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After re-watching some highlights of the Wallabies win over Wales, I was struck by the different reactions of the players as Harris banged over the winning conversion.
Many of the players leaped on Harris’ back. Genia pumped the air and let fly with a relieved ‘woo hoo’, but what did Pocock do? He pulled off his tape and headed over to the Welsh to thank them for a good game.
To some, this coupled with his comment to Harris that, “We’ll love you if you hit it or miss it”, is a sign that Pocock lacks the mongrel to be a world class captain.
Take Sir Ritchie McCaw. He is the epitome of hard nosed competitiveness – to the extent that he is now not even acknowledging the opposition in post match speeches. Is this an extension of the ruthless mind games that former Australian cricketer Steve Waugh made a trademark of his captaincy?
What all this reminds me of is the first tenure of a young bloke called John Eales. Younger Roarers may not remember that there were many who questioned whether a ‘nice’ bloke’ like Eales could be a good Wallaby captain. ‘He has no mongrel’ they bemoaned. History now shows that he was a fantastic captain, and one who did it his way.
Pocock still has many lessons to learn about the technical aspects of captaincy (working with referees, tactics etc), but I have no problems supporting another ‘nice guy’ in his quest to take the Wallabies to the top.
MaxT
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.