He is not the first person to come to mind when considering the hard men of rugby, but Jonathan Joseph, in his modest way, has revealed the extent of the injury he struggled with during the World Cup. “In the Fiji game, I felt something in my pec,” he said. “I wasn’t too happy about it, because I’ve done the other one before and it felt similar. But I did rehab on it, hit all my targets, strapped it and managed to play Australia and Uruguay with no dramas, really. When I got back to Bath, they had a little play with it and organised a scan. In fact, I had only about a third of my pec still attached.”
It sounds dramatic, but Joseph is adamant that the discomfort was only slight. “It’s weird. I didn’t really feel it. I was aware of it, but I could still tackle on it. It was obviously heavily strapped, but it was a World Cup. I was going to do everything I could to play.”
Bath organised an operation immediately and announced in mid-October that the England centre would be out for around three months, which would have been cutting it fine for the Six Nations. Happily, though, he has staged a remarkable recovery. “The first date was 9 January,” said Mike Ford, Bath’s director of rugby, “then it was 27 December, then the second Wasps game [in Europe next weekend] and then the first Wasps game [on Sunday] – and then he came back last week. He’s healed and rehabbed really well. And he’s been desperate to play.”
Joseph’s return to the team last Saturday was more than a month ahead of schedule. Although in a losing cause against Northampton, he sent Semesa Rokoduguni away for a fine try with the sort of flat pass for which he is becoming known as much as his more recognised qualities. “He has that outside break,” said Ford, “but his passing skills are sublime. Where he’s growing is in his Conrad Smith-style understanding of the game. That’s where he can develop. Without question, there’s a lot more to come. He’s a baby.”
Joseph’s return is some good news for Eddie Jones to compensate for the loss of Henry Slade to long-term injury. Slade and Joseph had finished the World Cup as England’s centre pairing, the kind of pacy, skilful combination that many hope might represent the future. “We obviously didn’t have too great a World Cup,” said Joseph, “so it’s almost like a clean slate. It’s a new set of coaches. I haven’t spoken to Eddie yet. I don’t know what he likes, or whether he likes me, so I’ll concentrate on myself and put my best foot forward if I get selected.
“We’ll take a lot of hurt from the World Cup and use it as a driving force. We do need to come into this Six Nations ready to put in the graft, but also to have a bit of confidence about us. We know we’re a good side. Let’s not get carried away with external factors, but concentrate on ourselves.”
In Sunday’s European match against Wasps in Coventry, Joseph will line up against Elliot Daly, another classic 13 of the outside-break variety. With Manu Tuilagi set to return in the new year, Jones’s options are building.
