All Blacks wary of Pocock threat

David Pocock’s presence in Australia’s squad for the Rugby Championship has got New Zealand on high alert, according to All Blacks forward Sam Cane.

Pocock missed last year’s tournament as he took a sabbatical from rugby but returned to international action in June against Ireland.

The 30-year-old was named in Michael Cheika’s trimmed squad for this weekend’s opener against the world champions, the Wallabies looking to claim back-to-back wins over their trans-Tasman rivals.

And the threat posed by Pocock is something New Zealand are wary of heading to ANZ Stadium on Saturday.

“He’s always a big threat when he plays,” Cane told a media conference.

“The way he continually bounces back and plays at a high level is pretty outstanding. It just creates an awareness – we’re on more of a high alert than normal around the breakdown.

“In every Test match there’s always a big emphasis on the breakdown – whether it’s their ball or our ball, disrupting their ball or trying to get fast ball.

“It will be a focus again.”

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