England v France Rugby World Cup Semi-Final Preview
12th October, 2007
Saturday will witness the England’s most important match in four years, since the victory that won the previous Rugby Union World Cup. They come up against the host nations France, who bravely battled and came out victorious against the favourite New Zealand in the quarter-finals.
Both sides will be buoyed by huge victories that saw them through to this stage, wiping out two of the favourites to take the title. England and France suffered disappointing starts and looked like falling at the first hurdle, with the English side going down to a record 36-0 defeat to South Africa, and the French going quietly against Argentina. The coaches have both decided to stick with the 22-man squads that defied the odds last week, sure to boost the confidence of the players in recently much-changed sides .
The sides met at this stage four years ago in Sydney, where England walked out 24-7 winners and went on to win the competition. Since that day, England have lost in four out of the five meetings during the reign as ‘worst world champions ever’. England will be hoping that their forwards do the business again, putting the French on the back foot with the sheer power they exhibited against the Aussies, combined with consistent kicking from Jonny Wilkinson
The winners will go on to face either South Africa or Argentina in the final. The bookies give England from +8 to +9 handicap against the French, with Paddy Power offering 20s for a handicap draw, and full try scorer and winning margin bets refunded should a number 13 score the final try of the match.
