Pace and power of Cokanasiga can take him to World Cup
Wing’s potential is such that he looks like wild card for England squad, writes Charlie Morgan
In the middle of Joe Cokanasiga’s breathtaking performance against Harlequins last Saturday was a moment that would have sent rugby conformists purple with exasperation. Just after half-time, the 20-yearold turned to pick up a loose pass on his own 10-metre line. Arcing away from Danny Care, he stepped past James Chisholm and accelerated 30 metres upfield.
On the cusp of the opposition 22, Cokanasiga transferred the ball into his right hand and flicked a back-handed dummy towards team-mate Jackson Willison. Then Charlie Walker intervened. His exceptional tackle forced a slight knock-on.
“I’d done all the hard work,” reflects Cokanasiga, who screamed in frustration following his error. “At the end, the little detail of looking after the ball let me down.”
Fiji-born Cokanasiga spent some of his formative years in Brunei while his father, Ilaitia, was stationed there as a member of the Army’s Royal Logistic Corps. As a 14-year-old, Joe and his father formed the centre partnership for the regiment’s team.
Whereas the importance of carrying the ball in two hands is drummed into most children as they take up the game in England, Cokanasiga developed differently. He copied his father, watched clips of New Zealand wing Joe Rokocoko and learnt to make the most of his heft and long arms.
But, following his family’s move back to England, Cokanasiga’s unusual skills did not convince everyone. “When Joe was 15 one member of London Irish’s academy staff had written him off,” says Nick Kennedy, the former London Irish director of rugby. “Joe had played a couple of times and been held up in tackles. This coach didn’t rate him.”
Kennedy ensured that Cokanasiga received an academy contract, then provided measured support at every juncture.
“The good thing was that we had Joe for a couple of years in the under-18 team. There were no real consequences to players’ mistakes, so we just used to say, ‘If you drop the ball, dive on it, fix it on the floor and don’t worry about it’.
“In the Championship, we were quite privileged with our squad, so the consequences weren’t as heavy for us. By the play-offs, Joe was making better decisions around when to offload and when not.
“My advice to him before Premiership games was just to get the ball in his hands as much as possible and to work off his wing. I’d say, ‘You’re one of our best carriers so make sure you’re carrying the ball lots’. We always kept it pretty simple with him.
“In his second [senior] game, against Rotherham, I remember him running down the wing with the ball above his head. When tacklers came to hit him, he didn’t actually move as far as other players would. Because his weight is balanced, he can get accurate offloads away.”
Cokanasiga credits Kennedy, fellow ex-irish coach Paul Hodgson and two England Under-18 mentors: John Fletcher and Russell Earnshaw; for creating settings that honed his instincts rather than trying to iron them out of him.
Cokanasiga’s first try against Harlequins, an acrobatic slamdunk confirmed by television replays, leant on modern practice techniques as well as natural assets. “At Bath, we’ll put the mats out and practise different [scoring] scenarios,” says Cokanasiga, who also admits to being “pretty obsessed” with highlights of NFL wide-receivers such as Odell Beckham Jr.
“That try all started from Roko [Semesa Rokoduguni] getting that offload away, then I kind of made it harder for myself by not catching the ball properly. But I was confident that I’d finished it.”
Aaron Morris and Marcus Smith combined to bundle Cokanasiga into touch two minutes later, which he found irritating.
When Eddie Jones first selected Cokanasiga, ahead of last summer’s tour to Argentina, he rationalised the teenager’s inclusion bluntly: “He’s big and he’s quick, mate.”
That description looks overly simplistic now. Cokanasiga has popped up across the pitch for Bath, demonstrating power and pace but also linking attacks with his offloading prowess. He looks like England’s Rugby World Cup 2019 wild card.
A heavyweight meeting with Taqele Naiyaravoro, of Northampton Saints, today will offer another gauge of Cokanasiga’s progress. His potential is undeniable.