Special arrangement in place for Cokanasiga's move to Bath - reports

London Irish are trying to stem the flow of talent leaving the club by striking up a season-long loan arrangement with Bath for Joe Cokanasiga, according to ESPN.

RugbyPass exclusively revealed back in March that the former England U20 standout Joe Cokanasiga was moving to the Rec.

Bath had been in competition with both Wasps and Saracens for the wing, but Todd Blackadder’s side won out  the 20-year-old will head to the Rec next season.

Cokanasiga, who came through the Irish academy and was part of the side which won the U18 Academy League in 2016, recently signed a new deal at his boyhood club, but the deal included a relegation release clause in the contract.

With Cokanasiga having been included multiple times in larger England training squads and taken on the summer tour to Argentina last year, his hopes of locking down a permanent spot in the side would not be helped by spending another season in the Greene King IPA Championship.

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A move to Bath will see Cokanasiga fill the void created by Matt Banahan’s departure to West Country rivals Gloucester. He does not have the same positional versatility or experience as Banahan but brings his own set of skills to the position, including a size element that is hard to ignore.

He will give Blackadder a physical presence on the wing that he has not had since he coached Nemani Nadolo at the Crusaders and whilst still raw, the potential is clear to see.

Cokanasiga, whose father played for the Army rugby side, has previously said that Semesa Rokoduguni is one of the players in the game he looks up to, and now the pair will line up together in the Bath back three next season.

London Irish are struggling to hang on to their talent with Saracens raiding London Irish for a second time in a matter of months, signing 23-year-old hooker Tom Woolstencroft earlier this week.

In January 26-year-old winger Lewington confirmed his move to Saracens.

The former Leicester Tigers man represented England Saxons in South Africa during the summer of 2016 and scored 27 tries in 73 matches for Irish since he joined from Leicester in 2013.

World Cup-winning All Black Ben Franks is heading to Northampton, while Johnny Williams is on his way to Newcastle Falcons.