Confusion as Chiefs penalised for using same ruck tactic as Italy

During their 2015 encounter with The Stormers, The Chiefs used the same ruck tactic as Italy implemented against England.

However on that occasion the referee had a different interpretation.

Italy shocked the rugby world during their most recent Six Nations encounter by not committing to the ruck and advancing past the tackled player to cut off passing lanes.

The tactic caught England off guard, not allowing them to spread the ball wide.

In turn it actually made the match far more competitive than many thought it would have been.

See how they utilised the tactic in the video below.

However in 2015, a similar tactic drew a penalty against the Chiefs from referee Jaco Pyper.

See that incident in the video at the top of the page.

The following rule is crucial to determine whether or not this tactic can be legal or not.

Rule 15.6 (d) dictates that: 'At a tackle or near to a tackle, other players who play the ball must do so from behind the ball and from directly behind the tackled player or the tackler closest to those players’ goal line.'

Therefore during the Chiefs game, Pyper determined that players were approaching the ball from an illegal direction.

However referee Romain Poite never pinned Italy for doing the same, even though they did approach the tackled player from the wrong direction, although admittedly not as blatantly.

Both referees confidently dealt with each situation but surely the rules need to be clarified to avoid confusion in the future?

Is any movement towards the tackled player illegal? Or is it only illegal when you approach extremely close to the tackled player?

Clearly the Chiefs come closer to the tackled player, but where is the line?

Italy coach Conor O'Shea defended his side's tactics after the match against England.

"We came here to win," insisted O'Shea after a defeat that meant Italy have lost all 23 of their Tests against England.

"Today we were legal and we played to the law. We are not going to roll over and we are going to fight."

Meanwhile, England coach Eddie Jones accused Italy of playing "Trevor Chappell" rugby after the Azzurri threatened a huge upset in Sunday's Six Nations clash at Twickenham.