Wallaby Captain and Crusader for World Poverty

The Springboks missed him but the Wallabies are glad to call him their own.

The Reds, Waratahs, Brumbies and Rebels came up short of the line, as did the Crusaders, but our newest Wallaby captain, and crusader for the world’s poor, is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with, both on and off the field.

Zimbabwean born David Pocock’s rugby resume at the ripe old age of 24 is an impressive one.

Schooled in one of the most famous rugby nurseries in Australia, ‘Churchies’ or the Church of England Grammar in Brisbane, a contract with the Western Force at 17 (not allowed to play his first match until he was 18), captain of the Australia under 20’s, a Wallaby since 2008 at the age of 20, now with 44 Caps, a World Cup and nominations for the International Rugby Player of the Year in 2010 and 2011.

Added to that he was Young Western Australian of the Year in 2012 and a nomination for Young Australian of the Year.

What else could this young man achieve?

Wallaby Captain in 2012, that’s all!

Although a first up home game loss to lowly ranked Scotland probably has him echoing the words of Adrian Cronauer, played by Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam, “This won’t look good on my resume!” His resume as captain has been looking better and better since that terrible clash with the Bravehearts played in the best of Scottish weather in Newcastle, NSW.

But it is off the field, as well as on it, that Pocock is making headlines and is proving to be a leader among his peers and his generation.

Amidst his punishing rugby schedule, Pocock has jointly founded and runs, with the same passion as he charges into rucks and mauls, the ‘Eighty-Twenty’ charity. The beneficiaries of this work are vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people in his native Zimbabwe.

Pocock acknowledges that the inspiration to commit his life to justice and compassion for the world’s poor comes from the likes of Jesus, Ghandi and Martin Luther King.

In his autobiography cum diary lead up to the 2011 World Cup, Openside, My Journey to the Rugby World Cup (New Holland Publishers 2011) Pocock reveals that he comes from a conservative Christian family (page 112).

What he means by ‘conservative’ is not explained but it may be a fair assumption to believe it is pretty close to orthodox Christianity and Evangelical piety. Pocock’s speaks of his desire to:

. . . include a time of personal prayer, reflection or meditation into my everyday rhythm, whether in the morning when I woke up or at night before bed (page 112)

However the kind of ‘Christianity’ that Pocock now identifies with is far from conservative.

His book is sprinkled with references to Jesus.

Our first book together (with his partner Emma) was Mere Discipleship by Lee C Camp, a book exploring the political message of Jesus, discussing how political his life was, when read in context, and what that meant for people today who wanted to follow his teaching (page 92)

Advocating non-violence is an idea that I had been reading a lot about during that time, mainly books by or about Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jnr and Jesus (page 112)

Pocock, who appears to be an avid reader, includes among his favourite writers:

Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jnr, Richard Rohr, John Dear, Desmund Tutu, John Howard Yoder, Tom Wright, and others (pages 93 and 94).

But Pocock is very critical of what he describes as certain stereotypes of Christianity:

It (religious) was a term I often connected with negative associations – of people who recited bible verses but screwed over the poor in their business dealings. Sure, I believed that the life of Jesus was an amazing example of something different, a way of living that put love first . . . (page 112-113)

I love what Ghandi said, ‘I like your Christ but do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.’ It is sometimes cringeworthy and often just plain disgusting to see what some people justify by their Christian faith and their claims to follow Jesus, a non-violent person who spent most of his time with the poor (page 113)

Reading these paragraphs made me jamb up on the inside. I wanted to scream in outrage at the stereotype. I love the Bible, and I love to recite Bible verses. I do so every day. I do it in preaching. I do it at the bedside of my dying father. I do it in conversation with both happy and hurting people. And I make no apology for it.

But before I go into outrage overdrive, and get too defensive, surely I need to ask myself some heart-searching questions, like:

• Am I screwing over the poor in my business dealings?

• Are my investments ethical?

• In my quest to maximise my superannuation and investment profits, have I been careful to make sure that my money isn’t helping multi-national companies exploit people in developing world countries?

There seems little doubt that Pocock’s ‘spirituality’ is designer and eclectic and that his ‘Christianity’ is liberal and revisionist and seems far from the biblical Christianity that I have embraced, cherish and seek to engage with others.

While there is no mention of it in his book, it is well documented in other places of media profile (see for example the SMH 27th November 2011 and The Telegraph 17th March 2012) that David and his wife/partner, Emma, who have enjoyed a wedding amongst family and friends, refuse to register their marriage with the Australian Government until there is ‘marriage equality’ for same-sex partners.

David Pocock, barring injury, is set to become the long term incumbent of the Wallaby captaincy, in the tradition of Nick Farr-Jones, John Eales and George Gregan. He is an outstanding rugby player and a leader with great attributes on the playing paddock.

David Pocock, whether he has a long-term rugby career or not, is, and will be, a voice for many of his peers and his generation. His ‘Christianity’ is far from orthodox and he presents an enormous challenge to Bible loving and Bible quoting people like me to, if I may dare to quote the words of Jesus: