Jamie George reveals why England were 'quite reluctant' to give Henry Pollock role in haka response against New Zealand
Published 16/11/2025 at 20:52 GMT
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England beat New Zealand at Allianz Stadium to secure their 10th victory in a row. Ahead of the match, England lined up in a V formation in response to New Zealand's haka. England's Jamie George says he came up with the idea, which was also performed by England at the 2019 World Cup, and has spoken about the role of Henry Pollock, who was seen licking his lips during the haka.
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Jamie George has admitted he was unsure about Henry Pollock’s role in England’s response to New Zealand’s haka, saying "we weren’t sure what he was going to get up to".
England secured a famous comeback win over the All Blacks at Allianz Stadium as they recorded a 10th straight victory.
Ahead of the Quilter Nations Series match, England lined up in a V formation as New Zealand performed the haka.
Former England captain George, the oldest player in the squad, was on one end of the line, with Pollock, the youngest, on the other end, and captain Maro Itoje in the centre.
Pollock was caught licking his lips during the haka in a moment reminiscent of Owen Farrell’s smirk at the 2019 World Cup.
George said afterwards that he came up with England's response to the haka after talks with Itoje and head coach Steve Borthwick, but had doubts about Pollock’s role.
"I had an idea and I thought 'why not?' so I put it to Maro and Steve and they got on board with it," said George.
"Maro said 'yes, as long as we don't have to have too many rehearsals!' We spoke through it on Friday night and you'd be amazed at the amount of questions that I had and how hard it was to form the V.
"We wanted to replicate 2019 because we hadn't done it at the Allianz, which is something that I always thought would be pretty cool because we speak a lot about of connection with the fans.
"The theory was that the oldest would be on one side, the youngest would be on the other. So I was on one side, Henry Pollock was on the other. We were quite reluctant to give it to Henry because we weren’t sure what he was going to get up to – with Maro in the middle of the V.
"I thought their response to it was also good and I thought it’d be one of those old school sort of days where we’d be face to face.
"We speak a lot about the connection with the fans and making match days at Allianz a really fun and special thing to come to. A response like that is great but then backing it up with the performance was the most important thing."
England's performance was one of their best in recent memory as they fought back from 12-0 down to secure their ninth win in history over The All Blacks and first since 2019.
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George urged his team-mates to enjoy a win that will be savoured for years to come, just like the famous victory in 2012 when Manu Tuilagi and Brad Barritt starred as England ended New Zealand's 20-match unbeaten run.
"Be present, be present, enjoy it, this is history, this is a big win," said George.
"When I spoke to the boys on Thursday I said people still talk about 2012, people still talk about Manu in 2012, people still remember Brad Barritt’s try in the corner in 2012.
"Hopefully now we’re giving the fans, the 82,000 fans that came here, the millions of fans who watched it on TV, an opportunity to speak about us - like why would we not celebrate that, why would you not have a really good time together?"
England next face Argentina on Sunday, November 23, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, as they look for an 11th win in a row.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
George says England will need to refocus ahead of facing The Pumas, who come into the match off a stunning comeback win over Scotland.
"I learnt from the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand that wins like this take a huge amount of emotion and emotionally drain you," said George.
"A lot of the guys will wake up exhausted with their phones buzzing and everyone telling us how amazing we are. And that's great - revel in it enjoy it. But keep it in context."
George Ford, who was named man of the match against New Zealand after scoring 13 points, said England have to build on the result.
"We don’t want it to be a flash in the pan," he said.
"We just wanted to make sure that we get our preparation right and we attack it. And we felt that if we did that, then we could have a good chance of getting the result. That’s just probably where we’re at as a team at the minute. I think the way we’re preparing, there’s a good feeling around the place."
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Watch and stream every game of the Quilter Nations Series live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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