James Haskell reveals his thoughts on Italy's no-ruck tactic in Six Nations showdown
JAMES HASKELL has revealed that he had seen Italy's novel Six Nations tactic before but that England still struggled to cope with it.
James Haskell started his first game for England since last summer but was bamboozled by Italy
Italy refused to contest defensive rucks, allowing them the freedom to occupy what appeared to be offside positions after making a tackle.
The Six Nations strugglers ground out a 10-5 half-time lead thanks to their unique gameplan as England struggled.
But five second-half tries for the defending champions ensured England took all five points from the encounter, even if the 36-15 scoreline flattered both them and the game.
"I kept saying what's the law and eventually he explained it.
"We'll go away and learn from this.
"Things didn't go well this afternoon.
"Days like today just make the team stronger and it just means we have two weeks of hell training before we play Scotland."