SCOTLAND hooker Ross Ford has insisted he would have been ready for the tactical ploy by Italy that befuddled England in their last Six Nations game - because Glasgow tried it against Edinburgh a couple of years ago.

By not throwing men into the tackle to make it a ruck, the Italians were able to stand around the ball rather than forming the usual defensive line further back. The English players were so confused that a couple of them actually asked the referee for advice - only to be told that he was a match official, not their coach, so he could not help them.

England won in the end, but their coach Eddie Jones complained afterwards that the Italians had ruined the game as a spectacle, and there have been calls for the laws to be changed to prevent the same thing happening again. But Ford, who is expected to be cover for Warriors hooker Fraser Brown in Saturday’s Calcutta Cup match at Twickenham, said there was nothing wrong with what the Italians had done - and that every team had to be prepared to cope with unusual tactics.

“It’s not the first time we’ve seen it,” Ford said yesterday. “We had it done against us - Glasgow tried it a couple of years ago against Edinburgh, and it’s one of the things you deal with on the pitch.

“We dealt with it. From the first kick-off we were kind of aware they were doing it, because we’d seen them do it before.

“It’s one of those things you have to be prepared for. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just a way of disrupting a team’s flow - but if you do it you leave yourself exposed in other ways.

“Maybe they were caught up in the flow of the game,” he continued when asked if he has surprised that England had taken so long to adjust. “They maybe got a bit flustered, but that’s something you have to deal with.

“There’s always words coming on from coaches up top, feeding in information on things we could do better. Maybe the messages didn’t get down quite quickly enough or there was no opportunity.”

England’s eventual 36-15 victory extended their winning streak to 17 Tests and has kept them on course to win the Grand Slam for the second year running. But the fact it took them so long to cope with an unexpected tactic could mean that they are not too good at thinking on their feet - and that might inspire Scotland to try a few tricks of their own on Saturday.

“It’s just being innovative and looking at different ways within the rules,” Ford added. “It opens up different areas and places to attack, and England managed to sort it out and they did look dangerous once they did.

“When you’re analysing teams you’re looking at ways to disrupt them and the flow to give yourself an opportunity. When they’re under pressure they’re maybe not thinking too clearly and it allows you time and you can go into things with more certainty.”