Henry Pollock breaks silence on Champions Cup final melee with Bordeaux-Begles prop

Jefferson Poirot has been suspended for two matches after grabbing Pollock’s throat

Henry Pollock has broken his silence after being involved in a scuffle with Bordeaux-Begles prop Jefferson Poirot after the Investec Champions Cup final.

Poirot has been given a two-match ban for grabbing the throat of Northampton’s Pollock when tempers flared following the full-time whistle in Cardiff, where the French club secured a breakthrough European triumph in a captivating 28-20 battle.

The veteran prop was cited for an act that Saints boss Phil Dowson described as "uncalled for and out of order", with Pollock getting into it with a number Bordeaux-Begles players.

The Lions new boy has now spoken out on the incident, giving his point of view on how things devolved into chaos.

“The whistle goes, and obviously it’s pretty heated. I think Dingers (Fraser Dingwall) and (Matthieu) Jalibert were pushing and shoving,” Pollock told TNT Sports.

“I went over to Jalibert, pushed him and got involved, and was like: ‘I’m not letting Dingers be on his own here.’

“And then as I’m doing this – I didn’t know this in the moment, Fin (Smith) was looking around – apparently the loosehead (Poirot) was on the bench and beelined it straight to me.

“So we’re in this, and he basically grabs my neck and gets his hands on my throat and squeezes my neck. I wasn’t happy with this, I was pretty angry.

“I managed to rip his shirt, and then the bit that you see is as he turns away, I push him, and then his friend comes in.”

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Subsequent images shared on social media appeared to show members of the squad at the Top 14 club mocking the expressive Pollock’s celebrations.

Poirot, capped 36 times by France, is in line to miss the Bordeaux-Begles games against Toulon and Vannes, though will be available for the play-offs with his club currently second in the table.