World: Six Nations 2017: England skipper Dylan Hartley accepts blame for Italy drama, mugs up on the laws of rugby

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Dylan Hartley, the England captain, has admitted that he was initially “confused” and then “at fault” for not dealing with Italy’s unexpected no-ruck strategy in Sunday’s (Monday AEDT) Six Nations game at Twickenham.

As the countdown to the Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland on March 11 begins in earnest, the Northampton hooker has pledged to take remedial action by mugging up on the law book, assuring England supporters that the embarrassing scenario will never be repeated.

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The sound of ‘mea culpa’ and breasts being beaten at England’s short-term training base in Oxford, where they have gathered for a three-day camp ahead of the build-up to the pivotal match against Scotland at Twickenham, was most welcome, given the air of denial in the immediate aftermath of the halting 36-15 victory over the Azzurri. Hartley showed just why Eddie Jones, the head coach, values his strength of character and up-front persona as he addressed the issue publicly for the first time, not shying away from criticism of his own role as captain.

“We took too long [to get grips with it], and that is my fault,” Hartley said. “It won’t happen again. Hindsight is a b—–, but if I could go back I would have seen what was happening earlier and dealt with it earlier. We have now looked at scenarios where if it happens again, we can react more quickly.

Determined not to get caught out again: Dylan Hartley. Photo: Getty Images

“I was trying to figure out what was happening. I was confused. Sometimes I saw one or two blue shirts and thought it was a ruck but it wasn’t until I saw [Italy scrum-half] Edoardo Gori standing in our passing channel that I got confused as to what was going on. I questioned the referee but he wasn’t going to change his mind, so I just rolled with it.

“That scenario is now covered. We have learnt from it. And if it happens again we will be tooled-up to deal with it.”

Part of that process has involved Hartley leading the way in getting to grips with every detail of the law book. The ploy adopted by Italy, to back off once the tackle is made so as not to form a ruck, thereby avoiding the setting up of an offside line, is not new but it has rarely been used to the extent that it was last weekend. And whatever demons and tricks might be lurking in the law book, Hartley is determined not to get caught out again.

“For me is it is a good lesson to brush up on the laws and know my stuff,” said Hartley, who made no attempt to duck his responsibility by claiming that he was too involved at the sharp end to absorb fully what was happening. “I was in just about every breakdown, in the thick of it and pretty well equipped to see.

“We have seen it before but not all game, not continuously. But that is the learning, isn’t it? I have already done so [mugged up on laws]. I don’t actually possess a [law] book. Maybe I should get one. I think we all know that particular law now. We are all pretty clear on that. We are not [embarrassed] by it, just surprised. We have moved on.”

Hartley agreed that the modern game, with its constant scrutiny and endless analysis, means that teams have to be more and more inventive to outwit the opposition. Scotland managed to do it in the opening weekend’s 27-22 victory against Ireland at Murrayfield, with centre Alex Dunbar positioning himself in a line-out and scoring directly from the throw as Ireland stood off him and marked in the conventional way against the forwards.

“I am sure Scotland will be working on something,” Hartley said. “You can do as much analysis as you like but every team is going to bring something different.”

Only two players sat out full training yesterday, lock Joe Launchbury, who woke up with a bug, and his Wasps colleague, flanker James Haskell, who is on a modified programme following toe surgery.

The squad were once again put through their paces as they continue to hit higher and higher marks in fitness levels. If Hartley was prepared to accept that his leadership in dealing with the Italian tactic had not been up to standard, he took exception to the notion that England have been fortunate to get to this point, the only unbeaten side in the championship, by coming through in the latter stages as they did against France and Wales.

“You make your own luck by training bloody hard in the week,” he said. “It was not luck. I’d like to abolish luck. Everyone said it would be an open tournament and it is. We are not playing mugs but we are three from three. That is not luck. Look at George Ford to Owen Farrell to Elliot Daly in the 76th minute [against Wales], fatigued, yet pinpoint passes. That is not luck.

“We train to finish strongly. Our numbers [in conditioning] show that: metres per minute, accelerations per minute, have doubled. Time getting off the floor, too. That is not luck. We have had to earn every victory. We are in a pretty good place.”

-Rugby Heaven

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