Henry Pollock Speaks Out After Champions Cup Clash With Poirot
Henry Pollock Speaks Out After Champions Cup Clash With Poirot
Henry Pollock reveals details of a post-match incident with Jefferson Poirot, who received a two-week ban after the fiery Champions Cup Final.
Rising Northampton Saints star Henry Pollock has revealed the fiery details behind the post-match bust-up that marred the conclusion of the Investec Champions Cup Final, where Saints fell 28-20 to Bordeaux-Begles.
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The high-stakes final had been played in good spirits until the full-time whistle. What followed was an ugly scuffle involving players from both sides, culminating in a two-week ban for Bordeaux prop Jefferson Poirot.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Pollock detailed how tensions boiled over following a heated exchange between Northampton captain Fraser Dingwall and Bordeaux fly-half Matthieu Jalibert.
“The whistle goes, and obviously it’s pretty heated,” Pollock said. “Dingers and Jalibert were pushing and shoving. I went over, pushed Jalibert and thought, ‘I’m not letting Dingers be on his own here.’”
Unbeknownst to Pollock, Poirot had reportedly charged over from the bench with a clear target.
“Apparently, the loosehead was on the bench and beelined it straight to me,” Pollock recounted. “He basically grabs my neck, gets his hands on my throat and squeezes. I wasn’t happy with this. I was pretty angry.”
TV cameras caught the tail end of the incident, showing Pollock gesturing toward his neck, a signal later confirmed during discussions with assistant referee Andrea Piardi.
Poirot’s actions were deemed “against the spirit of good sportsmanship” by an independent disciplinary panel, resulting in the suspension that rules him out of Bordeaux’s final two Top 14 regular-season games.
“It was mad,” Pollock said. “You’ve just won the Champions Cup and the first thing you want to do is run on and strangle a 20-year-old?”
Pollock’s teammates, including fellow England international Tommy Freeman, have backed the young flanker amid growing scrutiny.
“He’s got a bit of a target on his back, through no fault of his own,” Freeman noted.
Bordeaux added fuel to the fire during the celebrations, with players and coaches mocking Pollock’s signature ‘pulse-check’ celebration. The Saints man, however, took it in stride.
“I would actually say, if they want to do that and make you the front line of their celebrations, then fair play,” Pollock shrugged.
As the dust settles on a dramatic finale, the focus for Pollock will shift to the upcoming British and Irish Lions series.
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