Head coach Andy Farrell insists Henry Pollock has the temperament to thrive on the biggest stage after giving the England star his first start for the British and Irish Lions.

Pollock made his Lions debut as a replacement in the 28-24 defeat by Argentina that opened the tour and has now been promoted to No 8 for Saturday’s first fixture on Australian soil against Western Force in Perth, live on Sky Sports.

At 20 years old, the swaggering Northampton back-row is the squad’s youngest player and less than six months ago he was playing in the U20 Six Nations.

Maro Itoje described his England team-mate as a “pest” when he was called into the senior camp during the championship and Farrell has urged him to remain fearless.

“Henry’s not been a pest, definitely not! He’s been great,” said Farrell, who has given Pollock permission to continue doing his famous try celebrations.

“He’s hungry to learn and that’s perfect because you can see that he’s got a real point of difference.

“He sees things quickly and acts upon that. His line running is pretty good. His awareness of space, how sharp he is in his mind and his athletic abilities are up there with the other lads in the squad.

“He’s hungry to make a difference the whole time. But he also understands what parts of his game he needs to improve. He’s got a great attitude.

“He’s certainly not overawed. I mean, I love that. You want kids to be themselves and he’s just being himself. He doesn’t know any different.

“But he’s a humble kid as well. He doesn’t think he’s got it all, far from it. You want people with confidence and belief because that helps when he takes the field.

“You don’t want a kid to go under the radar and in three weeks’ time just settle into a side. You pick him for a reason.

“He’s a Lion just like the eldest player. There’s no difference whatsoever. His character is infectious to everyone. He’s a great lad.”

The Lions suffered a 28-24 defeat to the Pumas in Dublin last Friday, and next play Western Force in Perth on Saturday – their first tour match in Australia, live on Sky Sports.

Farrell announced his side for the weekend on Thursday, and has made 13 changes with Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan named captain for his Lions debut.

British and Irish Lions side to face Western Force – live on Sky Sports

British and Irish Lions: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Tomos Williams; 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Scott Cummings, 5 Joe McCarthy, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Henry Pollock.

Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Huw Jones, 23 Marcus Smith.

British & Irish Lions tour of Australia on Sky Sports

Sky Sports will exclusively show the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, with all three Tests against the Wallabies and six warm-up matches to be shown exclusively live.