David Pocock praised for classy sportsmanship; Wallabies coach Michael Cheika changes things up

NZ Herald news.com.au

Pocock earned praise from his Bledisloe Cup rival Sam Cane for the way he reacted to Ryan Crotty going down with a head injury during the All Blacks’ 38-13 victory over Australia in Sydney on the weekend.

Crotty suffered his sixth concussion in less than 18 months after crashing into centre partner Jack Goodhue’s head as the pair made a tackle.

As play continued at ANZ Stadium, Pocock chose to stay with the prone Crotty until help arrived.

“It speaks pretty highly of his character and the type of guy he is if he’s willing to put the battle to one side in that moment and put the player’s welfare first,” said Cane after the game.

“So, thank you David.”

Cane, who himself has had issues with concussion, along with All Blacks coach Steve Hansen were deeply concerned for Crotty’s future.

Either Anton Lienert-Brown or Ngani Laumape looks set to start next weekend in place of Crotty, while Hansen is also considering calling up young Hurricanes centre Vince Aso into the squad.

CHEIKA CHANGES THINGS UP

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says his decision to base his side at Waiheke Island before the return Bledisloe Cup Test at Eden Park in Auckland was simply a case of trying something different rather than a search for a “magic pill”.

Cheika has never been to Waiheke Island, extremely limited in terms of large hotels capable of hosting a squad of more than 30 players and support staff of about 15. It also has only two rugby fields and a limited selection of gyms.

The Wallabies normally base themselves in downtown Auckland, and Cheika’s concession he has never been to Waiheke Island makes his decision all the more odd, yet for him it was simply a case of trying something new.

“Oh mate I didn’t really think about it like that, I just thought it was something different,” Cheika said when asked if it was a roll of the dice to change the fortunes of a nation who hasn’t won at Eden Park since 1986.

“We’ll stay there and set up camp and stay for the week and train. I don’t think there’s a magic pill here and, ‘I’ll do this and I’ll do that’. I just thought we’d stay somewhere a bit different. It’s all about training well and preparing well — the mindset.”

Asked if it was a case of basing his side away from distractions and in a more Wallaby-friendly zone, he said: “I didn’t really think of that, like you’re in New Zealand, you’re going to get the same feeling everywhere.

“I’ve never been there myself. I just thought there’s a footy field there, there’s a gym there. It’s something different for the lads. We’ll get into our work straight away.”

Cheika refused to accept the visit to Auckland was daunting, despite his side’s terrible record at Eden Park against the All Blacks and the fact it is one-nil down in a three-Test series.

“Not for me personally, no, and I think our players believe in each other,” he said. “They have to trust the process they’ve built at training together. It’s true we haven’t won there for a while but this is a moment in time and we’ve got to make the decision it’s not going to happen to us again.”

The Wallabies will be without their attacking weapon Israel Folau due to injury and their forward pack will arrive low on confidence after it was demolished at scrum and lineout time.

“The job’s the same — we’ve still got to win two games,” Cheika said, before turning his attention to a lineout which failed seven times.

“You can’t sook about it, you’ve got to get on with it. It’s a lineout, go and get it. If you don’t win it go and get the ball some other way. It’s not debilitating. We’ve just got to recover and move on to the next thing.”

— with Patrick McKendry

This article first appeared on the NZ Herald and was republished with permission