All Blacks' Goliath wary of young David before battle in Melbourne
All Blacks' Goliath wary of young David before battle in Melbourne
GREG GROWDEN
July 28, 2010
http://images.smh.com.au/2010/07/28/...cock-420x0.jpg On form ... David Pocock Photo: Getty Images
Richie McCaw has an in-form Wallabies breakaway to contend with this weekend, writes Greg Growden.
Richie McCaw has wrestled, mauled and burrowed under some of Australia's most notable scavengers during his nine-year tussle with the Wallabies, during which he has enjoyed an extraordinary 84 per cent success rate.
The standout head-to-head opponent for McCaw has been the Wallabies' greatest openside breakaway, George Smith, and for the New Zealand skipper to still tally 16 Test wins from 19 encounters against Australia is testament to the power of the All Blacks and the broad abilities of their leader. However, yesterday McCaw revealed it was getting no easier keeping Australia's No.7s at bay, with Smith's successor, David Pocock, providing special problems.
That was shown in Pocock's effectiveness in stifling McCaw in Perth three months ago during the Super 14 when the Western Force upset the Crusaders, 24-16.
Pocock's efforts that night have the Wallabies convinced that McCaw won't have everything his way on Saturday night. ''David is no slouch and he has now played well against Richie McCaw a number of times. I'd back him all the way,'' said Richard Brown, a Force teammate and fellow Test back-rower.
There is similar respect from within the All Blacks camp. Coach Graham Henry made mention of Pocock's man-of-the-match effort against the Springboks last Saturday night in Brisbane, where he took full advantage of South Africa's decision not to play a specialist openside breakaway against him.
''He played bloody well,'' Henry said yesterday. ''He is very combative at the tackle, and physically very strong and stable. So he has the ability to hang in. You get smashed around a lot trying to do the job in that area of the game, and he has the physical and mental strength to be able to handle that.''
McCaw was as impressed, but quickly stressed the influence of an openside did not revolve around the power of one individual, but was also determined by how effective his teammates were.
''He did cause quite a nuisance of himself at the breakdown and you could see the Boks getting frustrated,'' McCaw said. ''So he had an impact there. The Springboks weren't as accurate as they would have liked and he [Pocock] is these days pretty good at reading how to get in there and be a menace.''
This prompted the All Black skipper to be queried over whether Pocock was copying the McCaw playbook. ''I don't know about that,'' McCaw said. ''He does remind me a bit of George Smith in the way how he picks his time really well. All flankers want to be involved.''
So as McCaw aims to improve his success rate against the Wallabies, Pocock, in his sixth appearance against the All Blacks, will be looking for a first triumph.
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