England’s dream 212kg back line duo link up for Bath try
As England seemed to get manhandled and physically dominated by basically every team they played against during the Six Nations, and even before, fans were left to wonder what happened to some of the most powerful players in the Gallagher Premiership.
Manu Tuilagi was missing for much of the Championship, and even then he has looked a shell of the player that has blown the All Blacks’ defence apart on a number of occasions. There were also injuries across the pack which limited much of England’s ball carrying prowess.
Ollie Lawrence was really the only player in the back line that could pack a punch in contact, and to be fair to him he did on plenty of occasions. But there is one player that England fans are left to dream will one day come good.
Joe Cokanasiga is a player that Eddie Jones consistently included in his squads in the hope that his international career would take off, and you can see why. Standing at 1.93 metres and weighing 112kg, the winger has the potential to devastate any back line. But since making his England debut in 2018, the 25-year-old has only made 14 caps. Injuries have not helped, but he has frequently found himself playing in the first match of a series and then dropped thereafter having failed to impress.
He has it in his locker to be an elite winger, as Australia found out in 2018, but he has flattered to deceive. But he showed what he is capable of against Harlequins at Twickenham for Bath on Saturday, setting up a try for Lawrence.
The two of those combined make 212kg of power in a back line, and are a combination that many would want to see firing in an England shirt. Cokanasiga showed his strength and distribution to put Lawrence in for the try in Bath’s win, but now only has one more match this season, against Saracens, to potentially impress Steve Borthwick ahead of the World Cup later this year.
Take a look at the try:
