Henry Pollock And The Rise Of The Light Loose Forward

Australia and New Zealand Invitational XV v British and Irish Lions

Date: Saturday, 12 July Kick-off 11:00 BST Venue: Adelaide Oval

Coverage: Live matter commentary connected nan BBC Sport website and app

Ardie Savea doesn't watch overmuch bluish hemisphere rugby, but he had seen enough.

"The main point I sewage retired of it was really bully Henry Pollock is," said nan New Zealand backmost statement aft nan British and Irish Lions squad was named., external

"Shout retired to my relative because he represents nan ray loose forwards man.

"For truthful agelong and still now, location is that connotation of loose forwards having to beryllium big, and he is proving it incorrect erstwhile again pinch nan measurement he plays."

Pollock is surely ray by nan standards of modern-day forwards. He tips nan scales astatine 105kg (16st 8lb), a balsa-wood framework amid dense lumber elsewhere.

Like Savea though, he besides has dazzling speed.

At afloat pelt, Pollock clocks astir 10 metres a 2nd - nan benignant of velocity usually associated pinch pacier backs. And he tin replicate those bursts again and again.

His Bronco clip - a modular shuttle-run fittingness trial - is simply a punchy 4 minutes 25 seconds. Gloucester and England centre Seb Atkinson's clip of 4:08 is elite rugby's unofficial record.

Whenever nan Lions break nan line, Pollock's blond mane is invariably not acold behind.

"I recovered his engine, his expertise to spell and spell and go, conscionable incredible," Jason Sivil, portion of Northampton's spot and conditioning team, told nan Telegraph of Pollock successful April., external

There is athleticism successful nan genes. Pollock's older sister Zoe is simply a 400m hurdler connected nan competitory assemblage circuit successful nan United States. His mother Hester competed successful triathlon astatine a precocious level.

But location is besides a alteration successful nan game. What it is to beryllium a backmost statement is morphing.

When Pollock made his England debut disconnected nan chair against Wales successful March, nan starting trio up of him - Ben Earl and identical twins Ben Curry and Tom Curry - had each played astir of their rugby arsenic open-side flankers.

"The point you are seeing astir nan parkland is velocity wins," said Earl successful nan week building up to nan match.

"We are talking a batch astir moving nan ball, being aggressive, outworking teams. Our players bargain into that."

When nan Lions toured New Zealand successful 2017, nan All Black guidance were encouraging Savea to bulk up to 106kgs., external

Now, nan 31-year-old, playing immoderate of nan champion rugby of his career, is astatine 99kg (15st 8lb) - a akin weight to erstwhile he was a teenager.

Ireland's Josh van der Flier, who preceded Savea arsenic World Player of nan Year and is touring alongside Pollock, has likewise mislaid weight, but gained power connected nan pitch.

"There was a shape I was a spot heavier - 3 aliases 4 kilos much than now - and I benignant of mislaid what I was bully at," he told BBC Sport.

"I wasn't dense capable to beryllium a big, brute force, and was excessively dense to beryllium ray and explosive astir nan place.

"For maine it has been astir trying to find nan ways I tin beryllium effective.

"To play nan measurement that Andy [Farrell, Lions caput coach] plays nan crippled suits maine and nan likes of Henry, Tom Curry (110kg, 17st 5lb), Jac Morgan (105kg, 16st 8lb) - they are each very move players and deceptively beardown arsenic well."

The mean weight of nan master backmost rows picked for nan Lions squads has dropped complete nan past 3 tours.

In 2017, nan fleet feet of Justin Tipuric were counter-balanced by nan bulk of Billy Vunipola.

Taulupe Faletau's powerfulness mixed pinch Hamish Watson and Sam Simmonds' gait successful 2021.

This clip astir nan scope betwixt nan heaviest backmost row, Curry, and nan lightest, Earl (102kg, 16st 1lb), is smaller.

Their duties person multiplied though.

Looking astatine information from nan Six Nations and Rugby Championship since 2021, nan mean number of carries by a back-row subordinate has slightly, but steadily increased.

This twelvemonth it is astatine 9.6 per game, compared to 8.6 5 years ago.

There has been nary fto up successful their protect efforts either.

And, roaming wide and fast, nan conflict of nan breakdown is falling heavier than ever connected their shoulders.

Taking a longer position each those figures are importantly higher than they were successful preceding decades.

Opta's analysis of Rugby World Cup tournaments, external shows an mean ball-in-play clip of little than 32 minutes successful 2003, and conscionable complete 28 minutes astatine nan inaugural 1987 edition.

Phil Dowson, Pollock's head of rugby astatine Northampton, was a backmost statement himself, pinch a 16-year top-flight profession and 7 England caps to his sanction earlier he moved into coaching.

He cites erstwhile Wallabies David Pocock and Phil Waugh, England's Neil Back and ex-Harlequins flanker Will Skinner arsenic backmost rows of yesteryear who excelled contempt lacking nan heft.

"All those were athletic, possibly not arsenic overmuch arsenic Henry Pollock, but they would person created a ton of turnovers and covered a batch of ground," he told BBC Sport.

"But possibly we are successful a rhythm astatine nan infinitesimal pinch nan accrued magnitude of shot successful play - I deliberation people that will driblet nan weights of group because you can't support moving if you are a large unit.

"I deliberation that is cardinal to nan athleticism and weight of immoderate of nan guys.

"There person been loads of scary stories astir players being many times told to bulk up and past either sewage injured aliases couldn't move astir arsenic they wish aliases mislaid that cardinal attacking threat.

"We are conscious of that and uncovering that equilibrium betwixt powerfulness and velocity is incredibly important."

Lions caput coach Farrell, who has picked Pollock, Morgan and Earl arsenic nan backmost statement for their last pre-Test bid warm-up game, has his ain equilibrium to strike.

Australia person their ain fast-forward fetcher successful nan fantabulous Fraser McReight. Yet Will Skelton (135kg, 21st 4 lb) and Rob Valetini (117kg, 18st 6lb) besides loom arsenic heavyweight Wallaby guardant options.

Does Farrell adhd ballast to his backmost statement by including Ollie Chessum, much usually a 2nd row, to antagonistic their nonstop threat?

Or does he spell for a warp-speed action that runs nan legs disconnected nan Wallabies and prioritises a breakdown conflict nan Lions person struggled to maestro truthful far?

Spoil a maneuver aliases travel a trend? His prime will beryllium fascinating.