Pocock-Hooper duel alone should ignite passion

It has been anything but a dream start for the fancied Brumbies this season.

At the start of the season all expectations were on the Brumbies to finish on top of the Australian conference but it has been anything but a dream start f or the two-time Super Rugby champions.

After starting the season on a positive by defeating the Sharks 24-17, the Brumbies struggled against Australia’s two younger franchises, losing convincingly 33-10 to the Rebels and a week later 18-10 to the Reds.

If new coach Dan McKellar wanted to know more about the highs and lows of Super Rugby he didn’t have to wait long with the Brumbies just sitting above the Sunwolves in fourth position in their conference, although he probably wouldn’t be too worried at this stage of the season.

With the golden child David Pocock making his long-awaited return to Australian rugby the raucous Brumbies crowd at Canberra Stadium tonight will be expecting him to turn the team’s fortunes around against an unpredictable Waratahs outfit.

Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson will be praying for more consistency from his players than they have displayed in recent weeks.

The Tahs allowed the Jaguares to score four tries in the first half before losing 38-28 in Argentina and then trailed the Rebels 20-10 at halftime in Sydney before scoring an amazing 41 points in the second half to win 51-27.

Against the Rebels two weeks ago the Waratahs were pathetic in the first half, playing at a lower standard than a suburban side and yet they came out in the second half and completely bamboozled their opposition and played some wonderful rugby in the process.

The Waratahs first-half performances against the Jaguares and the Rebels certainly gives the Brumbies a good idea of what to do tonight — and that is to throw everything at them before the visitors click into gear.

I just can’t understand why a group of highly respected, highly experienced and highly paid players can play so abysmally when all it does is create unwanted pressure on themselves.

With the Rebels and Reds sitting on top of the Australian conference, both teams with new coaches and playing rosters, now is the time for both the Brumbies and Waratahs to add to the contest by playing good, intelligent rugby.

Apart from the second-half crumble against the Waratahs a couple of weeks ago, the Rebels are using their size and strength to their advantage and will continue to be a difficult team to play against.

Like the Rebels, the Reds will improve as they build combinations that are able to endure the hard end of the competition when they face the New Zealand teams.

With both the Waratahs and Brumbies having a week’s rest, I hope that both the coaches and players now have a better understanding of what it takes to be successful and that their interpretations of how the game should be played are communicated effectively.

Brumbies captain Sam Carter is returning from injury and he will no doubt have a huge impact on how the team plays in terms of their structure and commitment. Carter leads from the front without the fanfare. Much of the same can be said of Waratahs captain Michael Hooper.

The Brumbies will take the positives from the fact they have beaten the Tahs in their past three matches. Tahs coach Daryl Gibson will be hoping that his team will continue to build pressure on the Brumbies and he will look to Hooper to hold the team together.

Many fans will be watching this match if only for the Pocock-Hooper duel. They are always intriguing battles with their different styles starkly evident when they play each other. The winner of their battle will lay an early claim to the Wallabies’ No 7 jersey, although inevitably both will be accommodated in the national set-up.

Hooper built his reputation on the fringe of the ruck as a line-busting ball carrier and a stout defender. Pocock is less visible, doing his best work at the bottom of the ruck utilising his muscled A-frame physique over the ball to either snaffle possession or force a penalty from the tackled player. What will be of great interest beyond a question mark over Pocock’s match fitness — is whether his sabbatical, which included a stint Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan, has added anything to his game.