Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Henry Pollock.Laszlo Geczo/INPHO Freesuper saint Pollock: 'It was mad, a crazy game to play in. We put on a show' Henry Pollock reflects on Northampton’s remarkable Champions Cup defeat of Leinster. 5.11pm, 4 May 2025 Share options THE PLAY ENCAPSULATED what all the pre-match hype around Henry Pollock had warned. Tearing onto Alex Mitchell’s short pass, Pollock ran a brilliant line to break past Andrew Porter and RG Snyman. Sam Prendergast was next up, but at full pelt Pollock backed himself to burn the out-half on the outside, leaving the Leinster 10 stumbling out of touch. The Saints flanker had the time and space to ease up before touching the ball down as Hugo Keenan closed in. While his teammates raced in to celebrate the try, Pollock faced the crowd and raised two fingers to his throat. Henry Pollock...WOW! 😱😱 "He's done it again, but today is on another level!" 🎙️ Just absolutely explosive running to score a big try for @SaintsRugby 😇#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/yN9iryaW8r— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) May 3, 2025 “Not planned,” Pollock said of the celebration. “It just came in moment, feeling the pulse, ice in the veins kind of thing. “The try, we got kicked the ball and I saw a massive gap in their defence line and I changed my speed and Mitch gave me a good ball. I just saw some space and was lucky enough to get the swerve on the outside of Prendergast and finished in the middle. “I was happy with that. It is all for the team and I am just so happy for the team, we have worked so hard. It has not been the kind of season we wanted, but to be able to win in their backyard is something we will probably never forget.” Advertisement In an iconic win for Northampton, Pollock was right at the heart of it all. Leinster landed the kick-off on the flanker, ensuring his first touch of the afternoon was met with a double-hit from Caelan Doris and Dan Sheehan. He gave away a cheap penalty for a late hit on Josh van der Flier. He scored that scorching second Saints try. He threw a clever delayed pass in the build-up to Tommy Freeman’s second. He finished as the game’s top tackler with 22, more than double that of any Leinster player. He beat three defenders and won two turnovers. He lapped up every minute of it. “These are the games you want to play in, these are the games that as little kid, you look at and watch. Van der Flier and Doris are the best back-rowers in the world at the minute and I was just excited and could wait to get out there. I was buzzing in the changing rooms beforehand, buzzing all week. It is an honour to be able to share a pitch with them. “I would say before the game you probably look at the team sheet and go ‘wow, Jordie Barrett is playing’ and it is pretty cool. On the pitch you don’t really think about it, it is muscle memory and it is your next action is the biggest one and it doesn’t really matter who you are up against. “At the end of the day it is just the connection between the man inside and out of you and anything you can do for the team to make that positive… I was just excited to go up against some of the best players in the world.” Pollock speaking to the media after the game.Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO It was the type of performance that bolsters the 20-year-old’s argument in the Lions conversation, a statement display following a fine run of form across his breakthrough season. And a performance that leaves Northampton just one game from Champions Cup glory. “I’m excited. I’ll watch the game (Bordeaux v Toulouse) tomorrow and coming into this game we just talked about we had the players in our team and we are such a tight-knit group that we don’t listen to outside noise, we don’t listen to what the media are saying, we have belief in our group. We spoke in the week about confidence and we will definitely be bringing that into the final. “It was mad, a crazy game to play in,” he added. They are one of the best club sides in the world and they have got the best players in the world so we just talked in the week about enjoyment and belief in our own group. We put on a show and we are happy with that.” And Pollock was the central showman, backing up his confident pre-game talk with actions. “With me it is about not changing, I have said it loads, not changing. I bring an energy that probably others don’t and anything I can bring to the team is at the forefront of my mind, bringing them energy, bringing them excitement. “It’s not every day you get to play in a final in Cardiff against one of the best teams in Europe. I’ll be excited for that.” Ciarán Kennedy Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Pollock: 'It was mad, a crazy game to play in. We put on a show'”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Pollock: 'It was mad, a crazy game to play in. We put on a show'”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. 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