Rokoduguni hopes hard work pays off with England recall
Semesa Rokoduguni played down talk of an England recall after he snatched victory for Bath with two stunning tries in the last three minutes on Saturday.
Rokoduguni produced one of his trademark Billy Whizz efforts, which left two tacklers clutching at thin air, followed by an interception from his own 22 to deny Saracens a bonus point in a pulsating contest.
Bath supporters have become accustomed to Rokoduguni conjuring tries from nothing since he arrived at The Rec on trial from the Army five years ago. Despite his prolific form at club level, Rokoduguni has won only two England caps and has been overlooked by Eddie Jones since he scored two tries against Fiji last November.
Bath’s squad has benefitted from a lack of international commitments, giving it a solid spine.
Jones is due to announce a training squad for the autumn interna- tionals on Friday, when Rokoduguni will discover whether he has done enough work on the defensive weaknesses identified by England’s head coach to win a recall.
“It’s not disappointment [at not being selected by England], it shows that the competition is improving. In order to get to those kind of standards, you have to work extra hard to give you a good opportunity to contest at international level,” Rokoduguni said.
“It’s only the second match of the season, so I will review myself and what needs to be improved. The only thing I can control is my performance. If I do that the standard will take care of itself.”
Rokoduguni likes to study footage of other Premiership wings, including Sale’s Denny Solomona, Wasps’ Christian Wade and Newcastle’s Vereniki Goneva. “I like to watch steps on Youtube so I can learn and practice,” he said. “The standard of the boys around me, it helps me to be the best that I can be with JJ [Jonathan Joseph] and Anthony [Watson] on the outside and Rhys Priestland and Freddie Burns, they kind of lift the standard.”
Priestland controlled the game beautifully and landed two dropped goals before making way for Burns, the former Gloucester and Leicester fly-half, who finally made his debut for the club where he played his formative rugby. “I was in the academy here at 17. It’s amazing to represent the city I grew up in,” he said.