David Pocock to lead Wallabies against Barbarians at Twickenham – Rugby News
The 23-year-old open side flanker, David Pocock, has been handed over the skipper’s armband to lead Australia in their forthcoming match against Barbarians on November 26, at Twickenham. Wallabies head coach, Robbie Deans, named his 22-member match day squad
on November 24, in which he made the surprise decision of giving the command of his team to a comparatively inexperienced campaigner. Pocock has represented the Wallabies in just 35 tests previoiusly. He will lead the side in the absence of James Horwill,
who has been restricted to a bench role for this particular clash.
Defending his decision of appointing David Pocock captain of his team, Deans informed the reporters that James Horwill was suffering from an old injury to his shoulder, which he sustained during Rugby World Cup 2011. The coach said that, “While he ended
the Rugby World Cup with a bit of a shoulder niggle, James is in good nick, given the load that he has carried. We just felt that this was a good opportunity, both to lessen the load on James, while also giving David the chance to gain experience captaining
the side.”
Quade Cooper, the regular fly-half for Wallabies, will also miss the clash with a knee injury. James O’Connor has been deployed at that position. Meanwhile, in other changes, Berrick Barnes will start the game at centre’s position. A couple of new faces
have also been included in Wallabies squad including Lachie Turner, who has been given a starting role and Matt Hodgson, lined up as reserve player.
Talking about the forthcoming match, a excited Will Genia said that, “Being able to play in these games for the Baabaas is a privilege - because selection comes by invitation - but it also carries with it a huge responsibility to perform. Make no mistake,
this is going to be a tough match.”
Wallabies squad for Barbarians encounter:
Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock (c), 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Salesi Ma'afu,
2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 James Horwill, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Matt Hodgson, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Ben Tapuai.
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