Henry Pollock is pushing to finally win a starting shirt for England’s Nations Championship finale against Argentina, with a trio of former internationals demanding Steve Borthwick throw off the leash.
According to a fresh update from PA, Chris Ashton, Ben Youngs and Jeremy Guscott are among the voices calling for the Northampton Saints back-rower to be promoted after his hat-trick off the bench sealed England’s 73-8 rout of Fiji in Liverpool.
Steve Borthwick Faces Bench Calls From Ashton And Youngs
Ashton’s verdict after the Fiji rout was blunt: “stop messing about and put him in.” Youngs was equally direct, urging Borthwick to “just start him, please!” It is Pollock’s 11th appearance as a replacement in 12 caps, with Saturday in Santiago del Estero his last chance to force the issue before the autumn.
“A big thing for me at the minute is wanting to get that starting shirt,” Pollock said. “But at the same time, the depth in the squad is crazy good, so I’m happy with any role I’m playing as long as I’m in the team.”
Borthwick has other selection puzzles to solve before Thursday’s team announcement, including whether Marcus Smith’s emergency cameo at scrum-half — covering for the hamstrung Alex Mitchell, who has been replaced in the squad by Raffi Quirke — opens the door to a seven-one bench split against the Pumas.
