Six Nations: ‘It became a set piece, defence game and we excelled in that,’ says Jones after England beat auld enemy Scotland

EDINBURGH // It took Eddie Jones about 40 minutes to realise that southern hemisphere-style running rugby is not so easy on a cold winter’s day at Murrayfield, as a change of tactics enabled England to grind out a 15-9 victory in his first game.

England had looked lively in the opening quarter of the Six Nations encounter but their ambitious attacks too often came to nought, apart from a bulldozing run from lock George Kruis which put them ahead with a 14th-minute try.

After reaching the break 7-6 up, Jones’s team took a more measured approach in the second half and though they were never able to stretch clear, a second try by Jack Nowell and an increasingly dominant set piece ensured they always had their noses in front.

“We wanted to play some positive rugby, the attitude was to try to move the ball, but we were a bit off our game,” Jones told reporters.

“It’s hard to get an attacking game going when the referee allows the defence a lot of advantage at the breakdown so you have to play with that in mind and adjust.”

With their noses in front at the break, Jones said the victory was never in doubt.

“It became a set piece, defence game and we excelled in that and in the second half I thought we were commanding.

“Our data was that Scotland scored 69 per cent of their points in first 30 minutes, so at half time we were pretty confident and we won the game easily in the end, we scored two tries to nil.”

It was also a satisfying start for Dylan Hartley as captain, particularly after Jones had said he wanted to re-establish England’s pack as a unit to be feared.

“It was a bit of an arm wrestle in the first half,” said the hooker playing his first international since last year’s Six Nations after he was omitted from the World Cup squad for disciplinary reasons.

“We wanted to seek dominance at the set piece and that tends to creep in the second half. We stuck at it and when it mattered we got some dividends.”

‘Enthusiasm is good but not enough,’ says France coach Noves after last-gasp win over Italy

PARIS // France coach Guy Noves hailed his team’s enthusiasm after a hard-fought 23-21 home win against Italy in their Six Nations opener on Saturday but said Les Bleus had a lot of work to do if they wanted to be fully competitive.

France, who were knocked out of last year’s World Cup with a record defeat against New Zealand in the quarter-finals, played some lively rugby but were often shaky in defence.

“Winning is always interesting,” Noves, who took over from Philippe Saint-Andre after the World Cup, told a news conference. “Despite a very short training period ahead of the game, we managed to win and with a very refreshed team; the boys showed a lot of enthusiasm.”

“However, we did not always play with a clear head and there were no rhythm changes. We did not play fast enough. I had the feeling that players aged between 20-29 were actually 35; we’ll have to talk about this.

“It’s good to take risks but you have to be intelligent, too. Find the balance between the will to play and managing the game.”

Italy coach Jacques Brunel said: “We showed character, we showed we have an identity. We wanted to be a tough opponent and we managed that. We caused trouble to our opponents.”

Italy had a chance to win the game in injury time but Sergio Parisse fluffed a drop-goal attempt.

“I am disappointed but maybe I felt I was in the right position. I made a split-second decision. When you score it’s fine and when you don’t it shows obviously you had to do something else,” Parisse said.

Noves said that powerhouse Louis Picamoles, who limped off the pitch after less than 20 minutes, would not play against Ireland next Saturday.

“He suffered a tear in his right thigh, he’s out for the moment,” he said.

Noves praised winger Virimi Vakatawa, a sevens stalwart who played his first 15-man game in more than two years and scored France’s first try.

“He lived up to our expectations,” Noves said. “He shook his opponents, he did not overthink it for his first game. I hope he will continue to improve.”

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