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News: David Pocock avoids conviction for mining protest

Article: Michael Hooper in alleged misdemeanour

Article: David Pocock defends mining protest

News: Pocock arrested at mine protest

The Australian Rugby Union has issued a formal written warning to David Pocock after the former Wallabies captain was arrested on Sunday after chaining himself to a digger along with other activists over the proposed construction of a coalmine in New South Wales.

"While we appreciate David has personal views on a range of matters, we've made it clear that we expect his priority to be ensuring he can fulfil his role as a high-performance athlete," the ARU said in a statement. "The matter is now subject to legal proceedings and we will now let the legal process take its course."

Pocock was arrested after 10 hours of protesting at the Maules Creek coalmine in the Leard Forest. He was subsequently bailed and will return to pre-season training with the Brumbies on Turesday. He returned to Brumbies training only recently after a second knee reconstruction in as many years.

I know some are very uncomfortable with breaking the law, but I feel that nonviolent direct action in the face 1/2 #leardblockade

— David Pocock (@pocockdavid) November 30, 2014

of coal mines and climate change draws on a long history of civil disobedience being used to highlight injustice. 2/2 #leardblockade

— David Pocock (@pocockdavid) November 30, 2014

Brumbies chief executive Doug Edwards said no further action would be taken against Pocock other than the ARU's warning. "This is obviously something that's passionate to David as an individual and something that he's been passionate about for a long time. However, we do not condone any activity that warrants charges being laid," he said. "Because it's before the courts, we won't comment further. "We haven't had much backlash here at Brumbies headquarters, whether rightly or wrongly; we haven't been inundated with people giving us their comments either way."