Saints scrum-half McParland feels confidence has been key for school pal Pollock

And McParland feels the back-row forward's incredible self-belief can serve as an inspiration to any young player, including himself.

Pollock has taken to life at the top level like a duck to water, drawing rave reviews this season.

And, having just turned 20, he has this week joined up with the England squad for their Guinness Six Nations training camp in Girona.

Pollock has already impressed for England A, winning the man of the match award in the win against Australia at the Twickenham Stoop in November.

The senior England call-up, which came on Tuesday, means he won’t be able to head back to the Stoop with Saints on Friday night as they take on Harlequins in a huge Gallagher Premiership tussle.

But McParland, who was also part of that England A squad, will be in action against Quins and is hoping to continue his own impressive development as he adds to his 24 Saints appearances.

When asked about Pollock, former Stowe School pupil McParland, who turns 20 next month, said: "Good on him! He's worked very hard.

"I've known him for a long time now, since we were at school together as the age of 13.

"It's good to see his hard work paying off."

And when asked what he and others can take from Pollock's immediate impact in the Premiership and Investec Champions Cup, McParland said: "One thing he has as a young player that is a very good trait is his confidence and his ability to not care who he's playing against.

"He has the confidence to put his abilities and what he's good at on the pitch."

McParland, like Pollock, is extremely highly rated at Saints and in the England age-group setup.

Both players have excelled for the England Under-20s in recent years and both have gone on to earn the trust of the Saints coaches at such an early age.

Now McParland will look to continue to repay that faith in a crucial clash with Quins, with both clubs missing their England Six Nations stars.

"It's a massive game, lots of England players away in Girona and it's a great opportunity for young people and people who don't get as many opportunities to step up this week," McParland said.

"Where we are in the table (eighth), where Quins are in the table (seventh), it's a massive game for both teams so I'm really looking forward to it.

"Obviously there's that aspect of looking at where you are (in the table) and performance but we focus on what we can control, what we can do in the week and how well we can prepare our performance for the weekend.

"We look at every week as it comes and every game as it comes."

On the challenge of Quins, McParland said: "They're a very good team, very good around the breakdown so they will try to slow us down and that will be a big aspect of the game.

"Obviously both clubs are rich in history so it will be a massive game and I'm really looking forward to it."

McParland is set to get the chance to share the field with a player he has enjoyed watching while growing up.

"When I younger I used to watch Danny Care a lot," he explained.

"Will Porter's a class player as well and I played with him and trained with him for England A a couple of months ago so they're both very good scrum-halves and I'm looking forward to going up against them."

McParland has already been given some big chances on the big stage, notably starting the Premiership game at Leicester Tigers back in October.

"I had a lot of nerves going into it," he said.

"We had a couple of injuries and I found myself starting in a derby away to Leicester, which I was not expecting!

"It was the biggest game I've ever played in.

"Unfortunately we didn't get the result but to come away with a few positives in the game was really beneficial to me as a player.

"It was very intense and you've got to take every game as it comes and treat every game differently.

"I can't just live off that game and you're only as good as your last game so you've got to keep performing."

McParland appears to be a calm and collected character - and he knows that is very much what is needed in his position.

"I'd like to think I am (calm) - you need that as a scrum-half," he said.

"As a flanker you can just go around smashing everything you want but as a scrum-half or fly-half you've got to be the cool head on the pitch just controlling the play.

"I'd like to think I've got a pretty cool head."