David Pocock has thrown his support behind Michael Hooper ahead of the Wallabies' match against the Springboks in Brisbane on Saturday.

'Pooper' – as the two fetchers have become known – achieved great success at last year's World Cup playing together in the same loose trio.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has continued to back Hooper at openside flank this year, with Pocock at No 8, despite calls for the former to be dropped and the latter to take the No 7 jersey.

Pocock, though, believes the current loose-forward combination can still work.

'[Hooper] gets through a huge amount of work, he really contributes and he's a real leader within the team,' Pocock said. 'If you look at the metres he gets through and the ground he covers, it's pretty impressive.

'We'll leave those comments and speculation to others, for us as players we're trying to improve that combination and be the best back row we can be as a group.'

Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images