NICK CAIN
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THE conundrum facing England, and especially head coach Eddie Jones, is whether the triesgalore basketball rugby being played in the Premiership is good preparation for international matches. An instinctive reaction is that when tries are waved through by Premiership defences that are disjointed and outmanoeuvred too easily, it demonstrates a lack of rigour. Defences at international level are not usually deficient in those areas.
There is also a strong sense that the refereeing approach in the Premiership involves a collusion whereby ma...