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Semesa Rokoduguni has explained why he was dropped by England and what he must do to force his way back into the Red Rose 1st XV.

The powerhouse winger won his second cap during the Autumn internationals; scoring two tries against Fiji, the country of his birth.

He was also the official man of the match yet was not picked by head coach Eddie Jones for Twickenham clashes with Argentina and Australia.

The Rocco of old may have had his confidence severely dented by such a blow, but not the current Rocco.

He was clear, measured and positive as he explained to the Chronicle what Jones and defence coach Paul Gustard told him when he was released back to Bath.

"After the game against Fiji the coaches gave me lots of positives, but also things that I need to work on," said the 29-year-old soldier.

Rokoduguni, who has beaten more defenders and made more metres than any Premiership player, added: "One of them was to do with the defensive system – reading the plays and making two-man, square-on tackles and being dominant in those tackles.

"Also, my positioning on the edge - whether to go in with the 13 or to drop and cover the backfield.

"It's about having that positive feeling and thinking this is when to do this and this is the time not to do this.

"The second thing is my workrate – looking for work when the ball is not on my side of the field like inside balls off ten, or getting balls of nine.

"Just being an option. They're all things I can work on and the more often I play and train with the England boys, the more I'll get to know them and how they play."

Rokoduguni says he has been working on such defensive skills with clubmate Jonathan Joseph, the incumbent England 13.

He added: "When I'm playing with someone else inside me – at times it will be a ten, 12, a 15 or even a forward in there – it's about making the right decisions, early."

When Rokoduguni was out in the cold after winning his first England cap under Stuart Lancaster against the All Blacks in November, 2014, his on-field confidence noticeably eroded.

But with two years' more experience and plenty of hard work invested on the training fields of Farleigh House, he sees this England selection challenge as an incentive.

"It hasn't affected my confidence at all," Rokoduguni added.

"I'm trying to take those points from the international stage and work on that through the Premiership games with Bath.

"I was really happy being part of the England set up and training with the boys.

"Getting picked for the game against Fiji was a huge honour, a privilege and it was emotional, especially playing against some of the boys I know from Fiji."

Rokoduguni admitted that on the international stage there is less margin for error and there are players all over the pitch waiting to pounce on any mistake.

"It's like you're under a microscope," he added. "The less errors you make, the more chance you've got of getting picked.

"I'll keep putting performances in for Bath, working hard on and off the field, and hopefully the international call will take care of itself."

Next up for Rokoduguni and Bath on New Year's Eve are Exeter Chiefs – the team against which he scored an 88th minute winning try at Sandy Park earlier in the season.

"When we won that the boys were over the moon," he recalled. "The atmosphere on the bus on the way back was amazing.

"We've spoken about not relaxing on that win. We need to step up to another level, match their physicality and think one step ahead of them.

"We've been picking up the things we learned from last week against Wasps and I think we've got a good chance of getting a win."