Cokanasiga can show value of power and pace
Giant wing gets key role for England against Italy Jones defends strategy of maximising strength
Joe Cokanasiga, the man “with the world at his feet”, according to fellow wing Jonny May, takes to the Twickenham stage this afternoon intent not just on living up to that billing for the sake of his teammates but also to press his case as the World Cup clock ticks down and the “England’s Got Talent” strapline is put to the test.
Every international match is an audition, a proving ground for those wearing whatever shade of shirt, all charged with the responsibility of doing it justice.
The principal job at hand for England is to beat Italy to keep their championship hopes alive, and only those in the Azzurri colours do not believe that yet another English win in this fixture is a nailed-on bet. In a two-horse race, odds of 60-1 against an Italian win reflect a certain reality.
There is nothing dismissive in that statement, nothing patronising in feeling that Italy will be sharp and defiant, a tough nut to crack but ultimately second best to an England team who showed their shrewdness and potency in the opening two games against Ireland and France.
If they find that form again, then Italy will be under extreme duress and will have to deliver a performance of the highest note to keep England at bay. Those flickering signs of an Italian renaissance will need to be ablaze today if England are to be denied.
England’s task is straightforward. They have to show that they are a team of cleverness as well as of muscular clout, that they can summon whatever strategy it takes to win and not rely on pre-ordained thinking to make it happen. That blinkered approach led them into the Cardiff buffers a fortnight ago.
On paper, it looks as if England are ready to saddle up the one-trick pony again in picking one of their biggest-ever back-line trios in Ben Te’o and Manu Tuilagi in the centre, with the heavyweight Cokanasiga outside. Big is not always best, of course, but in a game where getting across the gain line is the Holy Grail, then England are well-suited to reach first base in the attack book manual.
Head coach Eddie
Jones was quite right to dismiss a line of inquiry regarding England’s metres and carries totals in the tournament as if they are somehow deficient. They have scored more tries, 11, than any other side. It is as if the fact that England’s centres have made diddly-squat passes is proof that their decision to opt for a kicking strategy against Ireland and France was flawed. Perhaps we should all rewrite those match reports.
You win by any means you can and opt for whatever tactical approach suits. If the big dudes do their job, then it is likely it will be May and Elliot Daly as well as Cokanasiga who will benefit. Stealth or sledgehammer – either way is appropriate and both invariably involve elements of the other.
Rugby is a mosaic of possibilities. For England to prosper, so many other parts have to fit and link properly. If they do, then those players will have served the common cause as well as enhanced their own World Cup prospects. There are very few slots left to fill in the 31-man squad, more to settle on the combinations that might bring home the booty from Japan.
England have a well-stocked supply of wings, world-class in their pedigree, be it Jack Nowell or Chris Ashton (both injured) or May or Big Joe, a recent recruit to the roster as he makes his starting Six Nations debut.
May has no doubt that the 21-year-old will succeed in hitting the heights. “Of course he could,” replied May when asked if the Bath wing could become one of the best in the world. “Joe has got the world at his feet. He is very gifted athletically, is strong and very, very fast.”
For Cokanasiga, read a host of others looking to prove they are made of the right stuff, be it loosehead Ellis Genge, also on his first start in the championship, flanker Brad Shields, taking over from the bolter of the season, Newcastle’s Mark Wilson, or the returning Joe Launchbury, one of a quartet of locks vying for supremacy.
England, of course, are looking for bounce-back after the Cardiff reverse. “It is like climbing Mount Everest. You are always trying to get to the top, but sometimes you slip a bit and have to dust yourself down, work out why you slipped and get back on the rope,” said Jones.
Pushing boulders down the mountain to impede England’s ascent will be an Italian side with plenty of their own inner motivation to express themselves and show that they are fully deserving of a place in the elite. Italy may not have won a championship match under Conor O’shea, that particular run stretching back beyond his appointment in 2016 to 20 successive lost Tests, but they have fine players such as the enduring Sergio Parisse, dynamic scrum-half Tito Tebaldi and thrusting wing Edoardo Padovani.
Italy have shown themselves to be an improving force in this tournament, resilient as well as inventive. England, though, are of a different order and the bonus point that should keep their title hopes alive is in their sights.