A ball-winning master, David Pocock more vital than ever to Australia’s Rugby World Cup hopes

David Pocock is a principled player and forms a potent back row with Hooper and Fardy, writes Geoffrey Riddle.

David Pocock of Australia tackles Jeronimo De La Fuente of Argentina. David Rogers / Getty Images

David Pocock has yearned to play in a Rugby World Cup final ever since he watched South Africa beat New Zealand in the 1995 tournament decider at the age of seven in his native Zimbabwe.

The famous image of South Africa’s president Nelson Mandela wearing a Springbok jersey handing the Webb Ellis Cup to Francois Pienaar resonated with millions around the world. And outside of South Africa perhaps none more so than Pocock, Australia’s back-row linchpin.

Pocock is one of the most principled players in the game and devotes himself to several social causes. One example being when, last November, he chained himself to mining equipment for 10 hours in a protest against a new coal mine in New South Wales.

On the eve of his ambition being realised as the Wallabies clash for the first time in a final with the All Blacks, at Twickenham on Saturday, Pocock cannot help but look back at that moment when Mandela and Pienaar stood still in time. “Certainly for me, some of my greatest memories are watching rugby,” he said. “I think about that 1995 final. As a kid that did something for me. I dreamed about playing in the World Cup after that.”

Pocock talks through heavy black eyes and a puffy nose after the bruising semi-final victory over Argentina last week. The 27-year-old ACT Brumbies player put in a commanding performance alongside fellow back-rowers Michael Hooper and Scott Fardy. In all he turned over Argentine ball four times, and during this tournament he has generated a turnover on average every 21 minutes.

His ball-winning ability is a fundamental aspect to the Wallabies’ chances of dethroning the All Blacks and having the final say against Richie McCaw. In August, Australia coach Michael Cheika experimented for the first time by playing Pocock at No 8 and Hooper at open-side, a move used a decade previously when George Smith and Phil Waugh operated in unison. Cheika’s decision not only won Australia the breakdown battle but the game, the Rugby Championship and a first Bledisloe Cup in 13 years as well.

Cheika was roundly criticised for not continuing with the policy a week later after the All Blacks bounced back with a 41-13 win. In the four matches that Hooper and Pocock have played together since, Australia have yet to lose, and with Pocock absent due to injury the defeat of Scotland in the quarter-final could not have been tighter.

Of course, the use of both players is not perfect because neither is towering at the line-out, which places added responsibility on Fardy, who at 1.98m is taller than both of his back-row colleagues.

Fardy was imperious against Argentina, churning out the sort of unheralded work that few people see, or like to do, and his tackle-rate and decision-making allowed Pocock and Hooper to operate in hunter-gatherer mode.

Hooper, as a former beach sprint champion, is the faster of the two and works better in support of the backs in attack, while Pocock has concentrated more at the breakdown and on tackling. It is a balance that works, according to New Zealand’s blindside flanker Jerome Kaino.

“It’s not just David, they have been playing really well together and Scott is the glue as he’s doing a lot of unseen stuff,” Kaino said. “Pocock has shown how much of a threat he is at the breakdown. He wreaks havoc in the wide channels and in the middle.”

Pocock and Hooper, 23, who last week became the second youngest player after Wales’s George North to accumulate 50 caps, have both captained the Wallabies, as has scrum-half Will Genia and centre Matt Giteau. Their input affords captain Stephen Moore the luxury of a strong leadership group that the Wallabies will sorely need should Australia’s scramble defence fail to contain the marauding All Blacks, who have scored the most tries in the tournament.

“I’ve played a lot of footy with Dave at the Brumbies, where he is vice-captain, and he is a quality player and a quality person off the field,” Moore said. “We’re finding there’s a very diverse range of players and some players are whizzing around on Segways after a match and he’s in his room watching a David Attenborough documentary.”

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