Rugby: Pocock relishes contest with McCaw

David Pocock says the Wallabies are improving. Photo / Getty Images

Like a number of his Wallaby colleagues, David Pocock was not born the last time Australia beat the All Blacks at Eden Park.

It has no relevance to them what happened 25 years ago but that stretching timeframe is painful for many Wallaby legends.

Acerbic coach Alan Jones reckoned that 22-9 victory was "bigger than Quo Vadis, bigger than anything" while fiesty flanker Simon Poidevin reckoned he could at last live in peace.

The sporting stars were well out of whack though in 1986 as the All Blacks lost to their transtasman rivals and New Zealand beat Australia for the first time at home in a cricket series.

Current Wallaby breakaway Pocock was still several years away from surfacing in Zimbabwe and does not carry any anxiety about the long lack of success. All that showed, he said, was that Eden Park was a tough place to win tests.

He would face an intense personal duel with All Black captain Richie McCaw and while those tussles were often highlighted or talked up, they rarely eventuated in the modern game.

"You have to be at your best," he said, about contests with McCaw and his All Blacks. "He is very consistent and has been for a long time so you always know you are in for a challenge. You have to be on your game, there is nothing else to prepare for. There are no special things, nothing different from normal."

Pocock is a superb flanker who fled the uprisings in Zimbabwe with his family and settled in Australia.

While his new countrymen have not beaten the All Blacks at Eden Park for aeons, he was part of the side which sneaked in ahead of them in Hong Kong last year and went into overtime raptures.

"Given the history of very little success for this group over the All Blacks, it was obviously a huge result for us and a lot of relief," he said.

"I guess you'll let everyone else be the judge on whether you thought we were over the top but I guess it was a good win. We have moved on and are looking at the next few games against the All Blacks."

Pocock believed they were tracking well as a team and on the improve.