Western Force flanker David Pocock will become the youngest Super Rugby player to play 50 games for the club when the Force play the Waratahs this weekend.
Pocock is unconcerned with personal milestones and would have already hit the milestone had he not suffered an untimely injury.
An inaugural Western Force squad member, Pocock made his debut for the club in the final game of the 2006 season against the Sharks in Durban aged just 18 years and twenty days and has been on the rise since.
His uncompromising work ethic and commitment to putting the team before himself saw him quickly solidify himself as a run on regular with the Western Force and then with the Wallabies, his debut in the green and gold coming at 20 years of age against New Zealand in 2008.
“I guess my 50th game has been coming for a while having missed a bit of last season and this season but it’s just one of those things that comes and goes,” said Pocock.
“For me this week is definitely all about the team against the Waratahs.”
An uncompromising dedication and commitment to his development and the team, Pocock is widely considered amongst the top two flankers in the world alongside All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw.
However it has never been about individual honours, the youngster revealing what motivates him to be the best he can be.
“I think for every player a big motivation is being part of a team that’s winning and getting the respect of the guys you’re playing with,” Pocock said on the Western Force site.
“That’s a big motivation for me, being part of teams that are winning here at the Western Force and then hopefully further on down the track with the Wallabies.”
Pocock returned to the side against the Crusaders last weekend after missing seven matches with a knee injury.
His performance belied that of someone who had spent almost two months out of action, making an immediate impact for the club and pulling up just a bit sore.
“The thing I like about him most while just 22 and at the top of his field the guy wants to learn, he wants to get better,” Coach Richard Graham said.
“I think a lot of boys set limits on what they can achieve and he clearly has no limits as to what he can achieve.
“If you say something to him you’ve only got to say it once,” said Graham.
The Western Force travel to Sydney to take on the Waratahs this weekend just four weeks after the New South Welshman handed them a humbling defeat in Perth.
The return of Pocock and fellow backrower Matt Hodgson has given the Western Force an added boost and despite injuries to a number of the Tah’s experienced players, Pocock expects this game to be just as tough as the first.
“They’re a very good team with a very big forward pack and they pride themselves on their scrum and set piece,” he said.
“With Berrick (Barnes) back they’ve looked a lot sharper and they’ve had a couple good wins so it’s going to be a tough game.”
Pocock joins skipper Nathan Sharpe, Cameron Shepherd, Tai McIsaac and fellow back row buddies Richard Brown and Matt Hodgson as players to have earned 50 caps for the Western Force.