Cokanasiga has ‘hunger’ to play for England again

Joe Cokanasiga, the Bath winger, said he feels more “hunger” this season and that his English career is not over.

The 27-year-old was left out of the World Cup squad that autumn after being capped 16 times by England but hasn’t played since August 2023.

Cokanasiga has ten try-scorers in total this year, making it Bath’s joint-leading try-scorer.

Because I’ve been away for so long, I felt more motivated to play for England again this year. According to Cokanasiga, “it happens, it happens.”

I spoke to Steve [Borthwick, England head coach] the other day, and I have to put my club first because that’s what I have to think about.

Before being called up to the senior squad by Eddie Jones in 2017, Cokanasiga, who was born in Fiji, represented England at the under-18 and under-20 levels.

At the age of 19, he made his Test debut by winning the matches against Japan and Australia the following day.

He claims to be a much more consistent “player” now than he was when he won his last cap, scoring 13 tries overall in 16 games.

The high ball was the main area of improvement because, in my opinion, it was the main factor in my decision not to participate in the World Cup.

“It was a blessing in disguise for me because I came back and worked so hard on that and just kept going over my hand-eye.”

He ran from deep in his own half after Max Ojomoh’s interception to score a stunning try last weekend as Leicester won the league game 43-15.

Johann van Graan, the head of rugby at Bath, described Cokanasiga as a “more rounded player” throughout his time at the club.

He is by far the biggest winger I’ve trained, but Joe has this incredible ability to score tries and a desire to improve, he said.

We identified some areas of his game that he needs to improve, and he has become a much better overall player.

Cokanasiga acknowledged that as he gained more experience, his consistency across the pitch increased.

He said, “As I get older, my priorities have changed in terms of how I need to play the game.”

Then there are people like [Bath attack coach] Lee Blackett, who have a different perspective on the game than I do, and that has greatly improved my game.

Johann is a person I can approach and talk to about anything and let everything out. Lee and JP Ferreira, the defense coach, can be just as open to talking to him.