Bath hero Roko sends Eddie a double reminder
THE sound of Fijian dynamite exploding in Semesa Rokoduguni’s boots sent Eddie Jones a thunderous reminder from the West Country.
Having slipped down to ninth in the Red Rose pecking order, the forgotten Bath winger hot-stepped through the Saracens defence to snatch victory with two solo tries in four minutes.
Rokoduguni has been capped just once by Jones. But here the former tank driver showcased his point of difference to kill off a Saracens comeback — despite Bath ending the game with 14 men because of a late injury to Anthony Watson.
With his side trailing 21-17, Rokoduguni’s first try started when he took the ball at first receiver from the scrum, stepping off his left foot and then his right to leave defenders in his wake after 77 minutes.
His second — with Saracens seeking the winning try in overtime — demonstrated his speed as he sprinted 80 metres to score from a crucial interception off Mako Vunipola’s pass.
‘Roko just does things that you can’t even claim as a coach,’ said Bath director of rugby Todd Blackadder. ‘Two tries — bang! Unbelievable.
‘His value at Bath is immense. He’s working really hard on his defence and he is building his game and keep piling on as much pressure on Eddie as he can.’
Bath led 14-0 at half time. No 10 Rhys Priestland delivered his best performance since the 2011 World Cup, while Saracens struggled with the host’s rush defence and made seven handling errors early on.
A loose offload from Schalk Brits allowed Bath to score the only try of the first half, with almost every player touching the ball before Francois Louw beat two defenders down the left.
Saracens were rattled. Even nice guy Brits threw off his scrum hat, remonstrating with referee Wayne Barnes as the European champions marched off having failed to build pressure or control.
Mark McCall, however, had Lions trio Vunipola, Owen Farrell and Liam Williams prowling on the Saracens bench and the big cats almost won the game as they dominated for 35 minutes of the second half.
Farrell chipped away at the deficit with the boot, with Bath conceding penalties on the back foot before No 8 Toby Faletau was shown a yellow card and penalty try for pulling down a maul.
Bath repelled a 25-phase Saracens attack but replacement scrum-half Ben Spencer eventually breached Bath’s try line. Alex Goode and Chris Wyles combined in the build-up and Saracens looked home and dry when they led with four minutes left.
‘We needed to be smarter and make better decisions,’ said McCall, whose squad, including Billy Vunipola, fly to Philadelphia today ahead of next weekend’s Premiership showcase against Newcastle.
‘We were extremely poor in the first half but we brought a load more energy in the second half and felt like we were in control of the game.’
But then Rokoduguni struck, despite Watson walking off with his right arm in a sling to leave his side a man short.
‘My main focus was to get over the gain line,’ said the wing with the golden tooth. ‘I told Freddie Burns that I want to get between Owen and Brits and there was an opportunity for a half break.
‘I like to watch steps on YouTube and practise that. The sevens stuff, Denny Solomona, Christian Wade, Vereniki Goneva. I like to learn from that and practise on the move. We practise off the left foot and the right foot.’
Practice makes perfect and, for Bath, Rokoduguni delivered the perfect finish.