England are tackling new laws – coach
ENGLAND defence coach John Mitchell insists the recent spate of red cards must not deter players from making dominant tackles.
Five dismissals scarred last weekend’s round of Premiership action, while two players have been sent off in the Six Nations, Ireland’s Peter O’mahony and Zander Fagerson, of Scotland.
It comes amid an ongoing crackdown on dangerous play, especially involving the head, as the game looks to reduce instances of concussion.
England resume their Six Nations title defence against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday mindful of the need to win the battle on the gainline, while understanding the zerotolerance approach to any challenge involving the head.
“The only thing we can control is making sure we are disciplined in our practise in terms of the height of our tackles,” Mitchell said.
“That gives players a better chance to not be sanctioned, but ultimately you still really want to be dominant in your contact.
“The one way around it is that we continue to practice tackle dominance in the best possible way that is going to give the players the best chance of not receiving sanction.
“We can’t control the mitigating circumstances for slipping or sudden changes from high to low, so it’s a matter of making sure we practise the right height.
“It’s not something we paint up as a big picture and say, ‘Hey guys, look out for this’. That approach can be quite negative.”
Wales have opened the Six Nations with impressive wins against Ireland and Scotland, albeit while playing against 14 men on both occasions.
Head coach Wayne Pivac appears to have steadied the ship after his first year in charge produced a six-test losing run and they are one of only two teams still capable of winning the Grand Slam, alongside France.
“A Wales Test week is one of the best and I’ve been through a few of them. They’re extremely competitive and require us to work really, really hard for each other,” Mitchell said.
LEE Blackett has responded to Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick’s criticism of his Wasps side ‘shouting for a red card’.
For only the second time in Premiership history on Saturday, three players were dismissed during Tigers’ 27-8 victory over Wasps at the Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Jasper Wiese and Hanro Liebenberg were red carded for the hosts while former Tigers prop Brookes was given his marching orders shortly after half-time.
All three will appear before an online disciplinary panel this evening. Post match, Tigers boss Borthwick was critical of the Wasps camp for their conduct in appealing to referee Craig Maxwell-keys and his team of officials to look into the flash-point incidents.
He said: “I’m hearing people shouting for a red card that’s not what should be happening in our game and I hope that’s dealt with very clearly.”
Blackett, who has now lost both of his visits to Welford Road across his year as head coach of Wasps said:“i think it’s an emotional sport, isn’t it.
“I have too much respect for other clubs to talk about what other clubs do. If I had an issue I would speak to someone personally I wouldn’t be using the media, definitely, to get my point across to another club.
“But having said that, it’s an emotional sport, it’s an instinct. People do it. Do we want people doing it, probably not. But we’re all emotional aren’t we?”