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Australia vs England: David Pocock ruled out of series as James Haskell praises Eddie Jones for 'dangling a carrot'

Haskell's man-of-the-match performance in Saturday's 39-28 victory over Australia saw England's back-row dominate their Wallaby counterparts

Jack de Menezes

Sunday 12 June 2016 16:34 BST

$David Pocock will miss the remainder of the Test series between Australia and England due to a fractured eye socket$

David Pocock will miss the remainder of the Test series between Australia and England due to a fractured eye socket (Getty)

England’s hopes of securing a first Test series victory in Australia on Saturday have been handed a further boost after influential Australia back-row David Pocock was ruled out of the remaining two Tests after suffering a fractured eye socket in the Wallabies’ 39-28 first Test defeat on Saturday.

Former Australia captain Pocock was forced off the field after being injured in a collision as he entered a ruck, and scans have revealed that the No 8 suffered the fracture that will sideline him for between four to six weeks.

It means that the 28-year-old, who starred in Australia’s run to the Rugby World Cup final last year, will miss the weekend clash in Melbourne as well as the final third Test in Sydney on 25 June.

It leaves Australia head coach Michael Cheika with a difficult decision to make. The Wallabies currently deploy Pocock, a natural openside flanker, at No 8 to give themselves an edge at the breakdown in the form of a double-pronged attack with Michael Hooper. Sean McMahon came off the replacements’ bench on Saturday for blindside flanker Scott Fardy, and should Cheika elect to continue with his current plan, then the Melbourne Rebels back-row would be the most likely replacement for Pocock.

However, Cheika could also revert back to a traditional No 8 with both Ben McCalman and Wycliffe Palu in the squad, while Liam Gill is also capable of coming into the side to replace Pocock.

"David played very well in the first Test. We'll have a look at some options that we have," Cheika said.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

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1/30Australia vs England first Test player ratings

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

<b>England:</b> 15. Mike Brown – 6 out of 10

Uncharacteristic error led to three points for Foley when Australia were wobbling after he knocked on when unopposed. Has had better days, but still lively with ball in hand.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

14. Anthony Watson – 6 out of 10

Saw extremely little of the ball, and was forced to do the hard yards in chasing kicks for the evening.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

13. Jonathan Joseph – 7 out of 10

Alert enough to seize on Folau’s error and showed his foot skills to dribble the ball, gather and touch down to give England the lead. Defence still needs some work though as Australia found success on his outside shoulder.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

12. Luther Burrell – 5 out of 10

Lucky to get away with a late hit on Hooper, and made sure the obstruction on him from Arnold was spotted to see Foley’s try chalked off. Left the field immediately after though as Jones sacrificed him to sure up the defence.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

11. Marland Yarde – 7 out of 10

Sound defensively as he guarded his channel well, but couldn’t find a way past Haylett-Petty when in space that could have led to a try. Made amends when he finished the second try, and justified his return to the starting XV.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

10. Owen Farrell – 9 out of 10

24 points from the boot continues his incredible season when aiming at goal, but he looked just as assured with the ball in hand regardless of if he was at 10 or 12.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

9. Ben Youngs – 8 out of 10

The scrum-half relieved the pressure for England on a number of occasions as his touch-finding box kicks got his side out of sticky situations. Looks increasingly the starting scrum-half, with Danny Care’s pace able to finish games.

Getty

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

1. Mako Vunipola – 7 out of 10

Managed to get the better of Holmes in the front-row scrum battle and uncharacteristically won the first penalty. Powerful in the loose.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

2. Dylan Hartley – 8 out of 10

Captain fantastic continues his unblemished record as skipper as he led from the front. Accurate with his lineout darts and a unit with the ball in hand.

Getty

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

3. Dan Cole – 7 out of 10

Bore the brunt of Romain Poite’s early frustration but won round the Frenchman to expose Scott Sio. Won the battle when the Australian departed for the sin-bin.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

4. Maro Itoje – 8 out of 10

Announced his arrival in Australia with a crucial turnover on his own line, and a massive presence in the lineout to disrupt the Wallabies on their ball. The question must be asked: will he ever have a bad game?

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

5. George Kruis – 7 out of 10

England lineout general decided to make his presence felt in defence as well as with ball in hand. One charging run bounced off Hooper, and he smashed the flanker soon after to try and slow down the ever-present flanker.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

6. Chris Robshaw – 8 out of 10

Followed in Itoje’s suit early on with an important turnover when Australia had the momentum. Lovely hands to release Yarde shortly before the break, and his work-rate was as high as ever. Continues to justify his place in the back-row

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

7. James Haskell – 9 out of 10

His best outing in an England shirt. Set the tone with a thumping hit on David Pocock in the opening minutes, and his break from a maul led to Yarde’s try.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

8. Billy Vunipola – 7 out of 10

For once it wasn’t the Billy Vunipola show, though that says more about his team-mates stepping up to be counted. Didn’t have to be depended on as much due to England’s dominance up front, and was replaced late on by Joe Launchbury as he ran out of legs.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

<b>Australia:</b> 15. Israel Folau – 8 out of 10

Brilliant first 15 minutes was undone by his poor pass that led to Joseph’s try. Still, that on error didn’t cost Australia the match entirely, and he essentially created a potential 21 points for the Wallabies through his try and the two he created for Hooper – if only Bernard Foley had brought his kicking boots.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

14. Dane Haylett-Petty – 8 out of 10

A debut to remember from the wing and it’s a shame that he ended up on the losing side. Four early carries saw him come in-field to hunt down the ball, and he looked at home on the international stage. Only blemish came in missing a tackle on Haskell.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

13. Tevita Kuridrani – 7 out of 10

Guilty of spurning a chance to score after Folau’s break, though duly made amends a minute later by crashing over. Caused England problems early on, though he did fade towards the final quarter.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

12. Samu Kerevi – 7 out of 10

Laid a try on a plate for Hooper after drawing in Burrell and Watson, though he should have gathered the ball in the seconds before Joseph’s try.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

11. Rob Horne – 5 out of 10

Took a heavy hit to the head in a collision with Hartley that forced him off the field. Replaced by Christian Lealiifano to trigger a reshuffle in the Australian back line.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

10. Bernard Foley – 7 out of 10

Brilliant with the ball in hand but there’s no looking past the fact that had he brought his kicking boots –and had a bit of luck – Australia could have been out of sight by the half hour marked. Missed three kicks at goal that, had Farrell been in the gold No 10 shirt, you’d expect to sail through the posts.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

9. Nick Phipps – 6 out of 10

Quiet game in terms of breaking from the base but he did provide quick ball for the backs to play with.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

1. Scott Sio – 5 out of 10

Comprehensively lost the scrum battle with Cole and spent 10 minutes in the cooler as a result, with the prop failing to return to the match afterwards.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

2. Stephen Moore – 6 out of 10

Fears of an off-day in the lineout after missing his first throw were put to bed, but while he was effective in defence and provided quick support at rucks, he only lasted 57 minutes.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

3. Greg Holmes – 6 out of 10

Held his own against Vunipola initially only to concede ground as Australia’s pack began to struggle. Rather anonymous in the loose.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

4. Rory Arnold – 6 out of 10

Guilty of an intentional block on Burrell to see Foley’s try disallowed, and for all his 6ft 10in frame, he failed to impose himself on England’s powerful pack.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

5. Rob Simmons – 5 out of 10

Landed awkwardly in a lineout and appeared to injure his leg. Hobbled off the field, leading to James Horwill’s early return to the Australian fold.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

6. Scott Fardy – 6 out of 10

Impressive with the ball in hand as he always looked to charge forwards, but conceded a penalty in midfield that led to Yarde’s try and wasn’t at his absolute best defensively

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

7. Michael Hooper – 8 out of 1

Linked well with Folau twice to score the opening try and was a nuisance in the ruck. On hand to expertly finish in the second half and trigger the Wallaby fightback, though he took some punishment as the England defence targeted him.

Australia vs England first Test player ratings

8. David Pocock – 7 out of 1

Didn’t get his timing and entry right in the first half as he conceded points through the form of penalties at the ruck. Wore a huge tackle from Haskell inside the first few minutes, but was outshone by the English back-row on a disappointing day.

"We have the option of staying with what we've got or, if we want to bring in almost a like-for-like player, then we'll go with Liam Gill.

"We have options that have got experience, so we're fortunate there, but at the same time it's disappointing to lose a player of David's quality.

"The skills he brings to the game are superb and there's that dynamic that we have in the back-row with himself, Michael Hooper and Scott Fardy."

One surprise during England’s victory on Saturday was their superiority in the back-row, with an attack led by the unlikely figure of James Haskell. The Wasps co-captain put in arguably his finest performance in an England shirt at the 68th time of asking, with a surging run deep into Australian territory early in the second half laying the platform for Marland Yarde to score a crucial second try for England.

Haskell was praised by head coach Eddie Jones after the match, and the 31-year-old credited the Australian for laying down the challenge in order to spur him on and improve his game.

"Eddie treats the boys very fairly and understands that in professional sport you have to talk to people in different ways," Haskell said.

 England head coach Eddie Jones leads England's warm-up  (Getty)

"He knows how to talk to me to get the best out of me. He's given me an opportunity and I'm really aware there are so many good players in our squad.

"He's empowered me and now I have a role in the team. He knows how to get the best out of people and knows that some people need the carrot and others the stick. I'm more of a carrot man."

England nearly threw a 32-13 lead away when Australia clawed their way back to within four points courtesy of a second try from Hooper and one from Tevita Kuridrani, only for England to weather the storm and seal victory with a last-minute try from Jack Nowell.

Haskell's tackle on Pocock set the tone for England's display (Getty)

Jones was critical of the performance afterwards, especially as England shipped two tires inside the opening 16 minutes, but both Jones and captain Dylan Hartley stressed afterwards that the performance is what matters when it comes to the first Test of a series, and Haskell was clearly in agreement.

"We made history because we've never won here," Haskell continued.

"We were being heckled from the moment we got here which is always quite fun. You know when you're in Australia because you get a lot of banter.

"It was just important to get the victory and continue the good work we did in the Six Nations.

 Haskell's break in the second half set-up Marland Yarde's try (Getty)

"It was important that we can prove we can live with these teams, but next weekend is another test.

"Australia were great in patches and are a very dangerous side. They will regroup after this and the second Test will be another massive physical challenge and big occasion."

After securing a record win in Australia and just their fourth ever victory Down Under, England can secure a first Test series triumph if they beat Australia at Melbourne’s AAMI Park on Saturday.

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