He joined local activist and land holder Rick Laird and a group of 30 protesters who claim the mine is damaging the ecosystem of the nearby Leard State Forest.

Pocock and Laird were later arrested and taken into custody at Narrabri police, according to the Leard Forest Alliance.

Pocock, who had to take time off rugby after a knee reconstruction, remains steadfastly against Maules Creek.

“In 2014, to put a coalmine in the middle of a state forest just doesn’t seem to make any sense,” he reportedly said.

“The local people are not only concerned about the effects of this mine on the climate in the future but also how it affects the water table. When you're living around the mine, that's stuff you have to think about.”

“I would be doing this regardless of what career I had.

“It is part of being a human being and taking on the challenges we face as a society.

“It is about giving back and getting the conversation going.”

Whitehaven chairman Mark Vaile said he is “acutely aware of the sensitivities to the development of the Maules Creek project”

“We believe we have addressed these sensitivities in the approval process for the project. Indeed, the conditions applied to this project are more stringent than any contemporary project,” he said.