Rugby fans should expect to see a lot of David “Bamm Bamm” Pocock in the coming years. In between playing his club rugby for Perth’s Western Force, he has emerged as Australia’s first choice flanker, aged just 22. So, withEngland and Ireland about to tour Australia, we thought we better check out the opposition…
I hear I’ve dragged you away from a photo shoot. Do you enjoy that side of the job?
Yeah mate, we just had a little thing. It’s pretty fun. It didn’t take too long which is good.
How’s if feel playing for your country?
Yeah mate, I really enjoyed the opportunities I got last year. Results-wise, things didn’t go our way in a few matches but for me it’s very exciting, coming through alongside guys like Quade Cooper, James O’Connor, who you know are similar ages and we get on really well. It adds some extra meaning to it when you’re playing with your mates.
With young guys like yourself now getting regular Wallaby places, it feels a bit like a changing of the guard…
Yeah I guess if you’re looking from the outside it definitely looks like that. The great thing I found last year was how willing the older guys were to pass on their knowledge. In my circumstance George Smith, he was one of the guys who was always keen to give me any help or show me anything. Such a good guy around the camp.
You’re originally Zimbabwean, having moved to Oz with your family as a teenager. Do you ever get any stick as a result?
Ah you know there’s a lot of guys from the islands or wherever, so we’re a pretty diverse group. Every now and again you’ll cop a bit but it’s nothing sinister. It’s all good fun.
You came off the bench to help beat England 18-9 at Twickenham last November. Does that give you more confidence for June’s matches?
Yeah it was a great experience to beat them at Twickenham, so I’m pretty sure they’re going to try and do the same thing to us here. I dunno, with touring teams, personnel changes quite a bit every year so it’s hard to predict, but I’m sure they’ll bring a pretty strong team and they’ll be motivated. No doubt they’ll be big games. I’m looking forward to them.
And you were man of the match in the 20-20 draw against Ireland. You must have fond memories of that game?
Yeah mate that was very special. Just playing at Croke Park is pretty awesome. In the game, the last few minutes were pretty tight, it was a tough way to finish the game, but I guess they deserved it in the end, to come back and get the draw. But you learn from that and hopefully this year we can, I guess, not get ourselves in that position when a game is hanging in the balance, but put teams away a bit earlier.
Your family are all based in Brisbane. Are you looking forward to playing in front of them?
Yeah definitely. That’ll be really good, a lot of my family and friends will be there. It should be a good night.
You’re nickname is Bamm Bamm, after The Flintstones character? What’s the story?
Well, when I moved over to Perth and started with the Force I was still 17, but I couldn’t play because I wasn’t 18 yet, there were all sorts of rules. And then one day in the gym, one of the guys started calling me that. Of course, being the young bloke I didn’t know that the more you don’t like a nickname the more it sticks. I hated it and it stuck real well. I don’t mind it now though.
You’ve been tipped for big things. Any particular hopes for the future?
Ha, yeah I mean, everyone who plays rugby at professional level wants to win and be a part of teams that win trophies. That’s definitely one of my goals. The World Cup and stuff is coming up so that’s a great opportunity. I’m pretty excited about that.
The Wallabies play England in Perth (12 June) and Sydney (19 June), before hosting Ireland in Brisbane (26 June). See www.ticketmaster.com.au and www.ticketek.com.au/rugbysupportersfor details.
