WESTERN Force is poised to sign powerful Hurricanes winger David Smith as an emerging foreign player for next year's Super rugby series.
Although he has played 30 games for the Hurricanes since making his Super rugby debut against Queensland Reds in 2007, Smith is uncapped with the All Blacks, which means he would be eligible to play for the Wallabies in three years.
Smith, 25, was born in Samoa and was spotted while on a schoolboys rugby tour of New Zealand and offered a scholarship to attend Auckland's Mount Albert Grammar School, making the Auckland sevens team while still a student.
After playing for Auckland in the National Provincial Championship in 2006, Smith was touted as "The next great thing in waiting".
He was drafted by the Hurricanes in 2007 and made the permanent move to Wellington two years later.
Meanwhile, the Force's John Eales Medal-winning David Pocock said the Wallabies would have to take a leaf out of the All Blacks' playbook if they wanted to end their 10-game losing streak to the Kiwis in Hong Kong next Saturday.
"There is a lot of pressure on us to keep improving and start winning more games," Pocock said.
"An important thing for us is to keep focusing on our game.
"They are a very talented team and able to adapt in games and find ways to win. That's the challenge for us to do the same.
"The last two years we have lost quite a few close games. New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland (draw). All games we were in right to the end, but we didn't do enough. A focus for us is how to close out those games.
"It's something we have to fix, and we are working hard on it.
"It comes down to you focusing on what you can do as a team and not worrying too much about them.
"If we can focus on ourselves for 80 minutes and play the best we can, I think we'll go well."
