Relaxed Rokocoko aims to regain form

Under-pressure All Black wing Joe Rokocoko says he's hoping a more relaxed approach this week will help him rediscover the form he needs to satisfy his coaches.

Not to mention ease the worry factor within his family.

Rokocoko had the spotlight put squarely on him this week by head coach Graham Henry who admitted his 26-year-old wing had not been playing as well as he would have liked, and that he needs to find "the magic" again.

Henry didn't directly say Rokocoko was playing for his spot in the starting lineup, but the inference was clear: it's high time for the Rocket Man to rediscover his try-scoring touch.

Rokocoko said Henry and backs coach Wayne Smith had not expressed those thoughts directly to him this week, but he was made aware of Henry's comments when texts started coming in from family members.

"My older brother gave me a text, and mum as well, just saying we're still supporting you. I thought, 'shucks, it must be that bad'. I'm guessing they're saying performance wise there's an issue."

Rokocoko has now gone seven tests without a try, and in fairly winger-unfriendly conditions in Wellington last week he was guilty of a couple of handling lapses at key moments. He looks a little over-anxious, plus the bounce of the ball is not going his way.

But Rokocoko said the support from the coaches has been great and their message fairly direct.

"Graham's been awesome. He's been saying it's just a matter of being patient really. He feels like I'm too eager to do things, and just wants me to be patient and it will come.

"It's about not looking to over-complicate things, not trying to impress every time I get the ball. I've just got to relax and read the game better."

That's very much Rokocoko's approach as he heads into Saturday night's test against Italy playing for his place as a starting winger in this side. With Sitiveni Sivivatu due back soon, Cory Jane, er, waiting in the wings and the flamboyant Lelia Masaga given his chance to enter the test picture this weekend, the Aucklander is pretty much out of second chances.

"I want to play better and I guess I'm just too buzzy and just want to do everything so well that I'm starting to muck up a few things. I need to just sit back, relax a bit, read the game and go back to how I should be playing."

Rokocoko has taken a pretty simple approach in terms of fixing the problem. A back-to-the-future viewpoint, you might say.

"I'm trying to get that feeling back that I had when I first came into the team," he said. "The feeling I had back then was I didn't give a damn about anything. I was new, I was young and I wasn't afraid to do things.

"You get to a certain stage when you've been playing for a while and you feel like you have to do everything around the field, which you don't. I've got to get back to relaxing and reacting to whatever comes."

The Fijian flyer, into his seventh season of test rugby, said he's also trying not to let his scoring drought weigh on him.

"I haven't been getting too disappointed at not scoring tries, I'm just getting disappointed about the little things, like the mistiming of the ball, and just doing my role properly, not running the right lines. I've been more disappointed with that than not scoring tries."

An out-matched Italian team this week shapes as an ideal chance for a relaunching of the Rocket Man. Rokocko knows that. He's steeled for a statement sort of match.

Plus he needs to put a few anxious minds to rest back home.

"I don't want my family worrying too much," he says. "But it shows the support I do have. It's that core support that drives a person to perform better each week. I have a very supportive family and it makes me want to be a better person."

- © Fairfax NZ News