England have a superstar in the making after Joe Cokanasiga battered Italy with a man-of-the-match display at Twickenham that Sir Clive Woodward said evoked memories of the great Jonah Lomu.
Here, Press Association Sport reveals some background on the Fijian-born giant.
Big Joe
💪💨👏@EnglandRugby's Joe Cokanasiga is the full package!
Hear from the man of the match after his first-ever #GuinnessSixNations start 👇 https://t.co/BwgXR1vV4L
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 9, 2019
Known to many including Eddie Jones as 'Big Joe', his full name is Ratu Josateki Tuivanuavou Waqanivalu Cokanasiga, which translates as 'Chief Joe, King of the new place, the warship with spears of the sun'.
No slouch...
Despite tipping the scales higher than unified world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua, the 6'4, 18 stone battering ram is the fastest player at Bath after recording 10 metres per second over 50m – quicker than speedsters Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson.
...but he can not drive
Good luck to @bathrugby's @J_cokanasiga, who starts for England this afternoon.
💥 Hopefully we'll see more of this 💥 pic.twitter.com/vTfalEXSnP
— Bath Rugby (@bathrugby) March 9, 2019
He is called 'Fiji' by his close friend and club team-mate Zack Mercer, who lives around the corner in the centre of Bath. Mercer drives him to training free of charge because the 21-year-old has yet to pass his driving test.
Meet the Queen
Honoured to have escorted the queen into the Fiji Exhibition. pic.twitter.com/ZtLijA10n3
— RJC (@J_cokanasiga) January 27, 2017
Dressed as a tribal warrior and carrying a hard wooden club, he was part of a traditional welcome that greeted the Queen at a Fijian art show in 2017. Upon stepping out of her Range Rover her Majesty came face to face with the bare-chested Cokanasiga, who was also among the Fijian warriors that opened the 2015 World Cup at Twickenham.
Like father, like son
His father Ilaitia served with the British Army in the Royal Logistic Corps and it was via this route that he first landed on these shores as a three-year-old. When he reached 14, he played in a devastating centre partnership alongside his dad for the regiment in Brunei. Ilaitia completed tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I'm really proud of him" Joe said.
