Brumbies aim to keep Pocock quiet
By Justin Chadwick, 30 Jun 2012
- Tagged:
- Brumbies, David Pocock, Rugby Union, Super Rugby, Western Force
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Teams have tried and failed in the past, but the Brumbies believe they have developed a simple plan capable of halting the breakdown influence of star Western Force skipper David Pocock.
Pocock has established himself as the best pilferer in the business, but the Brumbies will try to limit his influence in their Super Rugby clash on Saturday night by forcing him to make more first tackles that go to ground, thus taking him out of the breakdown battle.
To do this, Brumbies coach Jake White is urging his charges to make more direct runs at Pocock and fellow ball scavenger Matt Hodgson, believing the tactic will give his team cleaner and faster ball at the breakdown.
“As it stands, 64 per cent of the time the ball has been stolen or turned over has been by Pocock or Hodgson,” White said ahead of Saturday night’s clash at Perth’s nib Stadium.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re tactically aware of what we’re trying to achieve.
“I think the one thing to do is get Pocock on the ground as many times as we can.
“The thing he enjoys the most is getting there second and winning the ball. So maybe we’ve got to try to get him to be there first.
“Maybe sometimes the best way to do it is make him make that first tackle.
“One of the secrets is trying to find him early on and make sure he gets on the ground as many times without letting him get there second.”
The Brumbies can take a giant stride towards locking up top spot in the Australian conference with a win over the Force.
But the 13th-placed Force will be no easybeats as they attempt to celebrate the final home game of stalwart Nathan Sharpe with a win.
“We’ve got to be aware of that sort of emotion that’s coming into the game, but stay focused on our detail,” Brumbies skipper Ben Mowen said.
“They’re a difficult team to play because of the pressure they apply at the breakdown, so we won’t be taking them lightly.
“I think the breakdown is going to be the key to seeing who gets the ascendancy in terms of being able to play.”
White said his team were also riding a wave of emotion as they try to qualify for the finals for the first time since 2004.
The Force were dealt a blow at training on Thursday when prop Salesi Ma’afu fractured his arm, ruling the Wallaby out for the remaining three games of the year.
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The Crowd Says (2) | Page 1 of Comments
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- Explore:
- Brumbies, David Pocock, Rugby Union, Super Rugby, Western Force
June 30th 2012 @ 8:52am
Aaron said | June 30th 2012 @ 8:52am | Report comment
These posts are taken from another forum after the third test against Wales and the poster makes a lot of sense and shares my sentiments. Pocock needs to really start improving his all round game (i.e make more dominant tackles, improve his running game and commit to more rucks) and not just pilfering in order to be ranked amongst the games all time top 7s……
“IMO Pocock was ineffective in this game whereas the direct approach used by the AB 7s (McCaw and Cane) paid far more dividends. They still went for turnovers when it was on but not at the expense of doing all the other work and ‘hovering’. If you get a chance to watch Pocock in this game there are plenty of times when I saw him run to the back of a tackle and just stand there waiting to pounce instead of getting stuck straight in and putting pressure on the Wales ruck rather than just going for the ball.
I don’t know if that is a practised pattern but he spends most of his time lurking in the midfield waiting on a chance to try for a turnover. I also noticed that Wales did a good job in this example of making sure he was kept out of play for the next phase if he did go near the ruck.
Pocock spends a lot of time just hanging around and not actually playing rugby. If he just got stuck in doing the basic role then Wales wouldn’t have been able to target him as easily for the hold down.
Yet a couple of turnovers are high visibility so people think he’s the best player in the world. “
June 30th 2012 @ 9:21am
Blue Blood said | June 30th 2012 @ 9:21am | Report comment
Smart tactic in practice but I’m not sure why he’d tell the media. At least White respects Hodgson. Most focus on Pocock but forget that the most awarded Force player (club awards) by a country mile, Hodgson. I’ve not been this excited about a rugby game since round one. Huge game in WA. Many Force players not here next year so it is the last time to see them. A lot has been made of Sharpe’s last home game (as they should), but it could also be Pocock’s.
Matt Hodgson wrote a great tribute article that ran on the West Australian and also on his blog (http://www.matthodgson.com.au/uncategorized/sharpe-a-leader-always/). It is going to get emotional and I have money on my Mrs trying to steal a kiss from Sharpie after the game.