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David Pocock could take sabbatical from rugby in 2017

9th February, 2016
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Dave Pocock had the best domestic and international season in 2015, and now the offers are flowing in. (AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAU)
9th February, 2016
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Wallaby backrower David Pocock is reportedly considering taking a year off from rugby to study in England after this season.

Pocock re-signed for one more season with Australian rugby and the Brumbies in August last year, but is reportedly tossing up his options for 2017, with university an attractive option to the pilferer.

The news could potentially compound the loss of Liam Gill, who is leaving the Reds at the end of the 2016 season.

When asked about the possibility, the Brumbies were bullish about their offer to their star flanker.

“It creates all sorts of problems if Poey takes a break,” Brumbies chief executive Michael Jones told the Daily Telegraph.

“My preferred solution, and our offer to him, doesn’t allow a break.

“There is still a fair bit of water to go under the bridge.”

Australia’s best player at the 2015 World Cup, Pocock is currently in discussions with Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham and chief executive Jones, while Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has also been in Canberra to discuss the star player’s future.

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AAP have reported the ARU would reluctantly allow Pocock to travel overseas and attend Oxford or Cambridge University for a year, the Brumbies are not as welcoming to the idea.

But such an offer from the ARU would still give him two full Super Rugby seasons to prepare for the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

Pocock has also been pursued by cashed-up Japanese and French clubs, while he is also being touted as a possible replacement for Liam Gill at the Queensland Reds with the flanker heading to Toulon at the end of the year.

Pocock is currently studying a Bachelor of Ecological Agricultural Systems, but he has not confirmed if that is the degree he would continue in full-time study.

With AAP

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