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Rokocoko reveals plan to jump ship for Olympic glory
By Chris Jones
Former All Blacks star Joe Rokocoko has revealed former Fiji 7s coach Ben Ryan tried to get the flying wing to join his team’s Rio Olympics bid that ended in gold medal triumph in 2016.
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Nadi born Rokocoko, who moved to New Zealand when he was five-years-old, told the Fiji Times that growing up he had wanted to play for the Fiji 7s having been inspired by the performances of Waisale Serevi at the Hong Kong Sevens tournament. “I would have loved the opportunity,” said Rokocoko who scored a staggering 46 tries in 68 matches for the All Blacks before moving to France and playing for Bayonne and Racing Metro.
“Ben messaged me (in 2015) because of this eligibility stuff going around where former internationals began talks of playing for their home country. He asked me if I was interested in playing for the Fiji 7s team.
“He invited me over for a tournament to have a fitness test and train with the 7s players, but unfortunately my club did not release me. In the end, World Rugby scrapped the idea because of the amount of players wanting to change eligibility.”
Those eligibility laws have now been changed by World Rugby allowing players such as Wallaby star Israel Folau and former All Blacks Malakai Fekitoa and Charles Piutau to play for Tonga while former All Blacks centre Setareki Tamanivalu is now in the Fiji squad.
Rokocoko, who had played his last All Blacks test in 2010, added: “Everyone says when I grow up, I would like to be an All Black. For me, I grew up wanting to be a Fiji 7s player. I only knew about the All Blacks when I started playing age-grade rugby in New Zealand.
“The reason why I wanted to be a Fiji 7s player was because of players such as Waisale Serevi. We would wait for the Hong Kong 7s, and in New Zealand it would come on television late at night and we did not care about school the next day.”
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