,” Borthwick said.
“He’s probably the most excited person! The way he is and the energy he brings – he’s a bundle of energy.
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James Cole and Jack Wilkinson give their verdict as England extend their winning streak with victory over Australia in the Autumn Nations Series opener
“I love having characters like that on my team. We have a great blend of different personalities that thrive within our team.”
Pollock followed in Ben Earl’s footsteps and ran through Australia with a frightening quick break that resulted in England’s first of four tries after 21 minutes.
The scintillating nature of their scoring reinforced Borthwick’s commitment to unleashing pace from their front pack.
Henry Pollock came off the bench and scored a try.
Earl showed off his versatility as a center in England’s record 68-14 victory over Wales in the Six Nations, and Borthwick admitted he would not hesitate to use him there again, with Pollock set to follow suit.
“It’s going to be important to have positional flexibility, especially if we go 6-2 (split on the bench),” Borthwick added.
“We would be very happy to start Ben Earl at center. We talked this week about potentially starting Henry on the wing. It’s certainly a project we’ve started to be able to cover that in games if needed.”
“We started the Ben Earl project a long time ago and have been incorporating it into his training before his big performance against Wales at the end of the Six Nations.
Borthwick said he would not hesitate to start Ben Earl at center.
“This is another project we started with Henry. You would expect me to think things through and incorporate this into the plan, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
The introduction of England’s heavyweight bench, with the arrival of five British and Irish Lions forwards in the 52nd minute, was decisive in negating Australia’s challenge.
Fiji are the next team to visit Twickenham for the second of four Tests in November, and Borthwick admitted the performances of the substitutes will make next week’s squad selection more difficult.
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England captain Maro Itoje praised his teammate Luke Cowan-Dickie, who scored in his 50th appearance for England.
Coach Borthwick said, “The bench certainly had a positive impact. This is proof that the team is growing in depth.”
“This has been an important summer for England rugby, with a number of players enjoying success in Australia away to the Lions, as well as a number of players away to England in Argentina and America.
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Australia head coach Joe Schmidt believes accusations that his team committed violations at the pre-match breakdown are true.
“It allows the team to grow, which I’m happy about. It means I have to make some difficult decisions, which are exactly the decisions you want as a head coach.”
England Autumn Nations Series Schedule
November 1st
England 25-7 Australia – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
November 8th
England vs Fiji – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (5.40pm)
November 15th
England vs New Zealand – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (3:10pm)
November 23rd
England vs Argentina – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (4.10pm)
