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Clearly NOT a "team player"....... me, me me....

Sadly that mentality is more the norm than the exception in the generation to have entered employment around or since Covid.

I think it's the way things were going anyway, but I think Covid emphasised to them at a young age that when it comes to employment they should look after themselves.

It doesn't come across well to older generations, and it's sad to see in rugby union.

I actually don't mind. I think it's going to get people talking about the value of rugby players and might also drum up more investment. If you ask kids what they want to be when they're older, they often always say footballer. Yes, they enjoy football, but they see the millions that professionals earn, and that enhances the desire and pursuit of being more involved in football. I think rugby needs a bit of that stardust, glamour and fame to keep up with other professional sports now. I'd say even the professional athletes like Hodgkinson, Duplantis etc. are more high-profile and valuable than any rugby player is.

I get the fact rugby is a short career, I get the fact they need to look after themselves..... up to a point. He, allegedly, has been offered £400k, plus £150k England fees, plus £XXXk endorsements etc - that's a decent amount. But it is a team sport, with, currently, a limited pot - silly money (relative to other team mates) creates divisions. Hodgkinson & Duplantis etc are competing as individuals so is a bit different..... IMHO!

Despite his ability i want him and his circus nowhere near this club please.

We have some good seniors, good signings and some cracking kids coming through. Focus on them.

Pollock needs to be careful aswell as Saints themselves have some belting young back rowers coming through such as Jack Lewis an absolute powerhouse 7 whos played prem rugby and only 18 year old.

When you are part of the Eddie Hearn circus, unfortunately this is what we can come to expect. His boxing effort has fight nights on a regular basis where he has to fill the card. The result is an entourage of journeymen and 4 th rate fighters. He cares not. It is bums on seats that counts. This in turn has led to such debacles as celebs fighting aged pro boxers.....who in the hell pays to see that? Hearn is extracting the maximum he can financially from the situation......why should Pollock not believe him? I think for the commitment elite players (and I do not count him as elite, just talented) have to give the amount they earn over a short playing window is not a good investment. But, once again when rugby turned professional things like sustainability and wage structures ought to have been addressed. Instead, more regulation and rules were tacked on to an already outdated system.....and here we are.

Its a fair point about how far down the public scale rugby players may well be. I suspect if you look at endorsements they are bottom feeders compared to golf, tennis, athletics, football and NFL.

400k is not much now for the notoriety he brings. I don't think you can include England or endorsements as they are entirely separate.... and on some occasions may conflict as a club sponsor may restrict a players access to a solo sponsor for a similar product.

If I remember rightly from the old salary scandal, Itoje at a similar age was earning twice as much as Saints are offering. Though he was a marquee.

Yes clubs have a limited pot, and it is great for a club to have a better team on paper than they can afford because all the players take a salary hit. Conversely that's asking a lot of the player. In that respect if Pollock stays at that price, Saints have a better player than they are paying (they win). If he leaves, he wins (assuming he can get more staying as an International), but they don't lose as such, as they replace him with a salary par player or developing layer

Players have 3 main sources of income
Club contract
International payments
Sponsorship
If he moves abroad the middle one vanishes completely
The last one reduces significantly
Therefore for him to move abroad the club contract needs to be significantly more
If he stays in England his club contract may be higher at saints as I think they are the only club who could have him exempt from the cap. That means he would be their highest paid player
I’m sure the rumours of Red Bull interest are purely to convince saints to pay more

I wonder if Red Bull rumours are RB making enquiries as part of due diligence on a possible asset?

I get what you're saying, Charlie, and you're right, if all the Saints players were asking for a significant pay rise, then there wouldn't be many players left at the club. I see Freeman has re-signed under minimal fuss.

It has certainly sparked debate around the value of rugby players, which I don't think is a bad thing. The only bad part is that it had to be Pollock, which the media outlets are running with endlessly. He is a poster boy for the sport, and yet there seems to be a lot of animosity aimed at the kid, which I think is a shame. Despite being a public school boy and acting like a clown, I don't think he is arrogant, which is the term I see bandied about a lot online. When I've heard him speak, he seems quite a nice lad. I don't really understand the constant vilification. There was less of a reaction and public dislike for someone like Etzbeth, who actually eye gouged another player last year.

I think you can place 100% of the blame at the door of the Press - all they are now interested in is sensationalism - quality journalism is a thing of the distant past. And you're 100% correct on Etzebeth.

Even Saints fans call him an idiot ("but he's our idiot") - he does bring on a lot of the vilification on himself (and with all due respect, being 'a public school boy' is irrelevant - I was one - there are "idiots" in all forms of education, some far more dangerous than others) - he may not be (very) arrogant but he is an idiot. I would understand if he let Hearn speak for him, but he says these things himself, publicly.