The great David Pocock does not shy away from openly expressing his ambition with regards to the next coach position at Wallabies. The retiring sportsman readily made an announcement about this before turning climate crusader.
After having played for more than a decade at the top level, executing the best performance in his abilities, Pocock seems reluctant to add to his 83 Tests in the gold jumper. He has declared that his ‘’thumped’’ body is definitely not in the best physical condition. Although, Pocock must be gutted to have bowed out of international rugby with a dramatic 40-16 loss in England, taking another toll on Australian betting bonuses and promotions, on Saturday in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
Pocock says that he restlessly tried all he could to put a huge amount of effort, practice, and dedication into rugby in Australia and he has certainly received a lot back as well. However, it seems like the time is just right for him to move on to other things and continue making contributions in alternative ways. It is not a surprise that Australian sportsman speaks so openly about wanting to cut ties with Wallabies. After all, the rough games and stress certainly take a toll. Pocock has said multiple times that as you go along the way, you pick up injuries of all sorts and while some take little recovery time, others tend to linger longer and put players at unease.
The outspoken conservationist and avid human rights campaigner may or may not consider a future career in politics following his official boot hanging in the last season of his three-year stint with Wild Knights in Japan.
As Pocock claims, even though rugby played a major role in his life, it is not the only thing around which he revolves. In fact, the sportsman is interested in the various aspects of human life. Especially, political matters and the issues related to the environmental crisis and ecological catastrophes. Pocock reckons the political landscape to give off fairly unpromising and uninspiring vibes, and the same goes for climate change. Pocock does not want to rush things as he reveals that he has plenty of time to consider and rethink everything, find something meaningful and get stuck in.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Ecological Agricultural systems, Pocock is not reluctant to admit that he will greatly miss certain aspects of professional rugby. According to him, there is something immensely special about being involved in a group where people are focused on something so much bigger than themselves. Although, Pocock hopes to find the same type of fulfillment somewhere else.
Pocock remains faithful to one of his key allies Michael Cheika who recently signed off on his controversial year-long sabbatical from the game in 2017. The star flanker did not seem impressed by Wallabies’ teammate and former schoolmate Quade Cooper’s parting shot at the coach.
Cooper tweeted on Sunday that if Michael actually cared about Australian rugby, he would have done the same thing, as in quit, a while ago. Pocock responded defending Cheika as the type of guy who goes into bat for his players behind the scenes. He went on to add that as players they often find it disappointing when certain people on the outside seem to be taking potshots. Although, there is still an immense amount of work that has gone in and should not be ignored or belittled. At the end of the day, Pocock continues, everybody is entitled to their own opinions and people are going to say whatever they deem to be right, moreover, after such a shortfall. For Pocock, there are no excuses. Even though the team had prepared quite well, they just were not good enough on the night. Pocock once again showed his support for Cheika as he concluded his statement by saying that Michael constantly tries to make players focus on their game, but certainly, you can never please everyone.
Pocock did not speak much with regards to who Cheika’s successor should be, but it appears that he is not holding back to offer input on the matter, in the case being asked. He pointed out that as a player he is perfectly content, but it is just a different feeling of responsibility to give thoughts, opinions, and directives professionally. ‘’That’s just a little part of the bigger picture of the strategy going forward and how things are going to look in terms of the structure of coaching in Australia’’, added Pocock.
