Cokanasiga acrobatics prove he’s more than just muscle
TWO of England’s brightest prospects – Joe Cokanasiga and Zach Mercer – lit up a hectic afternoon as Bath claimed a timely win with a performance that augers well for the season.
They were feisty, classy and indomitable and while Quins staged a mighty late comeback the visitors were well worth the win.
In fact they were cruising at 37-18 with ten minutes left when Chris Cook sprinted in for another try but Aled Brew had obstructed the chasing Nathan Earle 50m down the pitch and then continued to run an obstructive line although he will argue he was running a support line.
Not that he fooled anybody and officialdom stepped in to chalk the score off. The irony is that Earle probably wouldn’t have caught Cook anyway.
From that moment a fired up Quins started to play angry and amid much excitement, they struck for two late tries and were still looking for an improbable match levelling score – with the conversion to come – when Brew turned Quins over and the win was Bath’s.
Anything can happen when Quins play Bath and after a stodgy ten minutes the first half became a riot of action, juggling acts and acrobatics that belong under the big top.
Bath took the lead through Jamie Roberts who was on hand to score after the ball ricocheted from a Freddie Burns chip which seemed to kick start Quins who replied through a Marcus Smith penalty and then a brace of tries.
Danny Care’s effort saw him make three attempts to catch Ben Tuapai’s pass before he finally touched it down under the posts and moments later James Chisholm intercepted from his own half and headed for the line before off-loading for Joe Marchant to finish.
Bath needed to score next which they did. Impressive Mercer, preferred at No.8 to Taulupe Faletau, charged for the line and, with a bit of help from Roberts, took three Quins defenders with him as he crossed.
Burns converted and added a penalty and a dropgoal before former London Irish wing Cokanasiga took over. He might weigh 18 stone but Cokanasiga is an athlete with dancing feet and he showed remarkable body awareness to score one handed in the corner while the rest of his body hovered over the touchline.
It was an exceptional score but he nearly bettered it on the stroke of half-time with an even more spectacular effort but this time his left hand hit the ground in touch fractionally before he dobbed the ball down.
The big man was on the scoresheet again shortly after the break courtesy of a clever pass from Burns and although Smith stemmed the avalanche of points with a penalty Bath were on the rampage and this time it was Mercer who galloped in from 30m, dismissing Charlie Mulchrone with a quality step inside.
All of which acted as prelude to the most dramatic of finishes after Cook’s non try. Quins fans were on their feet again when they felt Charlie Ewels took out Aaron Morris with a possible no arms tackle. All to no avail, Bath held firm for what felt like a vital win.