Australia legend backs Pocock-Hooper combination
(L-R) Former player George Gregan, player David Pocock and Captain Michael Hooper speak to the media during a media event at the new Rugby Australia building in Sydney, Friday, February 9, 2018. (AAP Image/Peter Rae)
Australia’s all-time leading cap holder George Gregan believes that David Pocock and Michael Hooper will be crucial to their World Cup chances.
Both players were vital in the previous global tournament as they reached the final in 2015 before succumbing to New Zealand at Twickenham.
Head coach Michael Cheika has struggled to find the right balance since then, however, with some believing that those two playing together are not the way forward.
Gregan disagrees, though, and insists that Pocock and Hooper must be in the XV if the Wallabies are to stand a chance of progressing to the latter stages in Japan.
“The importance of Michael Hooper and David Pocock in the Wallabies team is immense, we saw that in the 2015 World Cup when they played together,” the former scrum-half, speaking as a Land Rover ambassador, said.
“When they play, the Wallabies are a better team, particularly in defence and turnovers. It impacts on their set-piece a little bit but, even if they’re not playing together, those two men in the squad has a huge positive influence on the Wallaby team.”
Hooper is the current skipper and Gregan, who also captained his country, insists that the Waratahs openside is the right man for the job.
He said: “I’d have to go with Michael Hooper. He’s been the captain for the last couple of years and he’s done a good job, but he’d be as frustrated as anyone.
“He works so hard on the rugby field, probably like no one else in the squad. I think that he’s a guy who’s respected by his team and he goes out and leads by example so I would keep him in there.”
Hooper and Pocock were part of an Australian team that faltered in 2018, winning just four of their 13 Test matches, but Gregan believes that there’s enough time to get back on track.
“Where would I like to see the most improvement in the performance of the Wallabies going in to the World Cup? I think it’s consistency, I think they really have been oscillating from some good performances to some really poor performances,” he added.
“I think the end of season tour was a really poor way to finish the year results-wise so they’ve got lots of work to do. There’s plenty of time in that you’ve got four Test matches, two of those against New Zealand, so they’re going to be playing some tough games.
“There’s an 11-game season to be fair and so they’ve got a chance to build some consistency in their performance but they need to start now.”
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