Ignoring Big Joe’s X-factor is senseless

WHEN Joe Cokanasiga was told by Eddie Jones that he had dropped him from the England 23 to play Scotland the coach said that the big Bath winger gave him “a blank look”.

The blank look, which is also often known as astonishment, was replicated throughout the rugby world, including this columnist. The selection decision left me nonplussed because there are too many contradictions to square in Jones’ assertion that he left out the 6ft 4ins, 18 stone Fijian-born powerhouse to protect him from the avalanche of media hype heading his way.

The England coach suggested that if the 21-year-old Cokanasiga – who won his fourth cap in a rip-roaring man-ofthe-match performance against Italy last weekend – is to enjoy a long career he needs to be nurtured by picking him for games that will build his confidence steadily. The implication is that, if not, there is a danger of him becoming a shooting star that fizzles out too soon – with Jones saying he wants him to win 100 caps rather than ten.

However, the idea that Cokanasiga is too young for the regular hurly-burly of Test rugby is contradicted strongly by the presence of Tom Curry in the England line-up. The 20-year-old openside is seven months younger than big Joe, and yet was selected by Jones to win his tenth cap yesterday against Scotland after playing throughout this campaign.

Elsewhere, the 21-year-old Irish fullback/wing Jordan Larmour has 12 caps already, and has come off the bench for Ireland throughout this Six Nations, and Demba Bamba, the 20-year-old French tight-head has played in every match of the tournament.

It is also worth noting that in Jones’ first year in charge of England he picked the 21-year-old Maro Itoje throughout the 2016 Six Nations Grand Slam and the subsequent summer tour series victory overAustralia.

There are few more experienced coaches than Jones, but the idea that even someone in his position can control precisely how, when, and where a young player like Cokanasiga makes the big breakthrough to become an international star strikes me as unrealistic.

Not only that, but any attempt to micro-manage everything about a playing squad could be detrimental to Jones’ own core ideals. On multiple occasions since he became England coach Jones has made clear that his main job is to win Test matches, bar nothing.

That means that you use everything at your disposal, and if you have a burgeoning talent who has just played like Cokanasiga did against Italy, to use that asset in your next game looks a no-brainer.

That is especially so when the match is a potential Championship decider. He is a youngster in need of as much exposure to the Test arena as possible before attending to the business of trying to become a World Cup winner in Japan this autumn.

Cokanasiga’s learning curve will now be limited to pre-World Cup friendlies in August and early September against Wales twice, Ireland and Italy.

These warm-up games are rarely, if ever the equal of Six Nations internationals, because they lack the same intensity and commitment.

So, in terms of full tilt World Cup preparation, leaving Cokanasiga out against Scotland is a wasted opportunity. It not only knocks a fit, in-form player off the wave of momentum he is riding, but also deprives England supporters of the feelgood element of seeing a sensational young player spread his wings.

Cokanasiga has X-factor, but it would also do him no harm if he makes the inevitable mistake to be reminded that Test rugby is not all plain sailing.

No-one knows yet what he is capable of. By contrast, Jones already knows about the credentials of Jack Nowell, the 32-cap Exeter wing who replaced him.

Nowell is highly rated by Jones because of his workrate, adaptability, and reliability. Yet, the England coach has been clear that he is on a constant quest to find X-factor players. This makes his decision to mothball Cokanasiga all the more perplexing.

At the root of the decision is Jones’ profound fear that ‘the media’ can do untold damage by overhyping players, building them up beyond reasonable expectations, and knocking them down.

Jones indicated that he is particularly concerned by the comparisons made between Cokanasiga and the great Jonah Lomu. He said it is important for a coach to keep his players grounded, and added: “When they’re blown up to be something they’re not, it’s difficult for them. So, that’s part of it. Joe is a very good kid, but the media can turn anyone’s head.”

Painting the rugby media as such a pernicious influence does not stack up. The media is no more responsible for inflating the egos of players than coaches, agents, family, friends, or fans. Then, of course, there is the personality of the player to take into account.

Cokanasiga has a reputation for humility, and his rites of passage from being a big fish in Brunei rugby to swimming in the wide ocean of English pro rugby reinforced it.

He overcame being turned down for a rugby scholarship at Wellington College, and barely playing in his first year in the London Irish Academy, to win a place in the Exiles first team – and training-only selection on the 2017 England tour to Argentina.

The move to Bath followed, and with it a spectacular international take-off this season. It is the right time to let Joe Cokanasiga fly.

“Jones picked the 21-year-old Maro Itoje throughout the 2016 Six Nations Grand Slam”