Cokayne flies under the radar to earn half-century

England hooker reaches 50 caps today thanks to a New Zealand education, she tells Fiona Tomas

Amy Cokayne has no regrets about the brevity of her football career – a season-long spell in goal for the Aston Villa Under-10s. The England hooker knows she was never destined for a career between the sticks and when her family emigrated to New Zealand, football was unsurprisingly dropped.

“I was nine when we moved and I didn’t stick with football much after that,” Cokayne says. “It probably wasn’t a bad thing considering I’m only 5ft 5in. I can’t imagine I’d have been very good in goal.”

Her father, Ian, even made sure his daughter’s initials spelt out Aston Villa Football Club. “When my dad wanted to name me, he couldn’t think of a name beginning with ‘F’ that he actually liked,” the Harlequins player explains. “It was just going to be Amy Victoria F Cokayne, but in the end he found one – Fiona.”

Cokayne (right) will win her 50th Test cap when England take on Wales at Twickenham Stoop today, despite being only 23. Impressive for someone who until last year was balancing international rugby with a career in the RAF Police, thus forfeiting one of the groundbreaking contracts offered by the Rugby Football Union.

Having a Plan B is a well-trodden path in women’s rugby, with former England flanker Maggie Alphonsi and Danielle Waterman carving successful careers in the media since hanging up their international boots. “I think I’ll stick to the RAF and let those lot carry on with that,” Cokayne jokes.

Talk of keeping a low profile reflects her time at Feilding High School in New Zealand’s Manawatu district, where she flew under the English radar while honing her skills in an environment where her peers lived and breathed rugby. “My school coach got us all a rugby ball and we had to carry it around with us” Cokayne says. “If there was any opportunity to practise handling skills, you would. Rugby is just so integrated into their way of life.”

It was over a spontaneous coffee in 2013 that Cokayne, who had previously flirted with the idea of a Black Ferns career, met Gary Street, who would steer England to World Cup glory the following year.

Having been impressed by her highlights reel, he persuaded her to make the trip back across the world. A year later, a 17-year-old Cokayne was invited to one of England’s World Cup training camps.

“It was cool to see them win it and be involved in a tiny part of their journey,” she says.

She still counts many of the Black Ferns as friends, which is why next year’s World Cup in New Zealand will be tinged with extra poignancy.

“The World Cup is the pinnacle of any player’s career,” Cokayne says. “I’ll definitely be working hard to put my hand up for selection.”