After a year out with injuries – and despite family trauma – the
England winger says he is feeling good physically and mentally
On paper the big story this weekend is whether Bath can hang tough at Saracens on Sunday and make the Premiership play‑offs, potentially at the expense of Bristol or Sale. In Joe Cokanasiga’s case, however, the twin imposters of sporting triumph and disaster are exactly that. After everything big Joe has endured this past year, the vicissitudes of professional rugby are now strictly relative.
Even the injured knee – and subsequent complications to his lower body and back after training on it with England – that sidelined him for the best part of 12 months has been nothing compared to the family trauma the Cokanasiga clan have been enduring. As the Guardian revealed in March, the government is refusing to allow the winger’s father, Iliatia, a former sergeant who served three tours of duty in
Iraq and
Afghanistan, to rejoin his family in the
UK. It is a situation which continues to shame all those responsible for his plight.