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Henry Pollock imitates a basketball free-throw in celebration after scoring for Northampton - Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Maybe this is a sign of being in your late 30s, scarred from witnessing too many botched finishes, but both of Henry Pollock’s tries against Castres made me twitchy, the voice in my head imploring him to avoid disaster and get it down. If Pollock had heard those concerns, he might have telepathically responded by saying: “What are you worried about?” Being 20 and this good looks a lot of fun.
Henry Pollock's second try
Another fine display from the @SaintsRugby man as they claimed a big victory today #InvestecChampionsCuppic.twitter.com/9OVxtV4SC2
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 12, 2025
We are not here to talk about Pollock, however, but celebrations. Or, and I apologise for putting this in writing, “cellys”. They are hot right now in rugby, and in a big way.
Pollock’s punched spike into the ground? It was good. His free-throw basketball celebration, like Steph Curry was lost and had ended up in the East Midlands? Much better.
Pollock was merely following up Tommy Freeman’s excellent celebration after the opening try, rolling the ball forward and following it with his imaginary lawnmower. Innovative, not getting the love it deserves, and an upgrade on the finger wags against Clermont.
It seems important at this point to stress that celebrations are not limited to Northampton players. Craig Casey, Munster’s scrum-half, pulled off an excellent archer celebration after his try in Bordeaux last week. Thomas Ramos, usually metronomic off the tee for Toulouse and France, put three misses in the quarter-final win over Toulon behind him to land the match-winner, responding with a cold “one” gesture as his team-mates went barmy around him.
There is a degree of rugby playing catch-up here, given a lot of the recent celebrations have been poached from other sports. Chandler Cunningham-South used Cole Palmer’s after scoring against Australia and Marcus Rashford’s for his first try against Wales.
Chandler Cunningham-South doing the Cole Palmer celebrationpic.twitter.com/cF4wIKDCCH
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 9, 2024
Edwill van der Merwe, the exciting Springbok who plays for the Lions, recently borrowed a headstand celebration used by NFL wide receiver Amon-Ra St Brown. Which is also why the Freeman lawnmower celebration should be getting a bit more love, given it has not been copied from elsewhere.
For those tittering at the back about rugby values, we are still some way off the choreographed team performances after touchdowns in the NFL, although how are we yet to see a bowling celebration in rugby.
With all of this in mind, a penny for the thoughts of Chris Ashton. Perhaps rugby in the 2010s just was not ready for the “Ash Splash”, Ashton’s exaggerated leap to score which was loved by many, hated by quite a few. The fact is, it cut through. Your friend who watched England occasionally and had little interest in the week-to-week minutiae of domestic rugby knew what an “Ash Splash” was. Kids up and down the country were copying it to the despair of their coaches.
Rugby, and this cannot be expressed enough, desperately needs more of that. Not Netflix series which try to sell the players in a way which feels inauthentic and irrelevant, but actual glimpses of personality mixed in with what rugby players do best – pummelling the life out of each other while producing high levels of skill under pressure.
Fittingly, when Ashton scored his 101st Premiership try playing for Leicester two years ago, instead of the “Ash Splash” he paid homage to another of rugby’s great celebrations, copying Felipe Contepomi from all those years ago by leaping the barrier, taking a seat in the stand and applauding his own good work.
Time for more of the same, please. Just dot down the ball a little faster, Henry, for the sake of our ageing hearts.
Best rugby celebrations
Felipe Contepomi – Bristol v Northampton, 2002
Still the best. After scoring at the Memorial Stadium, Contepomi ran straight through the gap in the advertising hoardings, up the steps into the stand, and took a seat on the end of a row before applauding his own good work.
Dominic Feaunati – Samoa v Uruguay, 2003
Finishing off a comfortable win over Uruguay with a score, Feaunati reimagined the rugby ball as a coconut, hacked the bottom off it with his hand, and then took a drink. An upgrade on the beer can celebration, which is still good.
Quade Cooper – Reds v Waratahs, 2011
The Reds in 2011 were a riot, eventually winning the Super Rugby title, with Digby Ioane’s spinning caterpillar celebration also considered. But for following up a very casual finish with a cartwheel and backflip, Cooper’s edges it.
Hacjivah Dayimani – Stormers v Northampton, 2024
In an exhibition game at Northampton last year, Stormers forward Dayimani raced after a grubber kick to score, hopped over the hoardings and whipped off his Stormers shirt to reveal… a Northampton shirt underneath. The supporters inside Franklin’s Gardens loved it.
And one of the worst
Tom Cruse – Wasps v Dragons, 2020
Cruse’s nickname, and this is important, is “Cruse dog”. After breaking through to score against Dragons, Cruse remained on his hands and knees and, like a dog, cocked his leg as if he was having a pee. Such was the reaction that he later said: “I am not trying to offend anyone, I am just out here with my mates, having a good time.” Which is never a good sign.
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