4. The Pocock/Hooper debate rolls on.
This was one for the true believers. Against a weakened Highlanders outfit on Friday night, Pocock pulled out one of the games of the season. Three first-half tries, 16 carries, ruck dominance around the ground, couple of clean breaks, a try assist, some solid linking work, and a 100% tackle completion record. He was simply immense. No coincidence, I suspect, that the Brumbies also got big games out of backrowers Scott Fardy and Ita Vaea.
My feeling is that Pocock is going to need a couple of big ball-carriers around him to open up defensive lines a little bit. He’s a surprisingly good carrier himself, takes nice lines, although he is a bit one-paced. His best work on Friday was done running off Christian Lealiifano’s shoulder when the Highlanders defence had been stretched wide.
Michael Hooper – pretty bloody good
Hooper, for his part, was pretty bloody good as well. Not as influential as Pocock, but he got himself a try and set another up with a scything break in midfield. Moments of magic like that are going to make him incredibly hard to ignore. The narrative seems to have swung against him in recent times, at one point during the game against the Rebels, Fox ran a poll asking who the fans would prefer to start – Pocock or Hooper. The result? An enormous 80% wanted Pocock.
The Australian rugby fandom is a cruel and fickle one. Hooper’s been arguably the Wallabies best and most consistent player over the last three years and now the fans are happy to see him turfed. It’s a tough gig.
