Those Semesa Rokodoguni back-flips are helping our heroes
As an active officer in the British Army, Rokoduguni could yet return to Afghanistan and is friends of men who have lost limbs.
So while the back-flip that marked the first of his three tries in the Army’s victory over the Navy in the Babcock Trophy final last week may have seemed like a spontaneous celebration, Rokoduguni told The Rugby Paper there was also a serious purpose.
“It was a promise I made to an injured colleague,” Rokoduguni said. “We were visiting Headley Court and he was in a bad way and very low.
“We knew each other from a couple of years ago and when I gave him an Army rugby shirt, he asked me to do a back-flip if I scored a try.
“I spoke to the nurses and doctors after the match and they have been delighted with his response.
“It means a lot to me to be representing my comrades. I get correspondence from guys out in Afghanistan saying how proud they are of me. Whenever I go onto a rugby pitch I just want to put a smile on people’s faces.”
A lance corporal in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, a tank regiment based in Germany, the Fijian always dreamed of playing professional rugby but nearly ruined that dream when he hung up on Bath head coach Gary Gold in disbelief.
Rokoduguni, who also scored a hat-trick in last year’s Babcock Trophy final, impressed at the Bournemouth Sevens and, fortunately, Gold rang back leading to the 25-year-old signing terms in October, scoring two tries on his debut against Newport Gwent Dragons.
It was, however, a steep learning curve to make the adjustment from amateur to professional.
“It was a big step up,” Rokoduguni said. “I could barely pass off my left hand when I got there so skill wise, especially, I hard to work really hard.
“But since the first day I have worked as hard as I possibly can and I am now used to the training environment.
“I know how lucky I am to be a professional player. I tell the boys that in Afghanistan you sometimes do four tours a day and there are no days off. It is a hard life.
“Both Bath and the Army have been very flexible about my commitments. When Gary rang up last year I thought that it was a joke.
“But he saw me at the Bournemouth Sevens and said he wanted to give me an opportunity and I have been trying to make the most of that ever since.”
While the differences between serving in Helmand and trotting out at the Rec are obvious, Rokoduguni says there are striking similarities between how a rugby team and a battalion function.
He said: “When you are on the field you need 15 boys to be playing together as a unit, following the same programme and being disciplined.
“That is exactly the same as in the army. You cannot have individuals doing their own thing, you need the team to be working as one.
“There’s a huge amount of trust that you need to build in order to be successful.”
Rokoduguni has become a mainstay of the Bath team since February and has scored three tries in his last five matches.
And he has been blown away by the raw talent of his centre partner Kyle Eastmond.
“Playing alongside Kyle is a huge pleasure,” he added. “His skill levels are as good as I have seen. You have to be on top of your game the whole time to keep up with what he is doing.
“He is so hard to predict sometimes, I can’t imagine what it is like playing against him.”
DANIEL SCHOFIELD
