Taking a longer view all those figures are significantly higher than they were in preceding decades.
Opta’s analysis of Rugby World Cup tournaments, external shows an average ball-in-play time of less than 32 minutes in 2003, and just over 28 minutes at the inaugural 1987 edition.
Phil Dowson, Pollock’s director of rugby at Northampton, was a back row himself, with a 16-year top-flight career and seven England caps to his name before he moved into coaching.
He cites former Wallabies David Pocock and Phil Waugh, England’s Neil Back and ex-Harlequins flanker Will Skinner as back rows of yesteryear who excelled despite lacking the heft.
“All those were athletic, maybe not as much as Henry Pollock, but they would have created a ton of turnovers and covered a lot of ground,” he told BBC Sport.
“But perhaps we are in a cycle at the moment with the increased amount of ball in play – I think naturally that will drop the weights of people because you can’t keep moving if you are a big unit.
“I think that is key to the athleticism and weight of some of the guys.
“There have been loads of horror stories about players being repeatedly told to bulk up and then either got injured or couldn’t move around as they wish or lost that key attacking threat.
“We are conscious of that and finding that balance between power and speed is incredibly important.”
Lions head coach Farrell, who has picked Pollock, Morgan and Earl as the back row for their final pre-Test series warm-up game, has a balance to strike too.
Australia have a fast-forward fetcher in the excellent Fraser McReight. Yet Will Skelton (135kg, 21st 4 lb) and Rob Valetini (117kg, 18st 6lb) also loom as heavyweight Wallaby forward options.
Does Farrell add ballast to his back row by including Ollie Chessum, more usually a second row, to counter their direct threat?
Or does he go for a warp-speed selection that runs the legs off the Wallabies and prioritises a breakdown battle the Lions have struggled to master so far?
Spoil a tactic or follow a trend? His choice will be fascinating.
