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Rugby-Ryan and Woodward back Italy over ruck tactic

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.

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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 supporter of what he described as "guerrilla warfare" and said Italy should be applauded.

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 their players to obstruct the hosts' attempts to move the ball without being offside.

England, who had never lost to Italy in 22 previous matches, were flummoxed and trailed 10-5 at halftime, but they 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 said.

Ryan, who used the approach himself when coach of England's Sevens team, said he was flabbergasted by 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 outmanoeuvred him."

Italy coach Conor O'Shea made a strong defence of the approach, saying his team did not intend to just keep turning up, do the same thing and get beaten.

"Conor and Brendan (Venter, Italy's South African defence coach who came up with the strategy) are working bloody hard, they don't need a fellow coach to say their tactics are akin to underarm bowing," Ryan said.

"It is not bad sportsmanship. It is a tactic. Good on Italy. We haven't seen England doing anything different at all.

"When Eddie 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."

Woodward wrote in the Daily Mail: "I totally support Italy and their use of their innovative and inspired tactics.

"It was one of those rare moments in test rugby that makes you sit bolt upright in your seat and think, 'Wow, this is different, this is new. What on earth do England do next?'

"It was behind the lines — literally — guerrilla war and I found it compulsive viewing. It's what David always has to do if he is to stand any chance against Goliath," Woodward added. "It was a very gutsy and clever, if ultimately unsuccessful, response from a wounded Italy side that felt under pressure."

World Rugby, the sport's governing body, said on Monday there were no immediate plans to address the laws relating to the issue, adding that individual unions could request clarification.

 

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

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