David Pocock leaves behind a legacy as big as his shoulders

On and off the field, David Pocock has given it all to Australian rugby.

On Tuesday morning, in typical, low-key Pocock fashion, he announced his retirement. “It’s time to finish in Australia, this is it.” As always, nothing overstated or glamorous, just a no-frills approach. His wedding was the same way, just a simple, casual-dress ceremony in a park.

He’s not had it easy. From growing up in Zimbabwe, where he originally wanted to play for the Springboks, to copping neck rolls from teams desperate to neutralise the threat he poses over the ball.

He was one of the first to take a year-long sabbatical from rugby, setting a precedent for players like Israel Folau and Ben Smith, who both took (admittedly shorter) periods away from the game.

He came under fire for his decision, and Rugby Australia were criticised for paying him when he wasn’t playing, but it’s certainly something we may see more with the increasing physical tolls of playing professional rugby forcing the retirement of players like Wales captain Sam Warburton, who called time on his career at age 29.

Critics accused Pocock of slacking off his national duties by taking the sabbatical, but on his return to rugby, he stood out in a floundering Wallabies team, claiming his second John Eales Medal and providing more than he would have had he plugged away in a 14th consecutive year of representative rugby.

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

He’s active on and off the field, with his constant presence at the ruck shaping as a threat to any opposing team, while his activism away from rugby has put him in the spotlight. He was notably arrested for chaining himself to a bulldozer in 2014 in protest against a NSW coal mine.

Since his 2013 move to Canberra, after 69 caps for the Western Force, he’s been cruelled with injury, missing more rugby than he’s played, running on for 43 games but sitting out 57. This year alone, he hasn’t appeared for the Brumbies since March, and with just three rounds of Super Rugby remaining, few were expecting to see him back.

Pocock’s knee reconstruction six years ago lost him the openside flanker position to Michael Hooper and he rarely featured there again, though his work over the ball makes him the more traditional no.7 of the two.

He’s been a standout in the green and gold. In addition to the two John Eales Medals, which came in 2010 and 2018, he earned 77 Test caps and may add to that tally later this year.

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

For all his off-field headlines, it’s how he’s carried the Wallabies which stands out. In 2011, a year when Australia lost to Samoa, they were the unlikeliest of favourites to make the World Cup semi-finals, and only managed it because of Pocock’s standout performance against the Springboks in the quarters.

South Africa controlled 84 per cent of possession in the first 40, but the flanker’s performance, considered one of the great individual Test efforts, ensured the Aussies won.

The next World Cup in England was all about ‘Pooper’, the Pocock-Hooper combination in the back row. It was not without scrutiny, but it was effective, especially in their group stage match against England.

The Brumbies flanker scored a double in Australia’s first game against Fiji, and carried that form through the tournament as the underdog Wallabies made the final.

New Zealand did a good job of isolating him in the ruck when the decider came around, but that was just an example of the best team in world rugby flexing their muscles.

For a player whose greatest moments came at the tournament, it’s fitting that Pocock bows out of Australian rugby in a World Cup year. The last time Wallabies fans will see him play could well be in a World Cup final, and it would be nothing less than he deserves.

Go in the draw to win $2K by joining The Roar‘s 2019 Cricket World Cup tipping comp by submitting your tips below!

var request = new XMLHttpRequest();

request.open('POST', '/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', true); request.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded;'); request.onload = function () { if (this.status >= 200 && this.status