More accolades for Wallabies star Pocock

Powerhouse flanker David Pocock collected yet another major gong on Thursday – and then said he’d happily trade his swag of individual awards for the Rugby World Cup.

Pocock added the Rugby Union Players Association’s Medal for Excellence to his John Eales Medal and People’s Choice award as Australian fans’ player of the year.

The 22-year-old back-rower was also shortlisted for international player of the year honours after a mighty season for the Wallabies.

While humbled by all the accolades, Pocock said helping Australia claim the ultimate team prize on offer in New Zealand next year remained his No.1 priority.

Two-time champions Australia have not lifted the Webb Ellis Cup since 1999.

“You’d swap everything for that,” Pocock told AAP.

“Definitely every rugby player’s dream and goal is to win a World Cup, so next year will be a massive year for us.

“We can’t get ahead of ourselves. We’ve put in a lot of hard work and we’ve progressed a bit this year, but we’re still nowhere near where we need to be.

“There’s still a lot of hard work to go and a lot of work to be done in the Super 15 and obviously we’ll need to step up in the Tri Nations to give us a good start into the World Cup.”

Australia finished 2010 ranked second in the world behind only New Zealand after notching victories over every one of the top six Test-playing nations.

Despite his word of warning to teammates, Pocock earnestly believes the Wallabies will be peaking come World Cup time.

“The coaches have their head around it pretty well and the players are willing to do whatever it takes,” he said.

“Having said that, every team is probably feeling like that so it should be one hell of a competition.”

RUPA’s Medal for Excellence not only honours on-field achievements but also recognises players who have gone above and beyond their responsibilities as professional players by making a difference in their communities.

Every professional player in Australia is asked to vote on a 3-2-1 basis for a fellow player who they believe excelled on and off the field in 2010 in areas of performance, leadership, consistency and discipline plus their contribution to charitable work, vocational skills and their commitment to the development of the game.

The Zimbabwe-born Pocock started his own charity – EightyTwenty Vision – to highlight the plight of those less fortunate and dedicates much of his spare time on the project.

“I really enjoy putting work into that and the support I’ve had from the rugby community has been fantastic,” he said.

“It’s been pretty humbling to see the amount of people who have wanted to help out.”

Pocock beat utility back Adam Ashley-Cooper, playmaker Quade Cooper, halfback Will Genia and lock and dual recipient Nathan Sharpe to claim the award.

Winger Pat McCabe, who played every single minute of the Brumbies’ Super 14 campaign before making his Wallabies debut off the bench against Italy on the spring tour, was named RUPA’s newcomer of the year.