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'He's canned all of our fitness testing': The shake-up in England camp

Amy Cokayne of England looks on during the Autumn International 2nd Test match between England and New Zealand at Franklin's Gardens on November 07, 2021 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images )

Considering both teams Amy Cokayne plays for, the 25-year-old hooker is used to having opposition (especially underdog teams) bring the best version of themselves to the field when coming up against her teams, the number one international side in the world England, and the reigning Premier 15s champions, Harlequins.

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“Being reigning champions in the Premiership, there is a target on your back and every week teams bring their ‘A’ game and we welcome that. At Quins we want to play tough fixtures and we have to be at our best the whole time. Some weeks depending on who we’re playing, it feels almost harder than an international, so the fact that we now have a league that’s really competitive where we can play high level rugby week in week out, has helped me be a better player and probably helped England be successful too.”

However, it’s not just the standard of the domestic league that the RAF cadet believes accounts for England’s incredible 18-match unbeaten run.

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“The biggest changes from an England point of view has been the inclusion of our Strength and Conditioning coach Alex Martin, he’s amazing! If you ask any of the girls, he’s the favourite person in camp and has come in and made some huge changes and is challenging us.

“He isn’t just a numbers guy, he’s canned all of our fitness testing which is very welcomed by the girls but he’s more about training for our actions on the pitch. It’s not how fast you can run in a bronco test because if you can’t translate that effort into physical rugby play then what’s the point in just being fit or just being strong? He’s come in and given us a good shakeup which has been really welcomed.”

With the Red Roses being full time professionals and receiving the best sport science, medical and strength and conditioning care, Cokayne explains she does see the point people make when they suggest having Premier 15s sides with multiple Red Roses means the league is less competitive.

“It’s a really difficult one because we’re in the weird area of some players being professional and some people not. I‘m professional and I play for England and Quins, but I also own a house down here and my life is here so if the RFU then said you need to go and play for Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, it’s difficult. If you spread out all the England players, and then a team like Exeter for example still has a whole host of overseas internationals, where’s the fairness in that, so then are you going to say that all internationals need to be spread out per team? It’s a really difficult one.

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“I do feel for teams like DMP who are obviously struggling. I’m not really too sure on what the solution is. I think people think that players are driven by money and they think the London clubs pay the most but for players and especially England players it’s our full-time job so we want to be in an environment which is going to support us to be the best we can be.

“For most players, the draw isn’t how much you’re going to pay them it’s about access to physios and strength and conditioning. If the RFU can help clubs with those things, then we could see what happens.”

England’s TikTok Six Nations campaign begins away against Scotland on 26th March, and every nation will have their sights set on disrupting England’s success. But there are more domestic matters to be dealt with before then, with Cokayne admitting Harlequins need to address their inconsistencies on the pitch.

“We obviously haven’t performed well in every game this season. We haven’t been consistent; we can beat Saracens who are the most constant team in the league at the minute but following that we lose to Exeter or only beat Gloucester-Hartpury in the last minute. That’s on us as players, we’re the only people who can have an input on that. As a team we’re not happy with it, we know we have good moments and have a very talented side but it’s about doing it for larger parts of the game.”

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However, despite results being important, Harlequins Women have a bigger goal.

“Recently, we’ve been working as a team on what our bigger purpose is, of course we want to win the title again but we’re looking bigger than that. We’ve come up with a strapline of what we want to do and how we’re going to achieve that and that won’t just be this season but in the seasons and years to come.

“Throughout the seasons we won’t just be judging ourselves on whether we’ve got the trophy it will be about whether we’ve inspired people to play the game.

“We have the TRUE Quin acronym, and each letter stands for something different and it’s about holding ourselves accountable to that. For example, the E stands for enjoyment and that’s an important part of rugby, it’s our full time job and you’ve got to turn up to work every day and enjoy it otherwise what’s the point? So it’s about going back to our core values and why we play the game.”

The team will be displaying those values as Quins’ Game Changer fixture returns this weekend. A record crowd of 4,837 visited The Stoop in April 2019 to watch Quins beat Gloucester-Hartpury and the fact that the opposition this rime round is 2020/2021 league runners up and current table toppers Saracens, makes the prospect of playing in front of a large home crowd even more thrilling for Cokayne and her Harlequins team mates.

“Quins are so good at putting on these massive events for us and something as players we’re pushing for and we want to be leading the way on. When we get spectators in we always hear them on the pitch and afterwards about how great an event it is. It can only be good for the game. It doesn’t get much bigger opposition than Saracens on your home patch!”

It’s obvious that if a club looks after their players by publicising the team and their fixtures, putting budget into marketing and creating brilliant spectacles filled with fans as Quins do, then the players will stand by their club through thick and thin. This is a quality Cokayne displays when asked about the wider media and social media’s reaction to the women’s team wearing men’s shirts for their recent Big Game 13 at Twickenham Stadium last December.

“Obviously, when we put the shirts on for Big Game in the changing room they were a bit big, but we did feel a bit hurt that the only chat of the game seemed to be about the kit. As players we played in front of a huge crowd, we’re at Twickenham and we have some girls in the team who would never have the opportunity to play at a stadium like Twickenham ever.

“For us, we were like ‘it’s a bit big but it’s got a Quins logo on and we’re going to run out at Twickenham’ so we weren’t too fussed by it, and I think the positives of that day outweighed the fact that our shirts were a bit big.”

To purchase tickets for the Game Changer at the Twickenham Stoop this Saturday against Saracens, please click here.

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Bill Smith 2 hours ago
'South Africa, on their day, would have pumped this All Black team'

Let’s lay out what happened in Paris; (1) Yes Rieko insulted Jonny and according to you apparently cupped his ear to the Irish crowd And (2) Yes Brodie insulted POM; BUT what happened before that? (1) The so called best supporters in the world consistently booed and sung over the Haka in matches at the Aviva, (2) POM called the NZ captain “just a shit Richie McCaw”, (3) In 2002 Jonny was a one man talking show; I talked to Wayne Barnes last week and when asked he immediately said that Jonny was the worst player that he ever had to referee (Wayne refereed the 3rd test!) - What was Jonny saying to the NZ players in that series? (Hmmm!), (4) In Paris the so called best supporters in the world once again booed and sung over the Haka (the Haka is sacred to the Māori people and Rieko is a Māori, therefore that is the worst possible insult that Rieko could have got!!!), (5) I was in Paris and the Irish supporters totally arrogantly dismissed the ABs as a team that they would easily beat, (6) It hasn’t been made public, but we don’t know what Jonny said to Rieko in Paris? (Hmmm!) THEREFORE, what do you expect in the face of such unprecedented provocation we are going to do? Of course there is going to be a reaction! No self respecting people are going to let themselves be treated so abhorrently and not react! Much like Scott Barrett reacted to the Irish lock looking to Scotty to try to take DMAC out on Friday night! I have personally witnessed the ABs come to your country for many years and interact with the Irish public and school children (including my own) WAY beyond what the Irish rugby players or any other Irish sporting entity do! THEREFORE, for you to call NZ arrogant is totally wrong and totally disingenuous!!! You personally insult us and when we react you insult us even more and call us arrogant! - Do you honestly think that we are total patsies that aren’t going to react to you and your minority of one absolute rubbish! This week your press and former players (eg- the Muppet Rob Kearney) again dismissed us as a team that you were going to easily beat! You personally under your former handle Teddy 24 told us that you were going to teach us a lesson on Friday night! HOWEVER, WE ARE NOT ARROGANT, AND YOU ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF ORDER!

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H
Hellhound 2 hours ago
'South Africa, on their day, would have pumped this All Black team'

Actually, the Boks is 8/10 so far. 80% win rate this year. Will be 11/13 after Wales. The 2 games lost was both with 1 point each. The Boks didn't need the refs help. As usual they play hard and deservedly won both tests. They scored more tries too. Wasn't that the AB's strength? If the Boks lost their "Mana", then the AB's lost their culture. How many wins in a row over the AB's is it now? Will we go into the points difference between the 2 since the WC? Tell me, who is the most successful team this year? Who has the most wins so far this year? Don't just spout crap because you can. Stop insulting players. At least they are good enough and double WC winners to play international rugby. Without those "fat" props, the Boks wouldn't be the team they are. They destroyed NZ both tests this year. They destroyed them in the WC final. They destroyed them at Twickenham. You want to talk about slide? There was and still is a MASSIVE SLIDE the past 10 years in Aus and NZ rugby and it's still continuing. Since SA left SR, it went from bad to worse. The SRP isn't exciting. It's a competition slanted in NZ favour. It's boring and predictable. No one fears the AB's anymore. It's not that there isn't talent. There is outstanding talent, but with no real competition except TRC and WC's, they don't get the experience needed to grow into superstars like in the past. You can blame NZR for that. Thinking they are Gods, they can do whatever they want. They screwed up one of the best leagues in rugby. The Boks are lucky to escape that decline. Currently the 2 top leagues is the URC and the Top 14. Much more exciting and fun.

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