Youth no barrier for Pollock says fellow teenage star Farrell

LONDON - Andy Farrell was a rugby league international at 17 and captained his country at 21 so he was never likely to be phased by the “youth” of 20-year-old Henry Pollock, the most eye-catching name in the British and Irish Lions squad.

The feisty flanker began the season as an England under-20 with one Premiership game under his belt but he now has a full England cap – and two tries – is in the European Champions Cup final with Northampton and has been shortlisted for the tournament’s player of the year after bagging seven tries

Pollock was already obviously on Farrell’s radar but he became an unmissable blip last Saturday when he starred in front of the watching Lions coach in his club’s European semi-final win over a Leinster team who would go on to supply 12 Lions in the squad named on Thursday to tour Australia.

A flash of individual brilliance, when he skinned flyhalf Sam Prendergast on the outside like a winger, was an eye-popping moment but Farrell is as likely to have been more impressed by Pollocks work in the trenches as he battled at every breakdown and was still doing so in the final, decisive seconds when Saints forced the winning turnover on their own line.

“When you see a player like that it doesn’t matter what age he is, if you are good enough, you are old enough,” Farrell said after announcing his 38-man squad where the battle for back row berths was probably the most competitive of all his decisions.

“Ive heard a lot of stuff, not just about Henry, but all youngsters, that they are confident and cocky, but what do we want? Do we want a kid to show his confidence at 23 or 24 or at 20? Its about