After a meteoric rise to become the youngest forward to play for The British & Irish Lions since 1968, with a guarantee of “aggression” and promise to be “a nuisance”, it is no wonder Australia has been looking forward to a first glimpse of Henry Pollock.

And, according to Western Force captain Nic White, he more than lived up to the hype.

Barring a 10-minute sin-bin that straddled the half-time interval, the back-rower played the full match as his team recorded their first win of the Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2025.

To say he was busy would be an understatement.

The Lions scored eight tries at Optus Stadium and he played a key part in two of them, capping a performance that also brought that yellow card and some notable warnings from referee Ben O’Keefe but undoubtedly put him in the shop window for a Test place in three weeks’ time.

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The Northampton Saint talks a good game. Indeed, Maro Itoje, when asked to describe him in one word, couldn’t decide between ‘annoying’ and ‘pest’, while being quick to add it was meant as a compliment.

But to see him scythe through the Western Force defence on two occasions here underlines that he can more than back it up. Take Tomos Williams’ first try, as an example.

He might have been warned by referee Ben O’Keefe repeatedly around the ruck, as Western Force put the Lions under immense pressure in the first 20 minutes, but Pollock made amends for all that with a brilliant break from midfield.

After a one-two with Josh van der Flier, off he went, scything through a couple of Western Force tacklers and splintering their defensive line. As he was dragged down five-metres from the line, he had the presence of mind to produce a brilliant offload for a supporting Williams.

"Henry Pollock certainly lived up to the hype,” White said. “From 50 minutes plus, they kept the intensity and he came into his own. It was so exciting for our guys to go up against them and in front of a record crowd, it was unbelievable.”

The Lions were on the back foot for portions of the first half but still scored three tries through Dan Sheehan, Williams and Elliot Daly.

In the second half, they cut loose, with Williams and Daly scoring their second tries and further scores for Garry Ringrose, Joe McCarthy and Alex Mitchell.

In a blot on his copybook, Pollock was sin-binned before half-time for trying to play the ball on the floor, but he then made the move of the match that led to McCarthy’s try.

In possession in midfield, he spied some space and – in a move few No.8s would do – kicked ahead, chased it down and beat two defenders to the ball.

He ran to the five-metre line and, with Western Force defenders scattered, the ball was moved left to where McCarthy ran in. It was spell-blinding stuff.

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Those who played a part in Pollock’s journey universally speak of his single-mindedness to improve, pushing himself in every training session, beyond the limits of most team-mates.

He has world-class teammates here, especially in the back-row, with Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Jac Morgan and Jack Conan joining him, Van der Flier, Tadhg Beirne and Ollie Chessum in jostling for a Test place.

"I'm just trying to be myself in this environment, and if that means someone says something and I get on the end of it, so be it,” Pollock said.

"It was a great performance, we were disappointed by last week's result.

"First game Down Under, and what a confident performance. Hopefully that builds into the upcoming games.”

Hard work has got Pollock to this point, but genetics have helped too – he credits his mum, Hester, with instilling his love of sport, with swimming and triathlon taking equal focus alongside rugby in his early teens.

“My brother, sister and I just all lived for sports – there was no pressure on us, we just played without fear or commitment,” he added.

Being the youngest tourist brings additional responsibilities. Pollock has sole guardianship of the mascot, aptly named ‘BIL’, and there are serious consequences should it go missing – not easy when more experienced hands have been known to steal and hide him at every available opportunity. Bundee Aki, the oldest in the squad, has already been filmed playing tricks.

Indeed, BIL was there on the sidelines to watch Pollock strut his stuff.

Like the rest of Australia, he would have been suitably impressed.