Amy Cokayne's high school boasts a long line of rugby royalty.
All Blacks Aaron Smith, Codie Taylor, the Whitelock boys (Sam, Luke, George, Adam) as well as Black Ferns and sevens legend Sarah Goss have all passed through the halls of Fielding High School, near Palmerston North in New Zealand's North Island.
Cokayne, though, is the only Red Rose.
While she is English through-and-through, there was a time when she was on the radar of the Black Ferns having moved to the land of the long white cloud as a child after her dad, Ian, was recruited to the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It all happened in a bit of a hurry.
"I think he saw the application with one day until closing, so I think he rang my mum and was like, 'how do you feel about moving to New Zealand?'" Cokayne told ESPN.
England rugby player Amy Cokayne speaks on how growing up in New Zealand helped her rugby career and why she moved out there in the first place.
"And she [said] 'oh, we'll talk about it when you get home,' and he was like, 'no, I need to know now.' So, they took the plunge and within six months we were out living in New Zealand."
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The makings of a star
She didn't know it then, but the move was the beginning of Cokayne's rise to becoming one of the best hookers in the world.
A rugby mad family, it wasn't long before Cokayne took up the sport herself. She captained her high school team to a remarkable 53-straight wins and quickly rose up the ranks. Domestic side Manawatu wanted to recruit her as a teenager and, after Cokayne got the OK from a doctor to make sure her body could handle it, her parents signed a waiver. She was off and running.
It was arguably the best move she ever made.
Thrown into the furnace of the Women's Provincial Championship (now the Farah Palmer Cup), Cokayne was given the perfect rugby education, and it helped make her the formidable player she is today.
"I definitely wouldn't be the player I am now or had the experience that I had if I hadn't gone to New Zealand," Cokayne says. "I think just simply the fact that I could play women's rugby from the age of 13 when I was out there playing against Black Ferns."
New Zealand selectors took note and invited her to a training camp. But it was England who Cokayne wanted to represent, and she made the move home.
Family business
Just as rugby runs through the Cokayne veins, so too does the armed forces. As well as dad, her grandfather and brother also have a background in the military. When she isn't starring for England, Cokayne can often be found on a Royal Air Force base, having joined after the 2017 World Cup.
"After the the loss [in the final], I thought I need to have something outside of rugby," Cokayne explains. "We weren't professional then... so I just thought I need to kind of figure out a career outside of rugby.
England Rugby World Cup player Amy Cokayne discusses her career away from rugby in the RAF and how she manages to balance both careers.
"I'm really glad that I am in the military. I have that connection to the military. I still have that career that I can go back to once I hang the old boots up."
After taking a year away from the sport to focus on her new career as an RAF officer, Cokayne's passion for rugby reignited and she set her sights on the ultimate full circle moment: Winning the World Cup in New Zealand.
Of course, it wasn't to be.
Cokayne has never re-watched the final and doesn't want to, despite scoring a remarkable hat trick. The Black Ferns beat England 34-31 at Eden Park. More heartbreak, but still a hunger to win.
As of the 2025 tournament opener against the United Sates, it's the only defeat the Red Roses have suffered in 61 matches.
Now, Cokayne and England are desperate to ensure it doesn't happen for a third-straight tournament.