He'd be able to pinch the ball at the breakdown without being penalised and could chain himself to a tractor without being arrested.

But most importantly, if the former Wallabies captain slipped on the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter, people would see what the real issue was here: homophobia, not the "what happens on the field stays on the field" code.

The ACT Brumbies took an important stand against homophobia this week, but all the talk was about what Pocock said and where he did it in their clash against the NSW Waratahs.

No one even cared that Pocock's teammates backed his decision to speak up, and in fact others probably would have as well if they had heard the homophobic slur directed to two Brumbies players.

Most don't even know that Brumbies playmaker Matt Toomua was on the lead float at the Mardi Gras in Sydney this year and is passionate about gay rights.

No one remembers hearing Brumbies captain Stephen Moore telling referee Craig Joubert that the team wouldn't tolerate the use of the word "faggot".

Then there was a meeting at Brumbies HQ to reflect on how the delicate issue was handled and there were still conflicting views on how it should have been dealt with.

Lost in all of this was the simple message that homophobia is not accepted in sport.

It shouldn't matter who raised it, who stood for what, or where it was said.

Yes, it's time for rugby to move on from what happened last weekend. But the unfair and ridiculous criticism levelled at Pocock for breaking an unwritten code of leaving matters on the field needs addressing.

For starters, he didn't even break the "code". He raised concerns with the referee on the field and refused to go into details of the sledge after the game, only saying that homophobia was unacceptable.

So while Pocock's wearing the invisibility cloak, let's look at some facts:

- Waratahs forward Jacques Potgieter called two Brumbies players "faggots".

- Brumbies captain Stephen Moore said to referee Craig Joubert "That's unacceptable, we won't tolerate that".

- Joubert agreed and called in Waratahs vice captain Michael Hooper, who said: "We're not into that".

- The Brumbies didn't lodge a formal complaint, SANZAR did.

- The ARU moved swiftly and fined Potgieter $20,000, with $10,000 suspended just 24 hours after the incident.

- Potgieter apologised and visited the Sydney Convicts at training, Australia's first gay rugby team, to say sorry in person.

Seems to me that everyone agrees with what Pocock said - homophobia in sport isn't acceptable.

But when Pocock takes off the cloak, he gets slammed as the man who has caused all the drama because he has a reputation of standing up for his beliefs and his rights.

They say he should have pulled Potgieter aside in the changerooms. They say Pocock should have just hit Potgieter with a crunching tackle to get his point across instead of voicing concerns. Why?

It's like getting your car stolen in the middle of the night, calling the cops to complain and being told you should have parked in the garage if you didn't want thieves to break windows and go for a joyride.

Too often in sport players lean on the excuse of "the heat of battle".

Potgieter says he used the word faggot "with no intent to discriminate". He apologised, owned up to his mistake and was fined by the ARU as punishment. He even turned up to Convicts training and you cannot fault his actions after admitting to what he did wrong.

Yep, let's give Potgieter the benefit of the doubt. After all, this isn't a witch hunt of pointing fingers.

So why can't we give Pocock the same benefit? He went to Joubert in "the heat of battle" and voiced his concerns. Somehow that's been construed as using the "ref cam" to push an agenda.

Rusted-on fans and old rugby heads live by the theory of "what happens on the field stays on the field" and others believe this "stance" by Pocock has cost him any future hope of captaining the Wallabies.

The ARU refutes this, adamant Pocock "reflects our values" and "it's business as usual".

So let's bust the myths on this Pocock issue then, given he's no longer wearing the cloak.

Pocock didn't know his complaints were being broadcast to the fans watching from home via the referees' microphone and "ref cam".

Pocock didn't lodge a complaint after the match.

Actually, come to think of it, Pocock did nothing wrong at all.

Pocock wasn't embarrassed for doing what he thought was right. But he never wanted the message that homophobia is unacceptable to be lost.

If you're still convinced Pocock did something wrong, then you're obviously against cricket star Mitchell Johnson, Socceroos great Harry Kewell, Lauren Jackson, Alessandro Del Piero, NSW State of Origin captain Paul Gallen and Olympic champion Libby Trickett as well.

They're all involved in the You Can Play campaign, an anti-homophobia in sport initiative by Play By the Rules.

The issue that the Brumbies raised on the field was about taking a stand against homophobia.

It wasn't about pointing out Potgieter and it wasn't about Pocock jumping up on a soapbox. It was about a derogatory sledge and the wider impact it has on society.

You can ask what would happen had Pocock said nothing. Would there have been a fine or an apology? Who knows.

Or you can ask what would have happened if ref cam and Joubert's microphone had picked up the precise moment Potgieter sledged Brumbies players and it had been broadcast into lounge rooms across Australia.

It happened last year in a rugby league under-20s representative game. Canberra Raiders junior Luke Bateman was called a "f---ing gay c---" by Mitchell Moses.

Bateman didn't lodge a complaint, but because the referee's microphone picked it up, Moses was suspended.

What about when St George Illawarra forward Mickey Paea told a referee in an NRL game in 2009 that Paul Gallen called him a "black c---".

Paea didn't lodge an official complaint after the game and there was no audio evidence, but the NRL still fined Gallen $10,000 for a racial slur and breaching the code of conduct.

Paea wasn't hung out to dry as the bad guy in a racism issue. In a lot of ways, homophobia is similar to racism.

It's just a shame that Pocock needed to be wearing the Harry Potter cloak to get the message across.