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February 28, 2017

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Home » Sports » Rugby

Ryan, Woodward back Italy amid ruck tactic flap

Source: Agencies | February 28, 2017, Tuesday | Print Edition

BEN Ryan, the Englishman who coached Fiji to Olympic Rugby Sevens gold, has defended Italy’s no-ruck tactic in Sunday’s Six Nations game at Twickenham and accused England coach Eddie Jones of double standards.

England’s World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward was also an enthusiastic fan of what he described as “guerrilla warfare”.

England won the game 36-15 but the issue that dominated the match and its aftermath was Italy’s innovative tactic of not forming a ruck at the tackle, allowing its players to obstruct the hosts’ attempts to move the ball without being offside.

England, which had never lost to Italy in 22 previous matches, was flummoxed and trailed 5-10 at halftime, but it ran in five tries after the interval and finished strongly to secure a comfortable victory. Jones said it was “not rugby” and that fans should get their money back.

“If your halfback can’t pass the ball, there’s something wrong with the game. If the 10 can’t see the ball, how do you play rugby?” the Australian asked.

Ryan, who used the approach himself when coach of England’s Sevens team, said he was aghast at Jones’s reaction.

“It is called coaching, Eddie,” Ryan told The Times. “It is another defensive strategy, but it is easy enough to counter if you have some nous. I was amazed at his comments. He is being quite rude to people, fellow coaches who outmaneuvered him.

“When he said it’s not rugby, I say what’s not rugby is the judo rolling people at rucks and mauls that he does. His comments are littered with double standards when they are doing judo training.”

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