joe cokanasiga

Joe Cokanasiga shines on international return

In his first Test since 2019, Cokanasiga shone in a seven-try victory that was far from flawless.

With eight debutants in the starting XV, the hosts started brightly scoring four tries to please the 10,000 fans.

But England's error count climbed after injuries to Max Malins and Ollie Lawrence and they conceded four tries.

Highly-anticipated uncapped half-back pairing Harry Randall and Marcus Smith at least gave supporters something to shout about before the final whistle as they both scored their first tries for England.

     

England wing Joe Cokanasiga signs Bath contract extension

The 23-year-old moved to the Rec from Gallagher Premiership rivals London Irish in 2018 and has scored 10 tries in 28 appearances for the club.

He made his England debut in November 2018 and was part of Eddie Jones’ squad for the 2019 World Cup, where he won the most recent of his nine Test caps, scoring twice in the pool stage win over the United States.

Rugby star Joe Cokanasiga slams ‘betrayal’ of Commonwealth service personnel

 Ilaitia Cokanasiga served in the Royal Logistic Corps for 14 years, completing operational tours to Iraq and Afghanistan but he still faces applying for a visa to remain in the UK and must now pay fees of £2,389(US$3,301) to complete the application.

 His son has now made an appeal on Commonwealth Day for the fees to be removed and the process simplified for the many families struggling through the application process.

 He is supporting a three-year campaign by the Royal British Legion.

My family hell! : England winger Joe Cokanasiga on the Government's refusal to grant his ex-soldier father a visa

In October, the Bath wing finally returned to rugby after splitting a tendon in his knee at the 2019 World Cup.

But that long quest paled into insignificance when considering the fractures his family have faced this year.

Cokanasiga has not seen his father, Ilaitia, for 12 months.

The last time was at sister Misi’s wedding in Fiji last December.

     

Cokanasiga stars in first game since England beat USA 12 months ago

Victory over Saracens in their final regular-season game on Sunday week will be enough to confirm a top-four finish. But it looked a distant dream midway through the second half at a rain-swept Recreation Ground as Bath trailed by 17 points before dramatically turning the contest on its head. Hooker Tom Dunn scored two tries in five minutes, then prop Lewis Boyce crossed and scrum-half Ben Spencer’s touchdown sealed an improbable 31-20 bonus-point win.

Cokanasiga named in England’s Rugby World Cup squad

The 21-year-old was born in Fiji but moved to England with his family when he was three-years-old.

He currently plays for Bath in England and got his first call up to join the England rugby team back in 2017.

Some other players included in the squad by Coach Eddie Jones are Maro Itoje, Mako Vunipola, Billy Vunipola, Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi, Anthony Watson and Ben Youngs.

Among those missing out are Brad Shields and Danny Cipriani.

England is pooled Tonga, France, Argentina and USA.