SHAUN EDWARDS: Italy are a different beast now
SHAUN EDWARDS: Italy are a different beast now as they run it from all over the pitch, but it can get them into trouble… I’m sure England coach Steve Borthwick will have taken note
- France extended their unbeaten run to 14 matches with 29-24 victory over Italy
- Frustration with Capuozzo’s try after he ended up one-on-one with a forward
- Italy play from all over the pitch and sometimes it gets them in trouble
I was up at 6am on Monday to start reviewing our match against Italy. We are staying right by the Vatican in Rome until Wednesday, so there’s plenty of time to digest the result before we get back on the plane.
During the Covid years, we’ve been straight back on the bus home. It felt nice to have traditional things back like the post-match function.
The Italians put on some pasta after the game – although I steered clear as I’m gluten intolerant – and then we were back at our hotel by 9pm for more food in the shape of a lovely buffet. The players had some chips and a glass of wine as a treat.
It was brilliant to extend our winning run to 14 games but there was plenty to think about in the review. I wrote a few things down in my old-fashioned notebook and cut some clips on my laptop to feed back to the analyst.
One of the guys has created some software that makes video feedback easier. Five or six click boxes that categorise things into forwards, backs, positives, negatives, discipline, kick-chase.
France extended their unbeaten run to 14 matches with 29-24 victory over Italy
You end up spending more time speaking to your analyst than the other coaches. Together we dissect the information and deliver it in a simple and concise manner for the players to remember.
It didn’t take any time to see that our penalty count was too high. I’d like to start this column by making a public apology to the referee, Matthew Carley, because our discipline wasn’t good enough.
We created the most turnovers in world rugby last year. We practise jackalling a lot. Things like making sure you get a clear release. Sometimes we get it right but on Sunday we didn’t. We overcommitted at the ruck, a lot of natural aggression, and didn’t attain our normal high standards.
As defence coach, I was frustrated by Ange Capuozzo’s try. We botched up our rolls, making a mistake in our defensive formation.
The player who is meant to control the short-side moved elsewhere because he thought the danger was in a different part of the pitch.
Capuozzo, to his credit, had the vision to spot that and ended up one-on-one with a forward. We always try to have wingers or full-backs marking wingers because of their speed, so we ended up with a mismatch.
You can’t allow a player like Capuozzo those opportunities because he’s incredibly quick. He’s an unusual player to defend against, elusive with a wiry type of strength.
It shows that you don’t have to be 16 or 17 stone to play international rugby. He’s a great ambassador for rugby. You need to get numbers around him as quickly and possibly and get him on the floor – and make sure your formation’s correct.
Italy are a much different team to a few years ago, when they relied heavily on their scrum and maul. They still have a strong set piece, going head to head with ours despite having a lighter pack, but there is much more balance.
They play from all over the pitch. Sometimes that works for them and sometimes it gets them in trouble. I’m sure England will have taken note. Steve Borthwick doesn’t miss much!
Mattheiu Jalibert scored a late try as defending champions France beat Italy in the Six Nations
We created a lot of points from them playing ball-in-hand in their own half. We tried to get our defence up high and put as much pressure on them as possible. Line speed, charging kicks down.
Our tackle percentage was 90%. That’s pretty good. Then you look at the quality of the first tackle… how dominant is it? A dominant tackle starts off your defensive set well and influences the speed of the ruck. In rugby, particularly at international level, it’s about speed of ball at the ruck. I’ve heard Borthwick talk about ruck speed and he’s 100% right.
I looked at the size of Italy’s centres and they’re around 100kgs each. Serious athletes. Their back-row forwards are strong carriers. They’re a well organised team who can cause problems everywhere but I think England will have bit more intensity and accuracy in their second outing.
The Calcutta Cup was one of the best games of rugby I’ve seen for a while. What a match! High skill level, high physicality, great tactics. Duhan van der Merwe’s first try looked like something from the NFL, a kick-return. Individual try of the year. What an athlete. England’s defensive system will improve over time, and they should come out on Sunday and beat Italy by at least 15 points.
France were frustrated with Ange Capuozzo’s try after he ended up one-on-one with a forward
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