Last Friday afternoon, at the academy house in Northampton, Henry Pollock and a couple of his young teammates gathered around the television to watch Luke Littler. They threw a few darts, caught up in the hysteria as the Warrington lad was crowned king aged just 17.
Another week, another teen sensation makes headlines. Like Moses Itauma in the Saudi boxing ring or Ethan Nwaneri in Arsenal's midfield, Littler showed the youthful bravery of the next generation of English sporting stars.
In the rugby world, England's Under 20 World Cup winners are proving their own prowess at senior level. Pollock is one of the bright lights, invited to Twickenham this week by Steve Borthwick, who has one eye on the not-too-distant future.
He has already established himself in Northampton's senior ranks and will face Stade Francais in Saturday's Champions Cup tie in Paris. Apparently, getting all the international honors is just a matter of time.
“Watching Littler do what he did at his age was crazy,” says Pollock, 19, as he settles into a Franklin's Gardens suite. “We wanted to go see Ally Pally, but it didn't really fit with our playing time. There's a lot of talent coming up: darts, boxing, football… it's exciting.
'Last year was very special for us. That group we had in the Under 20s, winning the Six Nations in Pau, was the first time we played in front of a packed crowd that didn't love you. It was great.
Henry Pollock belongs to the new generation that aspires to join Steve Borthwick's England team.
Pollock said it was “crazy” to see Luke Littler become world darts champion at just 17 years old.
Pollock helped England win the Under-20 Six Nations last year and is targeting a senior call-up.
'We really had a unique and complete attitude. There was a fire. It was a high-performing group: Junior Kpoku starting at Racing, Asher Opoku-Fordjour making his England debut in the autumn, Afo Fasogbon playing for Gloucester and dismissing Ellis Genge. You've got Arch McParland here at Northampton, Billy Sela at Bath, Ben Redshaw playing 80 for Newcastle and Kepu Tuipulotu making his debut against us last weekend.
'English rugby's routing system is shining. If we look back, four or five years ago, Romain Ntamack's French team participated in two consecutive U-20 World Cups. That year's group is now the best in the world. If all goes well, that group of twenty-somethings we had will actually only go up from here…'
Pollock has not arrived quietly. He's a screaming, neck-grabbing action fullback who backs up the noise with carries, tackles and turnovers. He was mentored by former England and Saints captain Dylan Hartley as a schoolboy at Stowe, and shared a similar appetite for confrontation.
'Dylan basically said: “When you come to Saints, don't give a damn who the people are, just go and sit at the back next to Courtney Lawes and all the big dogs.”
“I looked at him and said, 'That's not going to work.' He said, 'If it's not going to work, you're not in the right place.' I said, 'But I'm going to get beat up,' and he said, 'Well, yeah, yeah They have to beat you up a little.”
So you sat at the back of the meeting room? 'No! I sat in front like a little gift with two shoes. I guess the thing to keep in mind is to be yourself, not go into your shell. “He was a good role model because I guess he has done well.”
Pollock talks while playing. The words roll off his tongue at machine gun speed, pausing every now and then to take a breath. He is a human being of great energy; a trait that dates back to his childhood years spent running triathlons on cold winter mornings.
“My childhood was very, very sporty,” he explains. 'I went to a very nice high school and I played all sports there. Swimming, running, I had a really good fitness base that gives you that aerobic advantage. My mother tried hard in the modern pentathlon (horse, shooting, running), but had to quit before the Olympics when she became pregnant with my sister. I did the national triathlon championships when I was very young, 13 or 14 years old.
Pollock is an all-action full back and backs up the noise with carries, tackles and turnovers.
He was mentored by former England and Saints captain Dylan Hartley while he was a schoolboy at Stowe.
Pollock has an affinity for combat sports and admires UFC stars like Israel Adesanya
Explosive New Zealand star Ardie Savea named one of Pollock's rugby idols
'It's a mental battle. It's a tough sport. I did Eton Dorney when I was 13. I did pretty well. Start en masse, running towards the water, shivering because it is so cold. It was fun. Maybe when I retire it would be great to do a couple of Ironman events. There are a couple that they do in Hawaii that are very hot and humid.
'Maybe the Marathon des Sables in Morocco… running through the desert, seven days and seven nights, the only thing you have with you are your own thoughts. That would be great. That feeling of pain and then relief, that's the reason you do it. “I’ve always had that mentality.”
Pollock has a fighter's mentality. Instead of Littler's eye for a double 10 or Nwaneri's ability to attack from the wing, the Northampton youngster has a more natural affinity for combat sports.
'I like the way they conduct themselves in the UFC. I am looking forward to the fight between Israel Adesanya and Nassourdine Imavov of Dagestan. Some of those guys are almost convinced of victory. I grew up watching Conor McGregor. He's gone off the rails a little bit now, but I saw a lot of him early in his career, before all the court cases.
'He dominated that sport and made it so new. All the talk, the arrogance, showing up in a Rolls Royce and talking shit. He didn't care what people thought or said about them, he just made it exist and backed it up in the cage.
'I'm reading The Law of Attraction, about how you can make your thoughts exist. It's about visualizing yourself doing things and visualizing them into existence. For our game against Stade this weekend, I would perhaps visualize something like the number 8 running down your channel, getting into the mental space to perform the action before it happens. I'm playing with that right now.'
Your rugby idol? 'On the international stage, Ardie Savea is someone I see at the top of the game in the back row. He's explosive, he's everything you want in that loose frontcourt. Those players who never really go away, like Michael Hooper or David Pocock. That's something I'm trying to work on, being that nuisance everywhere on the field.
'I'm not someone who shies away from confrontation. Just because I'm 19 years old I'm not going to stop showing myself. I put 100% into everything I do, never taking a step back. If you like it, you like it. If you don't do it, you don't do it.
Pollock was man of the match on his England A debut, coming up against Australian Tom Hooper.
Pollock says playing for England is 'big goal of the year' after being invited to Twickenham
Helping Northampton Saints win back-to-back Premiership titles is another key ambition
Pollock was named man of the match on his debut for England A in November, knocking the scrum cap off the head of his opponent, Australian flanker Tom Hooper, in the process.
England have plenty of resources at the back (Tom Willis appears to be next in line) and Pollock will most likely be able to make his debut against Argentina on the summer tour, while the Lions players are in Australia.
“Playing for England is the big goal this year,” he says. “It was great to go to Twickenham this week and meet all the coaches and the best players in the country. I just have to play well for Northampton and I hope the coaches see that. When you're a kid coming to the Saints, they don't shy away from putting you in trouble. That is what the saints seek. That gives you confidence.
“It definitely hasn’t been easy, the changes between senior games, you can underestimate how much they take a toll on your body.” I'm young so my body still works, but you see the older guys who have been doing it for 10 years and how they listen to their body. Everyone can say that playing for your country is the best. If I look ahead 10 years, the Lions are right up there. All those things you wanted to do when you were a kid. That fight doesn't go away.'
As he struts out of his Franklin's Gardens suite, Pollock looks at the giant photograph of the Saints team that won the Premiership last season. Champagne bottles and ski goggles. “I missed it,” he says. “I was in Georgia when I was 20.”
Has he inspired his generation to do it all again? “No doubt,” he responds, with all the confidence of a teenager who hasn't made a misstep. 'Back to back?