Rugby: Specialist flanker Pocock Aussie point of difference

David Pocock. Photo / Supplied

David Pocock has been identified as the Wallabies' "point of difference" player as they attempt to take both the Irish referee and hulking Springbok backrow out of Saturday night's Tri-Nations test.

Pocock will be the only specialist openside flanker to line up at Suncorp Stadium after South Africa took a gamble by picking No 8 Ryan Kankowski as his opposite number.

Kankowski wasn't even a member of South Africa's original 39-man squad this season and his selection to quicken the Boks' pack puts the heat on their skills in the pivotal breakdown contest.

George Clancy has been appointed as the third Irishman to control a Tri-Nations match in as many weeks and the South Africans have been both bewildered and frustrated by their more lax law interpretations at the tackle area.

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has threatened to push the boundaries more by becoming more "street smart", but Wallabies coaches Robbie Deans and Jim Williams feel it's up to their players to adapt best to the whistle-blower's style.

That's where Williams feels 22-year-old Pocock, both an incredibly strong and clever operator like All Black skipper Richie McCaw, is best equipped.

"He's a class player and a point of difference player and he's shown that in the past for us and we're obviously looking forward for him to make that impact around the breakdown again," Australia's forwards coach Williams said.

"David has always been technically very good, I think - he works hard to stay on his feet and get low over the ball and get in a good position."

The Western Force No 7 was instrumental in the Wallabies' 21-6 upset of the Springboks on the same Brisbane ground last year.

Replacing the now internationally-retired George Smith, it was Pocock's first Tri-Nations start and Australia's only win of the 2009 tournament.

Williams said the onus was on the Zimbabwe-born flanker and his fellow forwards to efficiently control the breakdown with numbers to restrict the referee's influence and allow the ball to be quickly recycled for scheming halfback Will Genia.

"It's a matter of timing and getting there first and once you're there first and on the feet normally and being in a good position and giving the referee a good picture of the breakdown," he said.

- AAP