England coach Eddie Jones accused Italy of using a game plan against the spirit of rugby during their Six Nations match on Sunday, comparing the tactics to an Australian cricketer who famously bowled underarm along the ground to avoid conceding a six.
“I’m not happy with what happened: I don’t think that’s rugby,” Jones said after watching underdogs Italy frustrate England’s players with rarely seen tactics at the breakdown during England’s 36-15 win at Twickenham in London.
Instead of contesting the breakdown, Italy’s players decided not to compete to reclaim the ball. That meant no ruck was formed and it freed them to get behind the tackle area onto England’s side and block any passes.
Photo: AP
It was smart and innovative from Italy coach Conor O’Shea — and it bewildered England so much that some of the players asked the referee how they could combat it.
“I was remembering Trevor Chappell, mate,” Jones said when asked for his thoughts on Italy’s game plan. “Remember Trevor Chappell, bowled underarm along the ground. Similar rules today.”
Jones was referring to an incident in an infamous one-day international between Australia and New Zealand in 1981. The New Zealanders got to the final ball of the match needing six runs to tie, so Chappell was ordered to deliver the ball underarm and deny the batsman a chance to clear the boundary.
“It’s not a game of rugby, it ceases to be a game of rugby,” Jones said. “Congratulations to Italy, they strategically were smart today. Well done to them, but it’s not rugby, let’s be serious about this.”
O’Shea was unrepentant.
“We have to think differently, like we did today,” the Irish coach said. “We were playing absolutely legally. What we did today, we played to the laws. We have to be horrible to play against. We’re here to win and not make up the numbers.”
At one point, England flanker James Haskell was heard asking referee Romain Poite: “For clarity, on the ruck thing, what do we need to do to make it a ruck?”
Poite replied: “I am a referee, not a coach. You will probably find the solution with your coach.”
“Italy were always going to come here and try different things, but we didn’t expect that and I’ve only seen it once before,” Haskell said. “We’ll go away and learn from this. That’s why it’s called a Test match. Every day is a school day.”
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