Semesa Rokoduguni learned when he was growing up in Fiji that if you coveted something, you had to prove your worth. After admiring the medals on the front of his army father’s uniform, he asked if he could try them on. “No,” was the reply. “You do not get given stuff like this; you have to earn it.”
It is advice that the Bath wing, now a lance corporal in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, took to heart. It has helped him cope with setbacks in a professional rugby career that started four years ago when he was 25: he has won two England caps, the first in 2014 and the second last November against the country where he was born and raised. Both were one-off appearances, the first time because of injury and last month because, despite scoring two tries, Eddie Jones told the 29-year-old there were areas of his game he needed to work on.
His army background means Rokoduguni is comfortable taking orders and he sees what was a surprise demotion for those unaware of the way Jones works as a means of getting back into the England side rather than a slight. In the final Premiership match of 2016 when Bath meet Exeter at the Recreation Ground, a few hours before the old year ends, he will face another wing looking to put himself in contention for the Six Nations, Jack Nowell, who missed the autumn international series through injury.
“Getting picked by England last month and wearing the jersey again meant I had been doing something right,” said Rokoduguni, who goes into the West Country derby on 15 Premiership tries for the calendar year, one behind the Exeter No8 Thomas Waldrom and three adrift of the Wasps’ wing, Christian Wade. “Eddie told me after the Fiji game that he wanted me to work on my defence and look to get involved when the ball was not on my side of the field.
“I enjoy working with Eddie because he is straightforward: when he is not happy with you, he tells you. You need that feedback if you are to become a better player; learn and move on. He talks with me about work-rate and defence, sticking with the defensive system, making decisions quickly, dealing with the high ball and making one-on-one tackles. He has brought clarity to England and that breeds confidence. Of course I would like to play in the Six Nations but all I can do is put in the performances for Bath and let the international call take care of itself.”
It is, he feels, different from 2014 when he won his first cap against New Zealand after just two years as a professional player and then, as if rising without trace, disappeared off the international radar. “I was injured after my first cap and when I played again I underperformed,” he said. “It had a negative impact on my international career but now it is up to me which is why I have to live in the present which this week means Exeter, a good side who will be a test for us.”
Rokoduguni is rare among Fijian rugby expatriates because he left the country not with a professional contract in his pocket but a place in the British army. “They had a recruitment drive and as I could not find a job in Fiji, I filled out a form and within a month I was accepted. The military is in my blood and my younger brother, Rupeni, has also joined and has just been posted to Warminster, where I am based. I was 19 and I arrived in Britain in August: they told me it was summer but I had to wrap up in four fleeces.
“I have grown more used to the weather now, but growing up in Fiji it was all about playing outside. Wherever you go, you see rugby posts and kids playing, not with rugby balls, because there aren’t any, but plastic bottles or a pair of flip-flops tied together. I started playing when I was six and it was all about running around and throwing the ball about. I loved sevens and that is mostly what I played after joining the army.”
He was spotted by Gary Gold, then Newcastle’s director of rugby, playing for the army against the navy at Twickenham, and offered a trial in the north-east. Before the wing had time to make arrangements, Gold had joined Bath and after a successful probationary month, he was offered a contract. “I had to get permission from the army and they have been very supportive,” said the wing. “When I retire, I will resume my career full-time. The military is in my blood and I love it.”
Rokoduguni found it uplifting to play against Fiji rather than unnerving, even though he found himself marking the biggest wing in Test rugby, Nemani Nadolo. “He is a big unit and a very good player. It was a privilege to play against him and Fiji. It was the country where my rugby journey started and I never thought I would have a professional career.
“I am thoroughly enjoying it at Bath and we want to finish the year on a high against Exeter. Last season was disappointing, but we are in a good place now and feel we can do ourselves justice come the business end of the season. I want to do better for the club and I am someone who is driven, never forgetting what my father told me when I asked to wear his medals. If you want something, you have to earn it.”
