Pocock is an extremely bright and charming guy and would walk into this England team and - without giving any confidences away - I can assure you that Australia have been looking forward to this match. They have enjoyed a pretty useful autumn in my estimation with three victories and a loss so far. For a team supposedly running on empty, they have been going strongly.
Although I wouldn't question the quality of Ireland's outstanding win and performance against them last week for one minute, you would also have to say it was still a match Australia could have won.
The Aussies also have no fear of Twickenham, in fact it's virtually been their second home here over the last couple of years. They met England and the Barbarians here in 2014 and played no fewer than five World Cup games at the home of English rugby in 2015, including a hard-fought victory over Wales and a demolition of England.
And they have already played at Twickenham - and won - this season, having defeated the Pumas in a Rugby Championship game.
Given all that, I've been a little surprised and disappointed at the shouting match that has developed between Eddie Jones and Michael Cheika this week. They are old Randwick colleagues and I would like to think they will bury the hatchet over a beer tonight. But this does seem to have become very personal, which I really do not like.
Eddie has been faultless in his first year with England and initially I took his pre-emptive attack on the Aussie scrum as his modus operandi - getting your retaliation in first. But, having considered it a bit more analytically, it might prove to be his first major mistake.
Diving in before Australia had even kicked off against Ireland was disrespectful and what I saw when various Aussies were interviewed as they came off in Dublin was their hackles rise.
The one real surprise for me is that Cheika, a top coach and very astute man, decided to fire back with a few verbals of his own, questioning the legality of Dan Cole's scrummaging over the years. Although tempted to sound off, on this occasion I think I would have opted for the high ground and said nothing. I would have just smiled and said: 'See you Saturday.'
As for England, you have to be just a little careful when you go early and heap massive attention on an area where you think the opposition is either weak or at fault in terms of the law.
There have been meetings with the referee, Jaco Peyper, apparently and one thing we can say for certain is the officials will be hyper-alert. The Australian scrum has improved vastly since Cheika took over and this scrum contest looks a very even battle, with the Australians possibly shading it. Maybe that is what caused Jones's attack on this Australian team.
England had better be above reproach and blameless in all aspects or they might find themselves on the receiving end of a barrage of penalties, which was clearly not the idea at all.
There are no real surprises in the England team. I always had Nathan Hughes inked in for a start at No 8 once Billy Vunipola faced surgery for his cartilage problem and it was either going to be Marland Yarde or Semesa Rokoduguni filling the vacancy caused by Elliot Daly's sending-off.
I would have gone with Roko because he is the more likely to produce a magic moment but Yarde, with his strong and aggressive style, is possibly seen as the safer option. It is a career-defining match for him, an opportunity to show us what he is made of.
I haven't seen enough real quality and potential in his Quins and England performances, certainly when you set what he brings to a team alongside Chris Ashton, David Strettle and Christian Wade.
That trio are players most countries would kill for but England, for differing reasons, have no qualms about ignoring them.
So a very close game beckons, a thundering Test and a tumultuous end to a fascinating autumn.
If England are to win I fancy the ever reliable place-kicking and drop-goal ability of Owen Farrell will be the difference, but equally this Australia team could have the last laugh.
It will be that close.
ENGLAND TEAM TO FACE AUSTRALIA
M Brown (Harlequins); M Yarde (Harlequins), J Joseph (Bath), O Farrell (Saracens), J May (Gloucester); G Ford (Bath), B Youngs (Leicester); M Vunipola (Saracens), D Hartley (Northampton, capt), D Cole (Leicester), C Lawes (Northampton), G Kruis (Saracens), C Robshaw (Harlequins), T Wood (Northampton), N Hughes (Wasps).
Replacements: J George (Saracens), J Marler (Harlequins), K Sinckler (Harlequins), C Ewels (Bath), T Harrison (Northampton), D Care (Harlequins), B Te'o (Worcester), H Slade (Exeter).
AUSTRALIA TEAM TO FACE ENGLAND
I Folau (Waratahs), D Haylett-Petty (Western Force), T Kuridrani (Brumbies), R Hodge (Rebels), S Naivalu (Rebels), B Foley, N Phipps (both Waratahs), S Sio (Brumbies), S Moore (Reds, capt), S Kepu (Bordeaux), K Douglas, R Simmons (both Reds), D Pocock (Brumbies), M Hooper (Waratahs), L Timani (Rebels).
Replacements: T Latu (Waratahs), J Slipper (Reds), T Robertson, D Mumm (booth Waratahs), S McMahon (Rebels), N Frisby, Q Cooper (both Reds), H Speight (Brumbies)
