Where Joe Cokanasiga has made key improvements after World Cup omission
Bath wing Joe Cokanasiga chasing the ball.
Bath boss Johann van Graan praised wing Joe Cokanasiga after a stunning brace of tries in their 25-17 win over Harlequins in the Premiership on Saturday.
The victory powers the side to the top of the table at Christmas in what has been a strong season so far for Van Graan and Bath.
Cokanasiga’s form has been powerful for Bath of late and his coach believes that the disappointment of being omitted from England’s Rugby World Cup squad is fueling the speedster.
Borthwick’s influence
Van Graan also noted how clear England head coach Steve Borthwick has been with Cokanasiga on how he has needed to improve under the high ball.
“Joe was very disappointed not to go to the World Cup. But there has been some very good communication from (England coach) Steve (Borthwick) and the England team about what he needs to work on,” the coach said.
“Aerially he has improved so much. I keep saying to him that he’s the biggest winger I’ve ever coached – and I’ve been fortunate to coach some good and very fast wingers.
“Joe’s size is something he can use so much. And he used it today.
“Those finishes! Like the one down in the left corner, he literally ran over three guys and still had the power to finish. I’m so happy for him.”
Van Graan is delighted to be top of the pile at Christmas but it is all about keeping the momentum going into 2024.
“We spoke about it in the week and said that there was a possibility of being top of the log,” he said.
“It makes Christmas a lot more enjoyable, but the most important thing is that the people of Bath are smiling and I’d like to think we gave them a good performance.
“All credit to Quins. It was 8-5 at half-time but it was like two heavyweight boxers, each punching back. That’s what makes the Premiership really special. There are so many teams and games are so close.”
He added: “We’ve got two more weeks in the Premiership and we’re away next weekend. This competition will ebb and flow right to the end, so for us it’s about using our squad, getting better every week and taking our opportunities. I felt we did that today.
“We’ll enjoy the win and we’ll enjoy Christmas. Then we look to the next one.”
No excuses
Meanwhile, Quins director of rugby Billy Millard refused to make excuses and admitted Bath won the aerial and kick-chase battle on the day.
“The kicking game, the aerial battle in that weather, was always going to be a big part of it and they did it very well,” he said.
“Because of that, we had to work really hard. So fair play to them, they managed that game – the kick-chase battle – really well.
“It’s definitely a long stretch, but there are no excuses today. We had a good week, we freshened up and, as I said, it was just execution stuff around that aerial battle in the conditions.
“We then started taking some high balls and we did get back into the game. But they did some amazing 50-22s that fell their way.
“Look, we always say that when we had those big wins against Sale and Racing we don’t get too high. And when you drop a game you can’t get too low. There were definitely some learnings there.
“We’re not too low on confidence. We’ve got Gloucester at The Big Stoop (Twickenham) and then it’s Newcastle away. There are so many good teams.
“The next fortnight is going to be important in keeping our position among the leading contenders.”