Joe Cokanasiga has sent a message to Steve Borthwick following his World Cup heartbreak with England

Rampant player Joe Cokanasiga on Sunday’s match show sent a message to England and Steve Borthwick – don’t forget about me. After the disappointment of missing out on selection for the Rugby World Cup and the Six Nations, the great Bath winger has learned to smile again.

Cokanasiga scored twice and should have had a third, had it not been for a late spill with the line in sight and the game already won. “I’m glad they picked man of the match before,” he said afterwards with a laugh. Now 26, he has not been involved with England since his first warm-up game in Cardiff.

That tough moment forced Cokanasiga to reset and reassess, as Bath head coach Johann van Graan explained after Sunday’s win.

He said: “We talked about ‘what you’re good at and how do we improve that’, ‘what are the things you’ve been given to work on and how do you do that better’, and it was the most important thing is ‘Joe, why do you play rugby’. Being an incredible rugby player, he loves it. He’s gone back to playing well, training hard, doing extra things in training, improving his overall game. We had a lot of good performances today but that was the class from him.”

The attacking qualities were always there but even so, it was fun to watch Cokanasiga fly out of the blocks against Sale. After 30 seconds he trucked through scrum-half Gus Warr…

… and from another carry later in the first half, starting way behind the gain line, he made a lot more ground than most wingers from that position like Sale would need three tranquilizers to bring him down.

That ability with ball in hand was never in doubt. Cokanasiga beat six defenders on Sunday and scored two tries, taking his tally since the start of December to 10 in nine games. The big question remains whether the other areas of his game can keep up with that ability going forward. Bath used it differently against Sale, with Cokanasiga regularly off the wing in attack, creating mismatches that led to clean breaks…

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… and Bath’s first two tries too, first to Cokanasiga as an inside ball option against Finn Russell and later as a blunt. Training at the outdoor center during the week helped Cokanasiga get used to spending more time on the wing and the results were evident.

“It’s amazing to see him carrying the ball in one hand which is so unique to him,” Van Graan said afterwards, and junior coaches around the country must be screaming into his hands. “It’s great to see him playing rugby with a smile. Look at how his aerial game has improved, his defense with some of the hits he’s made.”

In the air against Sale he tackled brilliantly, while defensively he finished with 11 tackles and was explosive – in good and bad ways. He flew off the line like a cannonball to stop Rob du Preez and missed…

…and a rush off the line in the second half led to a Sale break which could have been more damaging had Arron Reed not slipped.

There was no questioning Cokanasiga’s determination, however. His best kick of the game was tackled by Joe Carpenter, causing Cokanasiga to suffer his first ever shoulder injury.

But he showed his toughness and hunger for defensive work by getting to his feet in time to race back and help Ben Spencer save Reed’s superb effort.

‘Confidence player’ is a dangerous tag to put on anyone but there is no doubt that when Cokanasiga has a smile on his face, he plays his best rugby. The appointment of attacking coach Lee Blackett was crucial in that regard. “He’s been helping me a lot, putting me in different positions where I’m not normally comfortable. That’s good for my overall performance, my overall game. It is very important to give confidence to players and when you have that, you will feel that it is unstoppable,” said Cokanasiga afterwards.

Russell’s arrival at The Rec seems to be crucial, helping to get Cokanasiga more involved and getting him in space, and with a pack playing as well as Bath’s at the moment then the playmakers have time – Russell, Ben Spencer, Cam Redpath – pick out. the strike runners in Cokanasiga, Muir and Ollie Lawrence, and everything falling into place.

Wing is an area that England are looking good at the moment, with Tommy Freeman one of their best players in the recent Six Nations and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso bursting into Test Rugby with his performances against Scotland and the Ireland. Elliot Daly remains a hot option, while Tom Roebuck, who scored a clever interception try for Sale on Sunday, and Bath’s Will Muir are both on the radar. Going well, Freeman and Feyi-Waboso will have three Tests this summer to continue gaining experience.

But Cokanasiga’s potential is fascinating, coming up six years on from his England debut. Should he show further progress in his defensive and aerial game – no doubt areas where Borthwick wants to see improvement – as he continues to run in for a Bath side in top form, then it looks like memory this summer possible.