Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Bath’s Joe is close to comeback
JOE Cokanasiga is in contention to return to action for Bath Rugby before the end of the delayed 2019/20 season, Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper has said.
Hooper will be hoping his side’s season is still going come October 25 when the Premiership grand final is scheduled to be played, but it looks like Bath fans will not have to wait that long to see their talismanic winger in action.
The Blue, Black & Whites are in red hot form, having won six of their seven games since rugby returned in August. That has seen the club climb the table up to third place with two rounds of the regular season remaining.
Cokanasiga has not featured for his club this season, despite it being the longest one in history, after injuring his knee while away with England on international duty last autumn at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Discussing wing Cokanasiga, Hooper kept his cards typically close to his chest, but did say: “He is nearly available, he is close to being available. He will be in contention to play before the end of the season.”
Bath host rivals Gloucester in the Premiership on Tuesday.
MARK McCall wants his Saracens team to play “with freedom and without pressure” when they face mission improbable against Leinster today.
The Champions Cup holders head to Dublin for a behindclosed-doors European showdown with a side unbeaten since Saracens toppled them in last season’s final.
The Aviva Stadium quarterfinal is Saracens’ biggest game of a miserable campaign engulfed by their impending relegation from the Gallagher Premiership for persistent salary cap breaches.
They will not return to Champions Cup rugby until at least 2022 as a result, yet can still make the biggest of statements by eliminating a team in imperious form.
Leinster have reeled off a total of 25 successive victories in all competitions, won the PRO14 title last weekend, are chasing a record fifth European crown and their last defeat was almost 500 days ago.
“It feels that we’ve got a bit of freedom. Not much to lose, everything to gain,” said Sarries rugby director McCall, who will start experienced Alex Goode at fly-half instead of a suspended Owen Farrell.
“I know the quality of player we’ve got here and everything they have been through – the highs and the lows over a long period of time – and they are very determined to give as good an account of themselves as they can.
“We want the players to play with freedom and without pressure, and I think we are at our best when we play without pressure. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to be in the fight.
“Knock-out games, especially in Europe, are a big thrill. You have a long season when a lot of the weeks feel the same, and then you have one like this where it feels very different. That is something we’ve craved.”
While Goode moves from full-back, and Elliot Daly wears the number 15 shirt, elsewhere there is a return after injury for England prop Mako Vunipola and flanker Jackson Wray makes his 250th Saracens appearance.
Leinster welcome back flyhalf and captain Johnny Sexton after he was rested to the bench for the PRO14 final against Ulster. Assessing Leinster’s threat, McCall added: “They’ve played some tough opposition for the last couple of weeks, and maybe our preparation has been a little different to that, but I do think that a quarter-final can be very much on the day.
“Previous form doesn’t always count for everything. Clearly, they are playing very well, but we have a group of players who are very experienced in knock-out rugby.”
Bristol’s Challenge Cup quarter-final last night finished after the Daily Press deadline.