Pocock's stand hurts captaincy claim

 

Pocock's on-field complaints to the referee led to Waratahs forward Jacques Potgieter being fined AU$20,000 for using homophobic slurs during his side's win over the Brumbies on Sunday.

 

Respected rugby commentator Martin says Pocock did the right thing in speaking out but his action will split opinion in the game.

 

"He'll pay for it. It will mean that he will never captain the Wallabies again," Martin told Brisbane's Triple M radio on Tuesday.

 

"What he's done, he hasn't fractured the game down a Waratahs-Brumbies line… It won't be fractured down that, but it will be fractured upon clear-thinking, modern-thinking footballers who will support David Pocock and the more old school, hard heads who will say that was a disgrace he shouldn't have done that.

 

"There are schools of thought both ways, but that will break it down the line."

 

It's the second time in six months Pocock has taken a public stance on an issue, after he was arrested in November for chaining himself to a digger in a protest against the opening of a coal mine inside a New South Wales state forest.

 

Pocock captained the Wallabies under former coach Robbie Deans in 2012, before consecutive serious knee injuries blighted his career.

 

But Martin believed the Australian Rugby Union would no longer be comfortable with having him as national team captain.

 

"They [the ARU] have a role to play in appointing the Australian captain because he is the voice box," Martin said.

 

"They'll get worried that he will get up on his soapbox about all sorts of issues.

 

"Do you want that when they are not your principles?

 

"He's getting his own principles out there and they are strong principles but maybe the ARU won't want that and they will go 'hold on, loose cannon. 

 

"Maybe he can play and be a [team] member but he can't be our leader and our voice piece'."

 

Meanwhile Australia's first gay rugby union team, the Sydney Convicts, have invited the apologetic Potgieter to train with them and watch some of their matches in the wake of his homophobic slurs toward Brumbies players.

 

"We often find that people using this kind of language don't fully understand the harmful effects it can have on those around them, particularly those struggling to accept their own sexuality," Convicts president Robert McPherson said.

 

"We would welcome Jacques to come down to meet the boys and hear their stories, which is why we will invite him to join us for a few of our training sessions and to watch a few games.

 

"He would quickly recognise that being gay has no impact on a person's ability to play rugby or their passion for the game."