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Pocock faces test of Waugh
By Wayne Smith
April 11, 2008
INJURY will prevent Rocky Elsom from conducting his own experiment but the Australia hard man believes the world is one day away from discovering if rising Western Force superstar David Pocock, 19, is the real deal.
Elsom, New South Wales' best performer this season, is pawing the ground in frustration that the quadriceps injury that forced him out of the Blues match last weekend is going to cost him a start against Force at Perth's Subiaco Oval on Saturday night.
But the one compensation is that he will be able to monitor Pocock's positional clash with Waratahs captain Phil Waugh closely.
"There is no bigger test for an openside flanker than Phil Waugh because he is the most physical No.7 in world rugby," Elsom said.
"If Pocock can stand up to him, he's all right. Phil is a proven performer in big games and this is a big game for us.
"Pocock's form has been outstanding and there's no question he's been one the great finds of the season, but this is when we find out just how good he really is."
It could be that this is when Elsom finds out whom he most likely will be playing alongside in the Test back row this season, although any discussion on the gold No.7 jersey that does not identify the Brumbies' George Smith as the likeliest contender cannot be taken seriously.
Elsom also is wetting his lips in anticipation of the line-out clash of Dan Vickerman and Force captain Nathan Sharpe, Australia's first-choice second-row pairing since the 2003 World Cup.
"It's the biggest contest within the contest," Elsom said. His prediction is that one will gain the ascendancy and this could start a spiral that could see the match spin out of control for the loser's team.
Haig Sare knows all about situations spiralling out of control. The 25-year-old Force winger was the other player involved in the pre-season fracas with Matt Henjak that left him with a broken jaw and the former Wallabies half-back with a shattered career.
Henjak's contract was torn up as a consequence, while Sare, named on Thursday on the bench for this match with the Waratahs, was suspended for eight weeks. It was a hefty suspension but one made more bearable by the fact that it has taken him that long to recover from his injuries.
Force coach John Mitchell, in naming Sare in his match 22, confessed he did not know whether or not the player had learned from his mistakes, only that he had not "buggered up since the last time".
But Sare was adamant he had taken his lessons to heart.
"You don't go through something like that and see the effect it has on the organisation and on your family and friends without learning from it," Sare said. "And what I learned is what a privilege it is to be able to play professional rugby. To see that taken away from a teammate and to realise how close you've come to having it taken away from you makes you sit back and really appreciate what you've got."
Sare refused to discuss the incident or his feelings towards Henjak. But he admitted he had been apprehensive when his Force teammates had returned from their early-season tour of South Africa, unsure of how they would treat him, especially since the incident led to Henjak's expulsion from the club.
"Yeah, I had fears but the response was great," he said. "Everyone in the organisation was really positive towards me. I thought there might have been some tension but I was able to just get back into footy."
In the only change to the starting XV that snatched victory over the Bulls last weekend, Troy Takiari takes over at tighthead from AJ Whalley, who has been relegated to the bench.
The Australian
"Remember lads, rugby is a team game; all 14 of you make sure you pass the ball to Giteau." 
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