Cokanasiga: I welcome battle to claim back my England place
England wing Joe Cokanasiga believes the knee ligament damage he suffered in December might have been a blessing in disguise. It came shortly after he had announced his arrival on the international stage with tries against Japan and Australia.
The rugby world seemed to be at the 21-year-old Bath man’s feet. Eddie Jones had identified the Fijian-born player as someone he wanted to work with in the summer of 2017, when he selected him for the Argentina tour. Injury robbed Cokanasiga of that chance, but in the autumn he lived up to Jones’s assessment: “He’s got power and he’s got pace, there’s something a little bit special about him.”
Injury struck in the European Champions Cup defeat by Leinster on Dec 8 and cost him the chance to play in England’s Six Nations victories against Ireland and France.
Jonny May, Jack Nowell and Chris Ashton have filled the wing positions, but Cokanasiga has thrust his name back into the mix after a try-scoring return for Bath in Saturday’s win over Newcastle.
“The injury is one of the best things that happened to me, because I could easily have been complacent after the autumn, and just relaxed,” Cokanasiga said.
“But then I got injured and now I am fighting to try to get my place back. I just want to build momentum now, because there are plenty of other opportunities this year. If I get selected this week I will put my best into it.
“Everyone is just excited after the win over France, because we’ve still got a lot to improve on. We are still not where we want to be, and that’s exciting.”
His try came in the first half, when he raced onto a delicately placed grubber kick behind the Newcastle defence by another England hopeful, Jonathan Joseph. That set Bath on their way to a 20-6 interval lead and on course for a bonus point, and a leap up to sixth in the table, when Francois Louw crashed over from close range in the 73rd minute.