The Wallabies were disjointed against Italy at North Harbour Stadium yesterday - there were mistakes galore from the men in green and gold early on, and the half-time score has given them cause for concern despite the eventual 32-6 victory.
"Six-all at half time was not what we were after but we knew they were going to be tough so early on we've got to be smarter and not give away that many penalties,'' Wallabies' flanker Pocock said today.
"We're seeing that the smaller rugby nations have definitely improved since the last World Cup and that's definitely showing in games with them all being a lot tighter.''
The Italians brought attitude but little else apart from a strong scrum and lineout. Their backs posed little threat but that will all change with Ireland on Friday. Led by the irresistible centre Brian O'Driscoll, the Irish will bring more than a little skill to go with their determination.
"They're a totally different team in that they have a lot of older heads,'' Pocock added. "They've got some world class players so that's a big challenge for us.
"They're a team that goes for 80 minutes and we've got that experience of a couple of years back in Ireland when they beat us on the bell [a 20-20 draw in Dublin in 2009] so it's going to take a full-team performance to beat them.''
Ireland's last victory against Australia came in Dublin in 2006 - a fairly comprehensive 21-6 defeat.
Australia coaching co-ordinator David Nucifora said Ireland's backs will come in for a fair bit of scrutiny in the tight turnaround before the match.
"They've got some different threats for us,'' he said. "They've probably got a bit more in their attacking basket than the Italians with some of their backs so they will throw more into the attack and ask some different questions of us defensively. They will also be very tough around the tackle area so that will be a contest for us also.''
The Wallabies may have to face Ireland without Digby Ioane, one of their main attacking weapons, and a try-scorer against Italy.
"Our greatest concern is Digby, who is off getting a scan on a thumb that 'blew up' last night so we'll have to wait and see.
"He is one of our better carriers so he is dominant in that department. He is a player that we like to have on the field and I'd suggest that he's a player that our opponents don't particularly like to play against, so he's an important part of what we do.''
With Adam Ashley-Cooper playing solidly on the right wing yesterday, James O'Connor could be a ready-made replacement if Ioane is ruled out.
O'Connor, who began yesterday's match on the bench, scored a try and kicked three conversions once he took the field after 47 minutes.
Two minutes after he joined the action Australia had scored the first of their tries in a 24-minute golden period.
While Nucifora was being cagey about what part the 21-year-old will play against Ireland, it's a safe bet that O'Connor will progress to a starting spot after getting back into the good books following his no-show at a Wallabies' announcement several weeks ago.