Emotional for Roko as he KO’s Fiji lads
SEMESA Rokoduguni admitted he was “close to tears” as he helped deliver the knockout blows to leave the country of his birth down and out for the count at Twickenham.
The Fijian-born wing ran in two tries and is hoping to keep his place in the side for the third autumn clash against Argentina after grabbing two tries as England crushed Fiji 58-15 for win No.11 under coach Eddie Jones.
Former tank commander Roko, 29, said: “It was an emotional day for me playing against Fiji.
“I had adrenaline running through by veins. I was close to tears but I didn’t need tears to show my emotion.
“Everything was on the inside more than the outside. Playing against Fiji was a huge deal for me.”
ENGLAND’S man of the match Semesa Rokoduguni said Eddie Jones had told him his international chance would come.
“Eddie has spoken to me a lot about being ready because the doors would open up. The boys did all of the hard work for me especially George Ford and Jonathan Joseph.
“We were happy with the win but there was plenty of room for improvement. If we can pick that up next week against Argentina we will be in top form.”
Roko enjoyed his explosive wing clash with mighty Fijian power house Nemani Nadolo.
He said: “He is a worldclass player and I was so looking forward to playing against him because he is the big name in Fiji.”
Boss Jones was delighted with the second win of the autumn campaign, having ended the ten-year wait to beat South Africa.
He insisted: “There was some excellent rugby played by the team and I thought George Ford was outstanding. Jonathan Joseph’s defence was also very good and Roko did well. We have great competition across the board.
“We dropped off at times but it’s always hard to maintain that intensity. There is potential for real greatness in our team.
“I’m not frustrated by the three tries we conceded. Everybody wants to play the perfect game but when you do that you may as well retire. We would like to be better in defence but it will come.
“We’re only 11 games into what we’re trying to do here. Now we need to get the show really going and we are just about to jump into the deep end.”
Jones also taunted the All Blacks when asked about where he wanted his team to be when they eventually take on the world champions next year. He insisted: “Will they be No.1 still by then?”
Fiji head coach John McKee said: “England were very good in attack and very clinical. They showed what a quality side they are and will cause problems for any team they face.”