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Live Commentary
Time:80'- England
- France
81' Dallaglio concedes penalty and France run it. They need a try and move into England's 22m area. England have turned it over and are into the final!!!! AMAZING STUFF. THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!- 80' Dallaglio controls scrum well and Flood puts it into row Z. One more chance for France.
79' England make a mess of the restart and France launch an attack, but it's knocked on in midfield. Scrum England with one minute to go!
78' England still have the ball. Are they going for a drop goal - yes they are and Wilkinsion nails a beauty!! 14-9 England!- 77' England win lineout and keep it tight. Their forwards are making gradual yards into the France 22m area.
- 76' Sackey and Flood take on Chabal and force him into touch. Lineout England! Wrong option there from the big man. Touch judge has seen an offense - elbow - and England awarded penalty. Wilkinson finds a safe touch deep in France's half.
- 74' Szarzewski high on Robinson and England have a penalty directly in front of France's posts. Wilkinson makes no mistakes and give England an 11-9 lead. This is unbearable!
- 73' England force turnover and Wilkinso kicks long, Michalak returns the favour and Robinson runs the ball back. It's recycled to Flood who scuffs a long drop goal attempt. Wrong option!
- 72' Lovely take by Richards and Wilkinson finds touch on the halfway line. England need to get some field position as they've been defending for a long period now.
- 71' Michalak is down, so is Wilkinson. They're dropping like flies at the moment and you can see why! Wilkinson looks like he's winded and should be ok. Michalak has taken a bang to the face
70' Chip from Traille almost puts Dominici clear but Gomarsall back and covers well. The scrum-half has taken a knock for his troubles and is replaced by Richards.- 70' Dallaglio on for Easter.
- 69' France makes a mess of their scrum and England win a penalty to clear the danger. Lineout England on their 10m line.
- 69' Flood on for Catt. Nervous moment for the young Newcastle Falcon!
- 68' Michalak kicks across field and Bonnaire taps the ball back in, Clerc is clear but Worsley makes stunning tap tackle. Chabal continues the move but is hauled down metres short. 5m scrum to France!
- 66' Chuter is on for Regan and Harinordoquy for Betsen. Critical phase of the game!
- 66' France win lineout and launch a good rolling maul. Michalak puts over a chip but Tait is back well to cover and touch down for a 22m drop out.
- 66' Shaw is put clear down the right but the ball is spilled in the tackle and Elissalde kicks deep into England's half and Robinson forced to kick for touch and concede lineout on their 22m line.
- 64' Huge defence from England and superb hit by Stevens on Chabal. Stevens has had a great game since he came on!
- 63' Great tackle from Easter and Stevens forces turnover. Gomarsall kicks over and Sackey chases well but Traille takes a superb catch.
- 60' France clear their lines but miss touch and Robinson breaks free and makes superb run into France's 22m area. Stevens continues the move but concedes penalty for not releasing. England have their tails up here!
- 58' Gomarsall puts up another box kick but it's too long and Heymans takes comfortable mark! But England have a lineout in France's half. Wilkinson goes for drop kick but he hits the post!
- 57' Huge high ball from Michalak but stunning take from Sackey. Wilkinson kicks up field and Jauzion finds touch just inside France half.
- 56' Stevens on for Vickery!
- 55' Superb counter rucking from England forces a turnover after Gomarsall scrags Elissdale.
- 54' Tait back to clear an over-kicked chip from Michalak. He touches down but could have let it go dead for a scrum back! Mistake from Tait!
- 53' Big scrum from France but Elissalde is forced into an amazing reverse pass. Clerc makes some ground but Michalak then misses a drop at goal. Relief for England!
- 52' Substitutions make an immediate impact and England forced into conceding 5m scrum from Elissalde chip ahead.
- 51' Szarzewski on for Ibanez and Michalak for Beauxis with just under 30 minutes to go!
- 50' Tait almost makes a complete mess of a chip from Beauxis but England scramble back to clear the danger. Phew!
- 49' Gomarsall too long with his box kick and France get 22 drop out.
- 48' Thion concedes penalty from restart and England find touch on the halfway line.
- 47' Wilkinson kicks a superb touchline penalty to make it 9-8. Well played Wilko!
- 45' Heymans charged down by Easter and France have 22m drop out. England make some yards through the midfield after good work by Moody and Hipkiss makes some ground before putting tait clear. The wing is hauled down but France then concede penalty. Great passage of play from England and superb play from Moody and Hipkiss!
- 44' Easter blown for coming in from the side and Beauxis kicks another goal to extend France's lead to 9-5. All of France's points have come from England mistakes!!
- 43' Poor pass from Wilkinson to Vickery and England's skipper knocks on. Scrum down to France. England must slow this down a bit and get some go forward. There's plenty of time and they are only a point behind so no need to panic!
- 41' Great start by England as Moody makes some hard yards. Sackey finds a bit of room but the ball is spilled and France kick up field. Hipkiss forced into rearguard defence and does very well to hold up play for his fellow defenders to get back.
41' Wilkinson gets the game restarted with a neat little drop kick to Shaw, which the big man takes superbly!- 40' Ref blows for half time and France just about deserve their slender 6-5 lead. England are still very much in this game and if they can cut out the mistakes there is no reason why they cannot win it. Next score witll be crucial, but if England are close going into the last 15 minutes then the pressure on France will be immense! What a second half we have in store!
- 40' Sloppy lineout from England and Gomarsall forced to kick. Lewsey struggling with a hamstring, so Hipkiss comes on and Tait moves out to the wing.
- 39' Poor pass from Catt puts Tait under pressure but the young centre clears up well and England are able to set up one last attacking opportunity in France's half before half-time.
- 37' Tait forces Marty to knock on, fortunately for England as France had men clear outside.
- 36' Beauxis again tests Robinson but again the fullback is safe under the highball, calling the mark and then feeding Catt to kick back up field.
- 33' Gomarsall tries a kick over the top but it's too long and Heymans takes an easy mark and finds a good touch in England's half. Kay taps the ball down but Betsen is through quickly to steal the ball and set up drop kick chance for Beauxis - but it's short and Robinson again finds a good touch.
- 33' Moody forces a turnover and Robinson finds a good touch to take the pressure off England.
- 32' Lovely kick from Beauxis forces Sackey into running the ball into touch and conceding a lineout in England's 22. France playing to a good gameplan here!
- 31' Chabal is down now - looks like he took a knock tackling Vickery! But the Seabass is up again, much to the delight of the French fans. Simon Shaw earlier tried a chip through, which was not what England want!
- 29' Penalty to England for Betsen coming in from the side. Wilkinson opts for a pop at goal from about 7m inside France's half. Just short - again! That's three misses for England's talisman this evening!
- 28' Series of aerial ping-pong ends with an England lineout 10m inside their own half. England need to sharpen up their kicking as they are allowing Traille to recover from his earlier mistake!
- 26' Good passage of possession for England and Wilkinson goes for a long drop goal, which just misses!
- 25' Pelous looks injured and Chabal is ready to come on. Big loss for France!
- 23' Robinson makes a mess of kick and gives away a lineout in England 22m area, but good tackling - including a huge hit from Wilkinson on Pelous - and a poor kick Beauxis allows them to clear the danger.
- 21' Lovely kick from Beauxis, Lewsey makes a mess of it and England need to win lineout in their own 22.
- 21' England have allowed France back into this game and need to tighten up or they are going to find themselves further behind by half-time!
- 20' England concede penalty at the line-out and Regan then gives away another 10m for not allowing France to take a quick tap! Poor discipline from England is costing them dearly!
- 19' Superb touch finder from Catt moves England into France 22m area.
- 18' Great kick from Beauxis gives France a 6-5 lead!
- 17' Another superb scrum from the English allows Easter to make good yards, only for Corry to knock on! France win penalty from the ensuing scrum for Sheridan not allowing de Villiers to bind properly.
- 16' Promising passage of attacking play by France stretches England's defence, only for a forward pass to halt the move. First real signs of danger from the hosts!
- 14' Beauxis puts up a bomb which Easter does well to gather, only for Catt to slice his clearance. France kick back upfield and Catt gets another go. This time traille takes the catch and France counter.
- 13' Moody again has Beauxis in his sights and this time the stand-off misses touch and allows England to kick back up field.
- 11' England get a superb shove on the France pack but Easter makes a mess at the base of the scrum and England are forced backwards. Major opportunity missed by the English but at least they know they have an edge up front!
- 10' Ibanez steals the lineout but Beauxis again charged down and France concede a 5m scrum! Superb chance for England!
- 9' Thion superb at the restart but Traille finds a nervous touch, giving England line-out in France's half.
- 7' Beauxis drop goal charged down but Betsen gets a lucky bounce and allows France to launch an attack, which results in a penalty for the hosts as England go over the top. Beauxis makes it 5-3 with an easy penalty goal.
- 6' Well played Gomarsall, the England scrum-half upsetting his opposite number Elissalde and forcing a turn over.
- 4' England win the restart well and Wilkinson finds a good touch. France win their own lineout and Beauxis puts up a high ball, which Robinson marks cleanly. Nice play from the England fullback.
1 Amazing. Lewsey has scored, chasing down a superb kick from Gomarsall after France had conceded a free-kick at the scrum. Where was Traille? No where by the looks of it! 5-0 England.
1 Beauxis gets the game underway and immediately France knock on. Early chance for England to test the French pack.- - Centre Yannick Jauzion, so important to France, has his left thigh strapped and looks to be carrying a hamstring injury.
- These two teams met at the same stage in 2003 and French fans need no reminding what happened that day. But France are a stronger side this time around and England will need to be at the very top of their game to upset the hosts.
- It is a perfect evening in Paris and there is an electric atmopshere at the Stade de France. This is what the World Cup is all about!- - Both England and France have kept the same starting line-ups that won their quarter-finals against Australia and New Zealand last weekend. They have also named the same players in reserve, an area where France certainly have an upper hand.
- - Bon soir and welcome to Eurosport's live online coverage of the Le Crunch from the Stade de France in Paris, the much-anticipated World Cup semi-final between hosts France and defending champions England.
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Summary
England versus France Lewsey 2’ Tries Conversions Wilkinson 47’, 74’ Penalties Beauxis 8’, 17’, 43’ Wilkinson 77’ Drops
Live Team Line-Up
- Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
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EnglandManager: Brian Ashton
On the Field
- Sheridan
- Regan
- Vickery
- Shaw
- Kay
- Corry
- Moody
- Easter
- Gomarsall
- Wilkinson
- Lewsey
- Catt
- Tait
- Sackey
- Robinson
Subs
- Chuter
- Dallaglio
- Worsley
- Richards
- Stevens
- Hipkiss
- Flood
Injured
None
Suspended
None
-
FranceManager: Bernard Laporte
On the Field
- Milloud
- Ibanez
- De Villiers
- Pelous
- Thion
- Betsen
- Dusautoir
- Bonnaire
- Elissalde
- Beauxis
- Heymans
- Jauzion
- Marty
- Clerc
- Traille
Subs
- Harinordoquy
- Dominici
- Poitrenaud
- Chabal
- Poux
- Michalak
- Szarzewski
Injured
None
Suspended
None
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Group Tables
| Pos. | Team | Pts | Pl | W | D | L | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pool A | |||||||
| 1 | South Africa | 19 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 142 |
| 2 | England | 14 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 20 |
| 3 | Tonga | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -7 |
| 4 | Samoa | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -74 |
| 5 | United States | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -81 |
| Pool B | |||||||
| 1 | Australia | 20 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174 |
| 2 | Fiji | 15 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -22 |
| 3 | Wales | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 63 |
| 4 | Japan | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -146 |
| 5 | Canada | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -69 |
| Pool C | |||||||
| 1 | New Zealand | 20 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 274 |
| 2 | Scotland | 14 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 50 |
| 3 | Italy | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -32 |
| 4 | Romania | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -121 |
| 5 | Portugal | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -171 |
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