AUSTRALIA FLANKER DAVID Pocock has dismissed accusations that he is a cheat, after certain aspects of his role in Australia’s quarter-final defeat of South Africa were criticised.

Despite his man of the match performance against the Spingboks, not everyone was happy, with opposition captain John Smit suggesting his breakdown tactics were illegal.

However, Pocock claims he is unfazed by such talk, telling reporters:

“It’s been pretty funny this week checking the Twitter timeline every now and then for the South African fans.

“It’s been in good humour. I think it’s fairly standard (being called a cheat) for most number sevens.”

In addition, Pocock admitted he expects a tougher challenge against New Zealand, saying:

“They use a bit more footwork and you’d probably have to say their work at the breakdown across the board is probably a bit better (than South Africa). So we’re going to have to step up from last week at the breakdown.”

Australia play New Zealand this Sunday at 9am in the Rugby World Cup semi-final. You can catch all the action by following TheScore’s minute-by-minute liveblog of the game.

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