Rokoduguni makes rapid transition from the barracks to the back-line

As career changes go, Semesa Rokoduguni's was pretty emphatic.

Only last month the Fijian was driving tanks around a British Army base in Germany as a soldier in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. On Friday, he made his Premiership debut at The Rec as Bath beat reigning champions Harlequins.

Two weeks earlier, in his first match for Bath in the LV= Cup, Rokoduguni announced himself on the scene with two tries against the Dragons as he delivered an eye-catching performance in attack.

That performance won him the man of the match award – an accolade he is no stranger to.

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On his debut for the Army, the centre scored four tries in a match with the RAF and followed that up with a hat-trick against the Royal Navy in April at Twickenham.

Within days of that performance at HQ, agents began to get in touch.

After spells on trial by both the Avon and the Tyne, Rokoduguni plumped for Bath over Newcastle Falcons, who had also made an approach.

For Bath head coach Gary Gold, watching Rokoduguni in action in two Bath United games while he was on trial made the issue of his recruitment an open-and-shut case.

"He was so good on trial it was a no-brainer," said Gold. "A lot of other clubs were interested."

The powerful, low-slung back would have arrived at The Rec sooner had he not been sent on a tank driving course in mainland Europe in early October.

Explaining his move from reconnaissance soldier to professional rugby player, Rokoduguni said: "It came out of the blue after the performance in the Army-Navy game. Straight after that I got calls from Newcastle and Bath, then Bath gave me an offer for a full season."

Rokoduguni's try-scoring debut for the club in the LV= Cup left him on cloud nine, and now his focus is on securing a long-term deal with Bath.

"The game against the Dragons couldn't have gone any better," said Rokoduguni of the win over the Dragons. "To be honest, I was a little overwhelmed.

"I'm only 25 so I've still a long way to go. My ambition now is definitely to get a longer deal with Bath."

First, Rokoduguni will have to get accustomed to a change of scenery – he is initially staying in the palatial surroundings of Farleigh House, Bath's training base in Farleigh Hungerford.

It is, he admits, something of a change to life in barracks.

"Living at Farleigh House is definitely peaceful and quiet compared to my room in Germany – we had tanks there!"