What David Pocock did with his first paycheck and where the Cardiff Blues went wrong last year
Of all the young players that John Mulvihill has helped nurture in his 21 years as a coach, David Pocock is the one who has made the Cardiff Blues boss most proud.
Not merely because of his 71 Test caps for Australia or reputation as one of the finest players of his generation. No, Mulvihill’s pride stems as much from acts the Wallabies back-row has performed away from the pitch as on it.
One anecdote the Blues head coach proudly relays relates to a time when an 18-year-old Pocock won a man-of-the-match award playing for the Western Force, and with it a cheque for $1,000.
“What would you do with 1,000 bucks?” Mulvihill asks RugbyPass half-rhetorically. Few players at that age would have even pondered what Pocock decided to do with his bonus.
Instead of depositing it behind a bar or into a savings account, the future Wallabies captain headed to a discount department store in the city. There, he bought 20 $50 sleeping bags.
“He threw them in his car, drove round Perth,” Mulvihill picks up the story.
“He got out of his car and saw a guy on the side of the street, and said ‘listen mate, I hope this will help you feel a bit more protected and safe and what-have-you’. He did that.”
By the time he decided to call it a night all 20 of the sleeping bags had been handed out to Perth’s homeless. It is not Mulvihill’s only memory of Pocock’s philanthropy, he proceeds to recount the time the pair and their Force colleagues went to hand out rugby kit at a school in Africa.
Denied entry to the school, the group instead decided to throw the balls and jerseys over the wall. Such anecdotes highlight the values that the coach holds dear, those he aims to instil at the Blues.
“Just little things like that make you think that if you can do something to make someone a little bit happier in life that’s brilliant,” he says.
“For me, I want the boys to have an understanding that yeah, we’re in our little world here but there’s so much stuff going on outside that we need be aware of a little bit.
“Giving your time is free, we’re not asking you to give 100 bucks, we’re asking you to give some time.”
To that end Mulvihill accompanied players from the academy on a visit to a homeless shelter in Cardiff city centre in July to help serve meals to those in need. He intends it not to be a one-off.
“We’ll hopefully get a Christmas drive going and a few other things to get them to understand that it’s not just about (results),” he explains. “We lost a game last weekend (against Leinster), it’s not the end of the world. We got a couple of points.”
Revealing what he told his players following that opening night defeat to Leinster, Mulvihill’s first competitive match at the Cardiff Arms Park, he adds: “I said to them ‘walk out of this room, stand tall, have a smile on your face, go out there and say hello to people.
“Because they supported you tonight and you put on a great show. We didn’t get what we wanted but we did get something out of it, and we’ve got our season started. That will be the same message throughout the year. I think the Cardiff Blues fans get it.”
Maintaining a close relationship with supporters is integral to Mulvihill’s plans in Cardiff. “We talked about us being in a little bit of a privileged position doing this as a job,” he says.
“The fans, they work all week and take money out of their pockets to buy season tickets and to come along to support. I always say to the boys that things like saying please and thank you and having a smile, those things are free.”
Mulvihill’s team has not made the start to the season he would have hoped for, defeat to Treviso following their one-point loss to Leinster. But he is determined to provide stability at a region that had changed coaches with alarming regularity in the four years before Danny Wilson was appointed in 2015.
The Australian’s ambitious targets this season include reaching the PRO14 play-offs and winning at least two matches in the Champions Cup. “We have to be minimum third, second, first (in Conference A) so we can then put ourselves in the picture to play finals rugby,” he says.
More long-term he wants to build on the good Wilson did, while producing future Wales players and developing a homegrown coach who will be ready to take over when the time comes for him to step down.
Mulvihill made a start on the coaching front before he even arrived in Wales. Having canvassed the opinions of Geraint John, the Welsh Rugby Union’s (WRU) head of rugby performance, WRU Group chief executive Martyn Phillips and his counterpart at the Blues, Richard Holland, he decided to bring in Tom Smith and Jason Strange.
In a subsequent move Richard Hodges, retained from Wilson’s reign alongside Duane Goodfield, was promoted to a senior role in which he effectively takes charge of first-team matters when Mulvihill is otherwise engaged.
“Probably where the Cardiff Blues let themselves down a little bit last year, was that they were under-resourced in coaching,” he explains.
“You had Danny (Wilson), Jockey (Goodfield) and Hodgey (Richard Hodge), and when you have 40-50 players out there, it’s pretty hard for three people to do it. Particularly if Danny got called away for other things.”
“Those guys work well together,” Mulvihill says of his current back-room team. “I would hope to think that in five years’ time that one of those guys is ready to step up.”
Going forward do not be surprised if Sam Warburton is added to that roster in some capacity. “We want him to be in and around the group,” Mulvihill admits. “We haven’t seen him a hell of a lot since he’s left but we’ll get him in from time to time.
“He seems to be a very busy man now. Off the field he is probably more busy than when he was playing, and good on him.”
Warburton isn’t the only busy man in the Cardiff area. Mulvihill has been working long days since arriving at the Blues in June, getting to his office at The Vale at 6.30am every morning and sometimes not getting home until 9pm if he has a meeting or commitment in the city.
He has assured his wife, who is in the process of leaving their four grown-up daughters at home to move to south Wales, that things will get easier now the season is under way.
Mulvihill doesn’t seem certain those words will prove accurate. “I just think that the first impression you have on someone could be the only impression they have,” he says. “So you really need to work on that it’s a positive one.”
In Mulvihill’s case, the initial impression has been an encouraging one.
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments