Talented Saints flanker Pollock ready to step up for England in final clash with France

It's why, at the age of just 19, he has already stepped up in some huge moments for England Under-20s.

And on Friday night (kick-off 6pm BST), he will be part of another.

The England youngsters will bid to back up their brilliant Six Nations title triumph by winning the World Rugby U20 Championship in South Africa.

Standing in their way in the final will be a France side they beat to secure the Six Nations crown back in March.

And hot Saints prospect Pollock, a real jewel in the English rugby crown right now, is ready to be right at the heart of his team's bid for glory once again.

"In your career, you have to adapt to the conditions and the level you're playing at," Pollock said. "How easily you can do that shows how good you are as a player.

"I want to be a player who relishes big occasions and turns up when they need to.

"Friday is a great opportunity for that and I'm really looking forward to it.

"Playing at a packed out Welford Road for Saints when I was 18 was a massive occasion so hopefully I get some more of them in my career, but I'm not looking too far ahead at the moment.

"I'm just trying to stay grounded and work towards Friday night."

England have been flawless in the World Championship so far, seeing off Argentina, Fiji and hosts South Africa in the pool stages before beating Ireland in the semi-final last Sunday.

"It's been really good," Pollock said. "We've built really well over the tournament and to say you're in the final of a World Cup is something special, and not many boys at Under-20 level can say that.

"We're just trying to live every moment, live every day and just try to make it as special as possible.

"We came off the back of winning the Six Nations and we brought that momentum into the World Cup.

"It's going well so far and hopefully we can get the job done on Friday.

"We know what's coming. France are going to be physical but they've also got good ball players.

"We beat them on their home patch and we know what's coming but that doesn't take anything away from the magnitude of the game.

"It's final rugby and we know anything can happen."

Saints Academy product Pollock, who was player of the tournament in the Six Nations, has continued his rapid rise during the World Championships.

And he said: "Personally, I've definitely grown as a player, learning different roles, learning different moves.

"I'm adapting to new systems and we have a completely different defensive system here to the one at Saints so it's about putting all my eggs in that basket and go 100 per cent flat out at it.

"You only really get one shot at this.

"I definitely am personally improving and there's a great group around me that gives me that freedom to go and express myself.

"It's really promising."

With the likes of Courtney Lawes and Lewis Ludlam having left Saints this summer, hopes are high that Pollock, who impressed on loan at Bedford Blues last season, can enjoy a breakthrough campaign at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens in 2024/25.

He said: "I had chats with the Saints coaches before I went off for the Under-20s break and they gave me a few key messages to go off and work with, mainly on my defence and stuff like that.

"It's hopefully going to be promising when I get back but I don't want to get too ahead of myself. We've got a final on Friday and then I'll probably have a sit down and chat with the coaches after my time off."

Pollock was keen to soak up all the knowledge he could from France-bound Lawes and Ludlam before they left Saints.

“I learned a lot - they're world class players,” Banbury-born Pollock said.

"To be able to say I was in a squad with them in their last year at their boyhood club is something really special.

"I hope they kick on and do really well out in France, and I'm sure they will do because they're such great guys and great players.

"I learned so much from them and I was just trying to absorb as much information from them as I could in the time I had with them."

Pollock also took plenty from his spell in the Championship with Bedford.

"Bedford definitely gave me that physical aspect,” said the flanker.

"The lads there are amazing and I loved my time there.

"It's about getting minutes under your belt and playing rugby so I loved my time at Bedford and very thankful I got that experience."

In the season to come, though, Pollock will look to use all he’s learned so far to give him a platform to regular game time at Saints.

And he says the club’s Gallagher Premiership triumph has only served to add fuel to the fire.

"It gives you the confidence that if we've done it before, we can do it again,” he said.

"It's a new squad this year, lots of key players have left, and the messages this year will probably be about building back up from where we left off.

"I'm really excited to get back to Saints and pick up where I left off."

But first it’s all about winning that final with England.

And if Pollock does star yet again for his country, he knows who he’ll have to thank the most.

"My family,” he said. “I've got a great support group in my family and I'm lucky enough that they're out here in South Africa.

"The other day they took me out to dinner, we just spoke about nothing to do with rugby and it was nice to have a bit of a detox from rugby because you can get caught up with it in camp because you are doing it each day with five-day turnarounds.

"It can be quite mentally tough so to go away and spend some quality time with the family was really special."