Of all the celebratory snapshots of Northampton’s Prem final triumph, perhaps the best was the morning-after picture of Henry Pollock and Fin Smith in bed with the trophy accompanied by backing vocals from Frank Sinatra. “That’s life, that’s what all the people say. You’re riding high in April, shot down in May. But I know I’m going to change that tune, when I’m back on top, back on top in June …”
Talk about suitably perfect lyrics. Saints may have finished top of the regular-season table but when they were being smashed 41-17 at Leicester on 9 May they looked far from dead certs to collect a second title in three years. To have claimed it on the occasion of their captain George Furbank’s final club appearance made it all the sweeter for Pollock, Smith and all his other close compadres.
The drinks will continue to flow in the East Midlands for a while after their 26-17 victory. There were a few moments when Exeter threatened to gatecrash their party but, ultimately, the Chiefs’ first-half profligacy and an exhausting run of big games finally caught up with them. The sin-binning of their captain, Dafydd Jenkins, followed by two well-taken tries within four minutes from George Hendy, proved the final straw.
At some stage the focus in Northampton will have to turn to replacing the Harlequins-bound Furbank, whose ability and example will be sorely missed. The good news, for now, is that this young Saints side remains in enlightened coaching hands in the shape of Phil Dowson and Sam Vesty, who have instilled a gameplan and a team bond which make them increasingly strong candidates as and when England seek fresh coaching inspiration.
In the meantime it is Pollock, Smith and co who must lie back and think of England, whose Nations Championship squad is being announced on Monday. In theory nothing should sharpen the mind more than a flight to South Africa on Wednesday, before the Test on Saturday week against the world champion Springboks. In practice it has been another achingly long domestic slog and Steve Borthwick will head south with some seriously battered and patched-up foot soldiers.
Exeter’s Manny Feyi-Waboso, for instance, somehow played on Saturday despite a recently broken jaw. Given he underwent surgery on the injury only 17 days previously, things could easily have gone painfully awry. “We were planning on the first game being hopefully South Africa,” he said. “Even then the chances of my jaw healing probably wouldn’t be high.
“We all sat down with the surgeon … and they just laid the information out to me. They said that [with] a direct blow to the jaw it’s likely the repair is going to fail, but you can try. It’s still a bit sore to touch but when the adrenaline’s pumping and you’ve got some painkillers you’re all right. I’m just happy the jaw stayed intact and it hasn’t jeopardised my chances to be away with England.”
Given that Greg Fisilau also played on with a cracked eye socket and Archie McParland now has a lacerated knee, it leaves Borthwick to make a judgment call. Is there any huge benefit, ultimately, in dragging barely fit players across three continents when what they need is a break? Thankfully, with George Martin, Alex Coles and Ollie Chessum all ready for duty, Maro Itoje is now poised for a summer off and hopefully the same will apply to one or two others.
On the flipside, Pollock is clearly itching to make a successful return to the country where he shared in a junior world title with England under-20s in 2024. He has already had 29 competitive games for club and country this season on the back of the British & Irish Lions tour last year, but his latest man-of-the-match display on Saturday has sharpened his appetite for more.
“We’ve got three big, big Test matches,” he said. “Obviously the Six Nations didn’t go our way and we are still hurting from that a little bit. I’m buzzing to get into camp and be around the boys again. There is no bigger challenge than going to South Africa and playing away at altitude in one of the biggest stadiums in the world. Those are the things you dream of.”
While not every South African is a fan of Pollock’s ebullient on-field persona – “They can talk all they want … I guess I keep showing up” – it is also a chance for the 21-year-old to measure his progress in comparison with the world’s best. “Obviously I want to let my hair down [this weekend] but I know in the back of my mind we’ve still got a job to do in the summer. There are lots of demands on us but we trust in the coaches and staff to manage us well. Those games are the ones you want to play in. You want to go away and play against the best in the world.” To borrow again from Sinatra, come fly with me.