It will be seven years next summer since Joe Cokanasiga was first called up to an England squad, a gifted teenager picked on the promise of potential with a seductive, simple skill set. “He is big and he is fast,” was Eddie Jones’s remark after selecting the wing for the first time, the then-England coach purring with the possibilities presented by a 19-year-old who seemed to have the world at his sizeable feet.
For various reasons, Cokanasiga has not yet quite materialised into a complete international impact-maker. There have been fleeting glimpses of what he might offer in English white – most prominently in the 57-15 warm-up thrashing of Ireland ahead of the 2019 World Cup – but consistency has been an issue, a perception that the youngster has been a luxury figure with others always seeming to offer more. Two major knee injuries haven’t helped matters, either.
