There’s a buzz in Franklin’s gardens. Just a few days after a significant victory against Leinster, four players from the team received selections for the British and Irish Lions. Since then, the atmosphere at the club has been charged with excitement. You can sense how thrilled everyone is for Quartet—Finn Smith, Henry Pollock, Tommy Freeman, and Alex Mitchell. It’s hard not to feel joy for them, especially when you see how happy their teammates are. A video celebrating the news went viral, and it turns out Fraser Dingwall hosted a dinner the night after the announcement to celebrate.
Dingwall had a slim chance of making the Lions team himself, but instead of dwelling on the disappointment, he chose to pop some champagne and revel in the moment.
This is a young group. Mitchell is 26, Freeman is 24, Smith is 22, and Pollock is just 20. Pollock shared his thoughts, saying, “It’s really special to share this with three of our top guys,” especially since he was playing junior rugby not long ago. Mitchell noted that he was actually having a tough time breaking into the Saints’ first team earlier in the season.
Pollock mentioned that he only started seriously considering a tour after making his England debut in the spring, where he had an impressive performance in the Premiership.
You can really see Pollock’s passion. He’s moving up the ranks fast, sort of like the champagne Dingwall was celebrating with. Mitchell praised him, reminiscing about when Pollock joined the academy last year, saying, “He had everything—energy, talent, mindset. I just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.” He compared him to Darts’ Luke Littler, pointing out that many players tend to overthink things in the system, but Pollock remains true to himself and puts everything into it.
“He’s just killing it,” Freeman chimed in, describing Pollock’s remarkable character. “You want to tease him a bit, but he keeps impressing everyone.” They’re all eagerly waiting for him to hit a bump, but he seems to keep delivering. “I really hope he continues his way. Rugby definitely needs characters like him.”
Freeman is also behind Pollock, having had his own challenges after scoring in every round of the Six Nations. He tried to block out the noise every week because the squad announcement didn’t include his name, leading to a few moments of self-doubt while waiting for the news.
Mitchell confessed he was so anxious that he almost didn’t want to watch the announcement with his teammates. “We discussed whether we should watch it at home, but it turned out great to be there together—what an experience it was!”
This Sunday, the Saints are set to face Exeter, and all four players are taking a break this weekend, which is probably well-deserved after the emotional roller coaster of the past few days. Mitchell recounted how he was in bed by 9 PM after leaving Dingwall’s gathering, feeling exhausted from the intense emotions surrounding the semi-finals and the nerves leading up to it. Plus, they have a significant game coming up on May 17 against the Saracens, followed by a final against Bordeaux Begles a week later.
The last time the Saints were associated with the Lions was back in 1997, with hopes that this time they can mirroring the success of 2000 when they won the Champions Cup. As thoughts of glory swirl around, anticipation builds for the Lions’ first match against Argentina in Dublin on June 20th.
