Super Rugby 2015 season: David Pocock, Michael Hooper in open warfare for Wallabies jersey

IT’S not just Australian Conference bragging rights which are up for grabs this Friday night as David Pocock and Michael Hooper go head to head, but a Wallabies No. 7 jersey.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MAY 03: Michael Hooper of the Waratahs in action during the round 12 Super Rugby match between the Waratahs and the Hurricanes at Allianz Stadium on May 3, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

IT’S not just Australian Conference bragging rights which are up for grabs this Friday night, but a Wallabies No. 7 jersey.

It would be naive to think Test coach Michael Cheika will base his final selection around this game, but both Michael Hooper and David Pocock will both want to argue their case for the starting spot this Friday night in one of the most mouth-watering clashes of the season.

Rugby fans were treated to the merest glimpse of this battle when Pocock played 35 minutes off the bench against the Waratahs in Rd 6 this season, but this will be the first time the Wallaby open-sides have started opposite each other since March 2013.

It was in that match at GIO Stadium that Pocock, the incumbent Wallaby captain, tore anterior cruciate ligament, leaving the field after just 13 minutes.

The clash between Michael Hooper and David Pocock promises to be a no-holds barred affair.

In the two years that have followed he has played just 8 games of Super Rugby, while Hooper has seized his opportunity, becoming the Wallabies first choice No. 7 and starting in 28 of the past 29 Tests, edged out only by George Smith in the final against the British & Irish Lions.

This is no ordinary match-up. With both players offering a completely different style of play, the

pressure is on Wallabies coach Michael Cheika to find the complement of skills to match his Pool A opposition at RWC 2015. He knows the potency of Sam Warburton and Chris Robshaw, and will need to choose a starter to can match their intensity.

Waratahs assistant coach Daryl Gibson has claimed this week that Pocock could not have set up the try that Hooper did for Adam Ashley-Cooper last Saturday; aside from a tactical squirt of fuel into an already fiery clash, Gibson does make a point with this verbal Molotov.

Hooper has been heavily involved in the Waratahs attack, making the most linebreaks (7) try assists (3), and tackle busts (28) by any forward in Super Rugby in 2015. There have only been two games this season where he has not busted through the opposition defensive line, and he has made in 25% of the Waratahs total try assists across their past six games.

He is averaging 55m per game, the equal most of his career and has played all the full 80mins in all but one of his matches since joining the Waratahs in 2013.

While Pocock may not be making as many linebreaks (2) and tackle busts (9) as Hooper, he is still carrying the ball strongly in attack averaging more runs (9.8) per game than Hooper (7.6). His hat-trick last week showed you don’t have to make linebreaks to score tries; only Marcel Coetzee, and Boom Prinsloo have scored as many this season from pushovers.

But it is his work at the breakdown in his past four matches which has seen him rocket back into Wallaby calculations. He has forced the most breakdown penalties in the competition, with all eight coming in the past four matches. His efficiency in defence has been outstanding, operating at 85% this season, with just three misses overall, compared to Hooper who has a 77% tackle efficiency and just 1 forced breakdown penalty in 2015.

It won’t just be the fans who will be watching this match-up with interest, Reds flanker Liam Gill knows he is not out of the race for a Rugby World Cup spot. He leads the competition for pilfers (10) and is second for forced breakdown penalties (6), and is working hard in attack too, making the most run metres by a forward in the team (287). Since his one-match ban mid-season, he has upped the ante, more than doubling his runs and metres per game since Week 6, and making three linebreaks and eleven tackle busts in his past four games.

Matt Hodgson is another openside flanker option for Michael Cheika and the Wallabies.

The return of Matt Hodgson last week has also given Cheika pause for thought, with the Force

veteran having an immediate impact in his first game back with one try, 2 pilfers, and a game high 11 tackles against the Chiefs. Two of Hodgson’s five Test caps last season came under Cheika, so he is unlikely to discount his experience and impact off the bench.

All four Wallaby flankers crossed the tryline last week in Super Rugby, and will be hoping their

performances at the back-end of the season will only add to the selection headache facing Michael Cheika on Friday night.

As he reaches for the Panadol, he must be thanking the rugby Gods for finally providing so much depth in Australian Rugby.

Originally published as Super Rugby 2015 season: David Pocock, Michael Hooper in open warfare for Wallabies jersey