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David Pocock has retired with immediate effect

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Former Australia captain David Pocock has called time on his professional rugby career after 15 years. The 32-year-old, who retired from international rugby after 78 Tests following the World Cup last year, has elected not to see out the final year of his playing contract in Japan.

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Pocock says he’s hoping to continue in grassroots rugby in Western Australia and also his native Zimbabwe. “Rugby has given me so much opportunity,” Pocock said in a statement.

“From a start at the Western Force to my years at the ACT Brumbies and the Panasonic Wild Knights, I’m so grateful for the community each of those clubs provided me and the skills I was able to develop.

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The latest edition of The Aussie Rugby Show

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The latest edition of The Aussie Rugby Show

It’s been a huge privilege to represent Australia and it’s really exciting now to see the next generation of Wallabies stepping up.”

With a known interest in conservation, the former flanker has already started on his next venture, called the Rangelands Restoration Trust in southern Zimbabwe.

“We’re working to build land-use models that regenerate degraded rangelands while creating wildlife habitat and improving the prosperity of people who depend on the land for their livelihoods. This kind of regenerative agriculture is a critical tool in the midst of the climate and extinction crises we are facing.

“There are a lot of people doing great work in this field and we’re working to incorporate many of their ideas as we partner with rural communities to improve local economies while increasing biodiversity and re-establishing wildlife migration corridors.”

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J
JWH 39 minutes ago
Are the All Blacks doomed to a 70% flatline?

Interesting take, crazy to see the amount of delulu NZ fans here. I am an NZ fan, but this is atrocious.


I am fine with 75%+, in fact I think that is excellent, but the main point of anguish is not IF we win or lose, it is how. I think that Razor has finally got us playing to our identity again; flowing, simple, and brutally decisive & efficient.


There are certainly some issues that the stats reflect, like the scrum and lineout. However, at scrum time, there isn't really much variation, in terms of attack, you can put on that. So at the end of the day, not much to do differently apart from 'scrum better'.


However, the lineout is quite interesting. As Ryan said earlier this week, the ABs have added a lot of depth and combinations to their lineout, with FOUR lineout options (Barrett, Vaai, Savea, Sititi). While they did only retain 80% possession from lineouts (not great), the stat line is actually 12/15, which is pretty good, considering Aumua did all those lineout with limited experience and tiredness after playing 75 minutes at Twickenham.


There are also some really good stats to back up the ABs. They managed to stay out of their own 22 for a lot of the game, however they also didn't set up camp in the opp 22 often either. They are also passing the ball a lot, clocking in at 211 passes, double that of England. These stats show a return to attacking, flowing rugby, and not playing your own 22, which is the ABs style.


What I think Razor wants to do is make effective use of draw and pass, simple rugby. This can be pre or post contact, but you have to draw more than 1 player. For example, that Sititi offload to Telea, or BB to Jordan. Those were excellent, yet overall simple passages of rugby This can be risky at times (just watch DMac play), but it is a medium risk high reward gameplan.


What we Kiwis want is exciting rugby. We want hard defense, big hits, cool plays, and quick linebreaks. I cannot imagine being an SA fan between 2018-2021, which was one of the most boring rugby teams of all time (respectfully). I also cannot imagine being an England fan right now, so dull. But the ABs are making rugby exciting again, playing like Scotland and Fiji, but better.

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