England v France preview, by Garth Hamilton
England have already played their final. France probably have too.
After the heroics of both of these teams last weekend, their semi final showdown can hardly be expected to live up to the hype of their last match. Can it?
England’s game against Australia was based around passion. Having backed themselves into a corner with several years of terrible rugby, Brian Ashton’s men found themselves beset on all sides with detractors mockingly pointing out their long and glaring list of failings. Strangely the Australian players seemed happy to get in on the act, thereby breaking sport’s golden rule of always claiming underdog status.
With pride hurt and a point to prove England came out and delivered on a simple plan. It wasn’t a plan to score marvellous tries or ascend to great levels of dashing rugby. It was simply to thwart every opportunity Australia had for good, quick and clean possession. Counter-ruck, spoil and force the turnover. Through sheer indignant willpower they achieved their result and Australia have only themselves to blame for an early exit from the tournament.
The hardest thing now for England, and for that matter Australia, to accept is that nothing has profoundly changed as a result of this game. England still have a terrible backline much as Australia still have a terrible scrum. Even with all that passionate play England were but a small gust of wind from losing to one of the worst Australian performances in recent memory. Stirling Mortlock’s last kick could have easily robbed England of a deserved victory.
The English player’s anger has been spent and the critics’ noses rubbed in it but England can’t expect France to play as poorly as the Wallabies this weekend. France will not be caught out by a team whose greatest weapon was a big chip of wood on their shoulder. French coach Bernard Laporte has already gone some way towards relieving England of that burden by piously claiming he never under-estimated them.
Ashton will need to produce a game plan to counter the expected French kicking game and he would do well to take note of the match between Scotland and Argentina. The Pumas rely upon a similar kicking game with huge garryowens just in front of their forward pack. It wasn’t until too late in the game that Scotland decided that trying to beat these Argentine forwards is next to impossible. When they passed the ball back and forward across the width of the field the Scots found holes and opportunities and so will England.
France’s ability to withstand 31 phases of New Zealand pick and drives shows they have the patience and discipline to withstand a one-dimensional game plan. England will need to move the ball away from the ruck against France and take whatever drop goals they can.
If France can take England’s punishment up front in the first half then they will lay the platform for their super-subs, Freddie Michalak and Sebastien Chabal, to win the game for them in the second. France to win by one score.
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