Pollock rewarded with England Elite Player contract
The contracts were introduced last September as part of the RFU's new agreement with the Premiership clubs and give Borthwick more control over players' sports science and medical matters while guaranteeing payment to the players involved even if they don't play in tests.
Borthwick initially awarded contracts to 17 players but has now taken up his full allocation of 25, with Pollock the most eye-catching addition.
Pollock was playing in the under-20s at the start of the year, but made a try-scoring full England debut against Wales in March and was then selected for the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, where he featured in several tour games but did not win a test cap.
Ben Curry comes in to join brother and fellow flanker Tom, with Sale winger Tom Roebuck also in after an impressive end to his season as back rower Tom Willis is also involved. Alex Mitchell remains the only scrumhalf while there are again three flyhalves - Marcus and Fin Smith and George Ford.
There is no contract for former captain Owen Farrell, who last played for England in the 2023 World Cup before walking away from the international game, but is eligible again after returning from France to rejoin Saracens and having just played for the Lions.
Hooker Theo Dan is the only player to lose his central contract.
"These contracts, together with our strong relationship with the Premiership clubs, will continue to play an important role in the ongoing development of England Rugby," Borthwick said.
England play Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina in this year's Autumn Series.
England Men's enhanced EPS contracts:
Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)
Ben Curry (Sale Sharks)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Elliot Daly (Saracens)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)
Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
Tom Willis (Saracens)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Pollock rewarded with England Elite Player contract
LONDON :Northampton flanker Henry Pollock, 20, has been rewarded for his stellar year by being included in a new 25-man group to be given Elite Player Squad (EPS) contracts, after the RFU published coach Steve Borthwick's selections on Monday. The contracts were introduced last September as part of the RFU's new agreement with the Premiership clubs and give Borthwick more control over players' sports science and medical matters while guaranteeing payment to the players involved even if they don't play in tests. Borthwick initially awarded contracts to 17 players but has now taken up his full allocation of 25, with Pollock the most eye-catching addition. Pollock was playing in the under-20s at the start of the year, but made a try-scoring full England debut against Wales in March and was then selected for the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, where he featured in several tour games but did not win a test cap. Ben Curry comes in to join brother and fellow flanker Tom, with Sale winger Tom Roebuck also in after an impressive end to his season as back rower Tom Willis is also involved. Alex Mitchell remains the only scrumhalf while there are again three flyhalves - Marcus and Fin Smith and George Ford. There is no contract for former captain Owen Farrell, who last played for England in the 2023 World Cup before walking away from the international game, but is eligible again after returning from France to rejoin Saracens and having just played for the Lions. Hooker Theo Dan is the only player to lose his central contract. "These contracts, together with our strong relationship with the Premiership clubs, will continue to play an important role in the ongoing development of England Rugby," Borthwick said. England play Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina in this year's Autumn Series. England Men's enhanced EPS contracts: Fin Baxter (Harlequins) Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers) Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks) Ben Curry (Sale Sharks) Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) Elliot Daly (Saracens) Ben Earl (Saracens) Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs) George Ford (Sale Sharks) Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints) George Furbank (Northampton Saints) Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears) Jamie George (Saracens) Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers) Maro Itoje (Saracens) Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby) George Martin (Leicester Tigers) Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints) Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints) Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks) Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) Fin Smith (Northampton Saints) Marcus Smith (Harlequins) Will Stuart (Bath Rugby) Tom Willis (Saracens)
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Pollock rewarded with England Elite Player contract
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox LONDON - Northampton flanker Henry Pollock, 20, has been rewarded for his stellar year by being included in a new 25-man group to be given Elite Player Squad (EPS) contracts, after the RFU published coach Steve Borthwick's selections on Monday. The contracts were introduced last September as part of the RFU's new agreement with the Premiership clubs and give Borthwick more control over players' sports science and medical matters while guaranteeing payment to the players involved even if they don't play in tests. Borthwick initially awarded contracts to 17 players but has now taken up his full allocation of 25, with Pollock the most eye-catching addition. Pollock was playing in the under-20s at the start of the year, but made a try-scoring full England debut against Wales in March and was then selected for the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, where he featured in several tour games but did not win a test cap. Ben Curry comes in to join brother and fellow flanker Tom, with Sale winger Tom Roebuck also in after an impressive end to his season as back rower Tom Willis is also involved. Alex Mitchell remains the only scrumhalf while there are again three flyhalves - Marcus and Fin Smith and George Ford. There is no contract for former captain Owen Farrell, who last played for England in the 2023 World Cup before walking away from the international game, but is eligible again after returning from France to rejoin Saracens and having just played for the Lions. Hooker Theo Dan is the only player to lose his central contract. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business Lower-wage retail workers to receive up to 6% pay bump from Sept 1 Singapore Keppel to sell M1's telco business to Simba for $1.43b, says deal expected to benefit consumers Singapore ST Explains: Who owns Simba, the company that is buying M1? Singapore Telco price undercutting expected to subside after sale of M1 to Simba: Analysts Singapore ST Explains: What is Vers and which HDB estates could it be rolled out in? Singapore For Vers to work, compensation should account for varied needs of HDB flat owners: Observers World US military is preparing to deploy National Guard in Washington, DC, official says Singapore Ong Ye Kung rebuts complaints about treatment of stallholders at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre "These contracts, together with our strong relationship with the Premiership clubs, will continue to play an important role in the ongoing development of England Rugby," Borthwick said. England play Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina in this year's Autumn Series. England Men's enhanced EPS contracts: Fin Baxter (Harlequins) Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers) Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks) Ben Curry (Sale Sharks) Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) Elliot Daly (Saracens) Ben Earl (Saracens) Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs) George Ford (Sale Sharks) Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints) George Furbank (Northampton Saints) Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears) Jamie George (Saracens) Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers) Maro Itoje (Saracens) Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby) George Martin (Leicester Tigers) Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints) Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints) Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks) Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) Fin Smith (Northampton Saints) Marcus Smith (Harlequins) Will Stuart (Bath Rugby) Tom Willis (Saracens) REUTERS
CNA
8 hours ago
- CNA
Palace lose appeal against Europa League demotion at CAS
Crystal Palace's appeal against UEFA's decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday. UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman John Textor owned a controlling stake in Palace. Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League. "After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA's assessment date," the CAS said in a statement. "The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL." Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Palace, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA's decision last month. The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson completed the purchase of Textor-founded Eagle Football Holdings' stake in Palace. Textor has also resigned from Lyon's board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president. As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League. "Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today's decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League," Lyon said in a statement. Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League's qualifying playoff round later this month.
