ARGENTINA
SEMESA Rokoduguni may be on manoeuvres with Bath and England, but his thoughts are never far away from the tank regiment he served with in Afghanistan and remains a part of.
The Last Post before kick-off at Twickenham on Saturday set in train thoughts of fallen friends and wounded colleagues as well as his own father’s service in the Fijian army. And he dedicated his match-winning try to his comrades in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards on Remembrance weekend.
So it was somehow appropriate Lance Corporal Rokoduguni should come off the bench and seal victory with his try 14 minutes from time.
“It says on my contract that I’m a soldier first and a rugby player second,” said wing Rokoduguni, whose regiment are based in Fife. “It was an honour and a privilege for me to be part of the team but to get over and score a try as well on Remembrance Day – that means a lot.
“A few of my Scottish boys phoned up and said, ‘Congrats mate, I can’t believe we’ve been cheering for England!’
“For me, it is about going out there and representing the Army as a whole, all the guys who have been there before us and those boys who are serving right now.
“A couple of my mates out there have been through quite a hard time, some of the guys were casualties, so for me to be out there representing them made it an emotional day for me. I dedicated my try to my regiment and the boys out there.”
The try itself was distinctly dubious. There were still remnants of the markings on the Twickenham pitch from the NFL game a fortnight ago and there was more than a touch of gridiron about Henry Slade’s floated pass to the replacement wing that was clearly forward.
“When I looked up I couldn’t even see the ball coming towards me because of the lights, then I suddenly realised it was there,” said Rokoduguni.
“Henry Slade did really well to get the ball across to me but I was actually worrying whether the pass was forward. I did watch the replay and I was praying for the try to be given because we needed it.” That they did. Sluggish and stuttering, England could have been in serious trouble had Argentina not missed 14 points from the kicking tee. The Slade experiment in midfield, with the Exeter Chief sandwiched between George Ford and Jonathan Joseph, did not work and they looked one ball-carrier light up front. Positives? The defence, typified by Sam Underhill’s strong Twickenham debut, was solid – save for Nicolas Sanchez’s late try – and No8 Nathan Hughes delivered a fine, juggling finish for his first Test score, while the injured Jonny May was able to give a first airing to the England victory song he has penned in the dressing room afterwards. But an opportunity to inflict mortal mental damage on Argentina ahead of their next