Publications
Partners
Sydney - Australia and Brumbies forward David Pocock has signed a three-season deal with the Japanese Top League team Panasonic Wild Knights.
The Australian Rugby Union said on its website on Sunday that openside flank Pocock will start playing for the Wild Knights - who are coached by former Wallabies mentor Robbie Deans - following the conclusion of the Australian team's European tour in December.
He is taking a one-season break from the Brumbies and Wallabies in 2017 for a sabbatical and will link up with the Wild Knights - who have won the Top League for the past three years - from mid-August that year.
"When George Smith came back from Japan in 2012, he had added a few things to his game that we talked about quite a bit, so I'm keen to use the time over there to work on various aspects of my game," the 28-year-old Pocock said of his former Wallabies team-mate.
"Playing with the Wild Knights will hopefully give me a chance to practice new skills and experience a different style of rugby."
The Zimbabwean-born Pocock has played 55 Tests for Australia, the first in 2008.
