by Simon Mills, posted 17-11-2003
Clive Woodward will lead his side into their �dream final� against the Wallabies next Saturday night.
Woodward � who lived in Sydney for five years while playing for Manly - had backed Australia to reach the final before the start of the tournament. And now the sides will go head to head after Jonny Wilkinson booted France out of the tournament in torrential rain at the Telstra Stadium. The fly-half landed five conversions and three drop-goals after England�s forwards dominated the second half of the game.
"We are very proud. We have come here to try and win the World Cup and we are now one game away from it,� said Woodward. "I am very pleased for the team and they thoroughly deserve it. It's a great final now. I am really very pleased we are going to be there. �I�ve been surprised how much people have been getting stuck into the Australian team and Eddie Jones. Australia in that first half were outstanding. Now we�re the only team left who can beat them. If six weeks ago you�d asked me what would be my dream final it would have been England v Australia.�
Woodward made light of claims that the conditions suited his side more than Les Bleus. Serge Betsen poached the game�s only try in the 10th minute but Frederic Michalak�s conversion was the only other score France could manage as they folded under the pressure. Christophe Dominici was sent to the sin-bin before the break for tripping Jason Robinson and Betsen followed midway through the second half for his late hit on Wilkinson. �I�ve been to France on holiday and I know it rains a lot there,� said Woodward. �I think we�d have beaten France if it was dry and hard. It�s about winning and moving on.
�We played the conditions pretty well � you can�t do anything about it � there was a lot of pressure poured on us but we just got on with it. The whole squad came through and now we can go on to Saturday night. Martin Johnson will be the first England captain to lead his side to a World Cup final since Will Carling was in charge of the team that lost 12-6 at Twickenham in 1991. The England captain revealed he had called for the team to play with �passion and emotion� to subdue the French at the start of the game. And he singled out Wilkinson, who scored all of England�s 24 points, for his �brilliant� performance in the wet.
�It hasn�t sunk in that we�re in the World Cup final because we�ve been focusing on this game,� said Johnson. �We�ve got a chance now to win the ultimate prize in the game. We�ve got a shorter week than them and now we�ll prepare for it. �Betsen�s try was a bit of a shock but I didn�t have to say anything after it. Defensively we were fairly confident of stopping them scoring. We crawled ahead just before half-time and they had to play catch-up which was difficult in the conditions. �Jonny controlled the game brilliantly, he kept us ticking over with his kicking game. A lot of stick came his way in the week � people were asking if he�d turned a corner � but he played a brilliant game. �We wanted to be passionate and play with a lot of emotion, get a good start and be physical with the French. It was about stopping them going forward. It�s a simple game: win the ball and go forward and play a good kicking game.�
Wallabies come up trumps in semi-final
Written off by many in the lead-up to this weekend - even by us - the Wallabies silenced everyone by advancing to a record third Rugby World Cup Final. We rate the players responsible.
FULLBACK: MAT ROGERS
Rogers put in one of his best performances of the tournament to date and seems to have put his handling problems behind him. He was a rock on defence at the back and proved to be as dangerous on attack as ever, constantly threatening the All Black defence.
Player rating: 8/10
RIGHT-WING: WENDELL SAILOR
He did not have the best of nights, despite putting in a big tackle on his opposite number Joe Rokocoko early on. His defence was tested and found wanting when the All Blacks ran in their only try and Sailor was often found to be off his man. On attack he was disappointing and seldom broke the line for the Wallabies.
Player rating: 5/10
OUTSIDE CENTRE: STIRLING MORTLOCK
Simply superb! The Wallaby centre can take a bow for a great day at the office on attack and defence. Mortlock proved to be the game-breaker the Wallabies have been lacking until now as he consistently troubled the defence and broke through almost every time he touched the ball. His intercept try early on put his team on the front foot and his staunch defence kept them there.
Player rating: 9/10
INSIDE CENTRE: ELTON FLATLEY
Solid as always, Flatley did not prove to be as sterling on attack as his midfield partner, but he was certainly not lacking in the department and his defence was fantastic as he put in some telling hits and was seldom beaten. His golden boot also made sure that the Wallabies kept rolling on.
Player rating: 7/10
LEFT-WING: LOTE TUQIRI
Tuqiri is growing in stature with each game he plays and he had another big one against the All Blacks. His defence has improved immensely and that was highlighted by his try-saving tackle on All Black fullback Mils Muliaina early on. The former Rugby League flyer was an awesome force on attack and his gathering of Spencer's high ball on the run was simply sublime.
Player rating: 8/10
FLY-HALF: STEPHEN LARKHAM
Larkham chose the perfect time to return to his best and he overshadowed his highly-rated opposite number - Carlos Spencer - completely. The Wallaby No.10s angles of running were a treat to watch and he ghosted through the All Blacks defence with ease. His defence and option-taking were superb and his kicking out of hand was accurate.
Player rating: 9/10
SCRUM-HALF: GEORGE GREGAN (CAPTAIN)
Gregan's passing is still proving to be a concern and he placed Larkham under some unnecessary pressure at times, but he did not do much else wrong. He kept his team motivated and was more effective than Justin Marshall and Byron Kelleher.
Player rating: 7/10
NO.8: DAVID LYONS
The big No.8 was strong off the back of the scrums and was used largely as a runner around the fringes. He was solid rather than spectacular and did everything that was to be expected of him. Not his best game, but not his worst either.
Player rating: 6/10
NO.7 FLANK: PHIL WAUGH
Not much was seen of the little Wallaby dynamo and it has to be said that he was outplayed by his opposite number Richie McCaw on the night. He didn't get around as much as Smith and he will not consider the game as a memorable one.
Player rating: 6/10
NO.6 FLANK: GEORGE SMITH
Smith was not seen much in attack, adopting more of a defensive role and, again, he did not put a foot wrong. He was a terror at the breakdown and secured a good amount of turnover ball for his team. His tackle count was astronomical once again.
Player rating: 7/10
NO.5 LOCK: NATHAN SHARPE
The line-outs were considered a weakness ahead of the game, but Sharpe was back to form against the All Blacks. He was secure on his own throw and was used to good effect as a ball-carrier before being replaced by David Giffin after receiving a heavy knock to the head and later to the knee.
Player rating: 7/10
NO.4 LOCK: JUSTIN HARRISON
Harrison put in a monstrous performance when the Wallabies needed it most. The big second rower proved almost infallible on his own ball and was a constant threat on the All Blacks' throw and pinched a fair amount of ball. He provided the Wallaby pack with some much-needed aggression in the tight exchanges and will have secured his spot in the starting XV for the Final.
Player rating: 8/10
PROP: BEN DARWIN
Darwin did what was needed of him in the scrums and the line-outs before his game came to a sad end as he was stretchered off the field following a collapsed scrum.
Player rating: 7/10
HOOKER: BRENDAN CANNON
He continues to shine for the Wallabies and is arguably the most improved player this season. After a shaky start in the line-outs, that saw a throw pilfered by the All Blacks, Cannon never looked troubled and he grew in stature as the game progressed. Strong in the tight and the loose, Cannon would be happy with his performance.
Player rating: 8/10
PROP: BILL YOUNG
Much the same as Darwin, Young did what he was there to do. He was solid in the scrums and he provided support in the line-outs in an impressive forward performance.
Player rating: 7/10
REPLACEMENTS:
JEREMY PAUL:
The Brumbies star struggled in the line-outs after replacing Cannon, but featured well in the loose. Didn't have much opportunity to prove himself, but did not do anything to seriously challenge for the No.2 jumper.
AL BAXTER:
Like Paul, Baxter did not have much time to impress, but while on the field he did the basics and added some fresh legs to the Wallaby pack. Could find himself in the starting line-up if Darwin does not recover from his injury.
DAVID GIFFIN:
He was solid in all the aspects of his game after replacing Sharpe. Giffin was not used as predominantly as the man he replaced on attack, but rather kept his head buried in the engine room.
NATHAN GREY/JOE ROFF:
The duo were not on the field long enough to be rated by us.
By Rob Peters
Send eMail to - Joseph Lynn Oliver