Is Henry Pollock’s biggest problem Eddie Hearn?

Henry Pollock’s first few months with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Talent Agency has felt less like a commitment to rugby union – and reaching the heights within the sport – and more like a scattergun approach to marketing a player in a way rugby players hadn’t experienced before. Seeing Pollock in the front few rows of that amazing Katie Taylor fight at Croke Park, on a yacht with Hearn over the summer, and being the subject of a tidal wave of briefings over whether he should be paid £1m per season – something his club Northampton Saints surely cannot afford – reminds me of when Danny Cipriani signed for First Access Sports alongside footballers like Ryan Bertrand and Callum Hudson-Odoi. The billionaire-backed agency was supposed to be the step up between rugby and stardom, and, while that was achieved for Cipriani domestically, his international rugby career never reached the highs it should have. These may not be related but there are parallels between Cipriani and Pollock, the latter of whom isn’t even currently favoured as an England starter under Steve Borthwick. There is something to say about how easily the only player English rugby is talking about has had his head turned – Louis Rees-Zammit was tempted to try the NFL but he hasn’t been talking about entering the ring or switching sports in the same way. It’s fun to read about, but would Pollock actually be that good against Tom Aspinall in the octagon? My Pollock fear I fear Pollock is suffering from an agent issue, where he’s being hyped up to think he is worth £1m per season in real terms cash – he may be worth three times that in brand value. What if he went to Newcastle Red Bulls on the aforementioned wage but stopped winning titles like is doing at Northampton? Hearn is used to dealing with major personalities but he does so because they’re soloists in individual sports where everything they do matters. One Pollock on-field mistake could be covered up ; every high and low is shared with others — and that’s a difficult story to weave for a promoter. Compare this with fellow Matchroom Talent Agency rugby player Finn Russell, who is keeping his – more mature – head down having got married over the summer. It is easy to imagine the Scot hearing wild proposals from Hearn and co and simply declining. Russell isn’t contemplating the ring or NRL is he?