Cokanasiga on the way up as England come calling
19-year-old has caught Eddie Jones’ eye despite playing in second tier, writes
The Royal Navy scored a Pyrrhic victory by denying Semesa Rokoduguni a try against them for the first time, but it was not enough to prevent the Army reclaiming the Inter-Services Championship after a three-year gap.
Rokoduguni, the Bath and England wing, had scored 10 tries – including three hat-tricks in the previous five meetings with the Navy, but this time he settled for the role of provider.
He was given a roaming role as a fullback and played a pivotal role in victory by featuring in all three Army tries, two of them scored by right wing Junior Bulumakau.
Although Rokoduguni is a professional rugby player, the Army still have first call on the tank driver with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards for this tournament, which is why he was in action here rather than playing for Bath against Gloucester today.
“Roko is fantastic and he was great against the RAF. He’s a game-changing player,” said Army captain Rob Lennox. “He bamboozles defences in the Premiership and at international level.” Playing for Bath at Sale next Saturday will probably be a come down for Rokoduguni after another 82,000 sellout crowd packed Twickenham for this historic fixture that has become more than a rugby match.
The Army v Navy match has always been a huge party and beer festival but over the past five years it has become an event that honours and celebrates servicemen and women across the world and the sacrifices they make.
This was the 100th occasion that the sides have met but the day was made even more special by the presence of athletes and the choir from the Invictus Games Foundation, which was established by Prince Harry.
“It was lovely today that the charity was Invictus and to see them on the pitch beforehand was another thing for us,” Lennox said. “You realise that the guys here have given so much for the forces and to represent them was a huge honour.”
The Prince was introduced to the teams before kick-off and he presented the trophy to Lennox, who is about to swap military for civilian life.
The Army’s 61st win in the fixture made up for the disappointment of missing out last year when a draw allowed the Navy to pip them to the title.
“It took a long time to get over the hurt of last year. It was painful but we have come back this year so strongly,” Lennox said. “That’s motivated us this season. I said to the boys at half-time, ‘Remember last year, remember that feeling’.”
The Navy again hit back hard with tries from replacement wing Seta Raumakita and No8 Dave Fairbrother, but this time it was too late.
Rokoduguni drew in defenders to create space for Bulumakau, a Scotland sevens international, and also popped up twice in the attack that led to wing Chris Leathem scoring just after halftime. But the Army still required penalties from James Dixon to open up a 19-point lead and cushion themselves against the Navy’s late barrage.
“We are very disappointed. This match only comes once a year,” said Navy captain Ben Priddey. The All Blacks have suffered a major blow ahead of the British and Irish Lions tour after captain Kieran Read broke his thumb in a club game.
The 31-year-old needs surgery and is a doubt for the series, with the first Test just eight weeks away.
The No8, who has only just returned from wrist surgery in the off-season, sustained the injury in the 38th minute of Crusaders’ 48-21 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein yesterday.
Crusaders assistant coach Jason Ryan said it was “extremely disappointing” for Read and for the All Blacks.
“The guy has worked so hard off the field to get his hand right from the surgery he had during the off-season and has been world class since returning to the field,” said Ryan. “Obviously, it’s disappointing and will be concerning for the All Blacks.”
No time frame has been put on Read’s return which Ryan said would be determined after his surgery.
Losing Read, who has 97 caps, would be a major setback for World Cup holders New Zealand, particularly as fellow loose-forward Jerome Kaino is already in doubt for the first Test, which will be played at Eden Park on June 24, due to knee surgery
Such injuries take around six weeks to heal, meaning that if the operation was successful, he could be fit to return a couple of days before the opener. A quiz question to begin. Who was the last man to represent England while at a second-tier club? The answer, courtesy of a replacement appearance in Auckland lasting around 123 seconds between arrival and final whistle, is Chris Pennell, of Worcester.
Shorn of players involved in the 2014 Premiership final for the first Test of a three-match series by insane scheduling, Stuart Lancaster had rewarded the full-back for a superb domestic season with a sole cap against New Zealand. But Pennell’s outstanding performances had not saved the Warriors from relegation. He was on his way down when the England call-up came.
Joe Cokanasiga, the 19-year-old London Irish winger named in Eddie Jones’s squad for the summer tour to Argentina, is on his way up in more ways than one. Born in Fiji, Cokanasiga moved to England at the age of three to join his father Ilaitia, a member of the British Army. Cokanasiga lived in Germany and Brunei as his father toured there, gradually trading football for rugby. Before returning to the UK in 2013, Joe and Ilaitia formed a father-son centre partnership. Joe remembers his mother shouting from the touchline, demanding that Ilaitia look after him.
The London Irish academy proved an excellent nursery, as it has for so much back-line talent – new Lions Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson to name two. Just last season, Cokanasiga was part of the club’s champion under-18 side. Topsy Ojo, owner of two caps from England’s trip to New Zealand in 2008, was part of a coaching network of current and former Irish players.
Still playing, 31-year-old Ojo has had a prime view as the 6ft 4in, 17½st Cokanasiga has progressed into the first team and helped Irish to the Championship play-offs after topping the table. The ascent may have been meteoric, but it is not entirely surprising to those in the know.
“I guess he hasn’t played much top-level rugby,” Ojo says. “But having played with him and trained with him, it was easy to see this going the way it has done. There is no limit to how quickly he can progress. He’s a young man, he’s learning the game, but in terms of raw talent he is unbelievable.”
It took 24 minutes for Cokanasiga to assert himself in Irish’s promotion effort. On his competitive debut against London Scottish in October, the first of only 11 senior matches to date, he took a pass from full-back Tommy Bell and scorched 80 metres, travelling from the middle of his own 22 to beneath the opposition posts. An outrageous dummy and wicked step off his right foot punctuated an eye-popping score.
Jones was playing to the gallery with the simplicity of his “he’s big and quick, mate” assertion last Thursday. Videos of Cokanasiga in action for Irish age-groups demonstrate delicate footwork and the appreciation of how to unbalance defenders, as well as bulldoze them.
As an ever-present in England Under-20s’ Grand Slam, wearing the No14 shirt for four games and coming off the bench in another, he was often used as part of midfield strike moves. His offloading indicated intelligence and subtlety besides strength. Jones knows all this. Ojo suggests highlyrated skills coach Rory Teague would have offered valuable advice while Cokanasiga was in camp with England Under-20, and highlights the influence of the Irish academy coaches.
“We’re fully integrated at Irish. The first team have worked with the academy guys throughout the season and I did a bit of coaching with Joe in last season’s under-18 team. He offers real punch in attack. Obviously he has that Islander DNA, which you can see in the way he moves, the way he carries the ball in one hand. If you want someone who can cause damage in attack and get over the line, Joe will be right up there. He has every chance of getting into that Test team.”
Semesa Rokoduguni, Christian Wade and Marland Yarde, another Irish academy graduate who won an England bow on the corresponding Argentina tour in 2013, are just three wide men Cokanasiga has seemingly leapfrogged to win this chance. But Jones has said this trip to Argentina is about allowing rough diamonds to shine.
That brings expectation, as will possible comparisons with another Fijian, Joe Rokocoko, who won the first of 68 All Blacks caps at 20. However, London Irish are at Doncaster in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final today. Cokanasiga starts on the left wing and Ojo, outside the match-day squad as a mark of Irish’s faith in youth, insists he has the ideal character to complement his considerable ability.
“Whenever Joe gets his hands on the ball, you hear the elevation of the crowd. They’re expecting him to do something and, more often than not, he does. He’s dealt with that really well, though.”
If all goes to plan for Irish, Cokanasiga will not be a second-tier player by the time his England debut comes. Even if he is, Eddie Jones will not care. He has recognised a gifted young man on the rise. Brian returns as presenter – tune in at 6pm today at telegraph.co.uk/sport