Thursday 2 March 2017 10:12, UK
England forwards coach Steve Borthwick and winger Jack Nowell have said their 36-15 victory against Italy on Sunday was a great learning experience, after struggling for 40 minutes with Italy's tactics.
Italy head coach Conor O'Shea and defence coach Brendan Venter employed clever tactics in not committing men to the breakdown against Eddie Jones' men, meaning no ruck was formed and as a result there was no offside line to abide by, allowing Italian players into the passing channel.
England struggled to get to grips with the game for the entire first half, which surprisingly saw the Azzurri go in at half time with a 10-5 lead at Twickenham.
"I think it was a great learning experience for us and it's great for us to be able to move forward as part of the ongoing development of this team and we look ahead to Scotland in nine days time," said Borthwick.
"I think there's always areas you want to improve upon and I think ultimately we always consider things as an 80 minute performance, that's why we talk so much about our finishers as well.
"I know that one of the big positives that I see is that the players had a lot less contacts than usual.
"Courtney Lawes was wrapped head to toe in ice after the last international we player prior to this one, but after the Italy game the guys felt fresh and in training the energy levels were fantastic.
"We're always looking to learn about the players and for the players to learn about themselves as well."
Exeter Chiefs winger Jack Nowell was on the bench at Twickenham, coming on to notch two tries in England's second half comeback.
The 23-year-old said those on the bench could see what was happening and what needed to change during the first half, echoing Borthwick's comments.
"For me that first half was difficult to watch," said Nowell. "We as finishers on the bench could see what they were doing and obviously we weren't involved so we could discuss it.
"It's completely different when you're on the field and it's happening to you but if you'd asked us before the game: bonus point win and six tries? We would definitely have taken it.
"Eddie [Jones] came down to us on the bench and said 'this is what they're doing, this is what we're going to do now', so it was good to get that information through and it was so clear, and it was easier to get it into our minds but when you're on the field in the thick of things its more difficult.
"As a squad we've learnt from it, we're always learning and it was a good win. It's tough when there's no breakdown. You almost use a breakdown as your starting point where we do most of our moves and set pieces from, so it did throw us off.
"It was weird, not many boys hit rucks in that first half but the important thing is we got there in the end and got the tries."
Nowell was dropped to the bench in favour of Gloucester winger Jonny May on Sunday, but after his brace of tries does the Exeter man feel he has done enough to be reinstated from the start?
"It's not my decision," Nowell added. "I just wanted to come on and make an impact.
"Nobody wants to be a finisher, every single rugby player wants to be a starter but like I say it's not my decision, its Eddie's and he has a good idea for who he wants to go with in the team."
