"He was a right pain for us in that first-half," said Cockerill.
"He was very good over the ball and stole all our ball. At 22 he's a quality player.
"I think it was as fierce a battle at the breakdown as we have had,
"We have watched a lot of the Scarlets and they've not been as intense as that for a long time."
The 22-year-old who has 10 Magners League appearances to his name this season also received praise from Scarlets head coach Nigel Davies following the defeat.
"I thought Josh was outstanding," he said.
"He is a machine, he just doesn't stop, he was everywhere."
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