The Six Nations champions were confounded by a legitimate plan to avoid rucks by not committing to the breakdown after tackles
Back when Eddie Jones was coaching in Japan he complained that his players spent too much time learning to play the game by rote, running through the same old drills without trying anything new. Always ready with a quote, he said that “everyone drives 10,000 hours but few of us become better drivers”.
A good rugby player, Jones explained, has to be able think on his feet. “A lack of creativity,” he said, “means we have fewer players with the decision-making skills needed to win games of rugby.” Well, against England Italy showed plenty of creativity and Jones’s players were presented with a problem quite unlike any other they had encountered on a rugby pitch. They solved it in the end but it was pretty painful watching them work it out. Italy turned this Test into an 80-minute debate on the intricacies of the offside law.
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