Oct 13, 2007, 23:10 GMT
Paris - The hero of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, Jonny Wilkinson, again broke French hearts when his late penalty and drop kick propelled holders England to a hard-fought 14-9 victory over France in Saturday's semi-final match at the Stade de France outside Paris.
Wilkinson, who had accounted for all of England's points in their 24-7 semi-final victory over France in 2003, recovered from a dismal first half, when he missed all three of his kicks, to score the decisive six points in the final five minutes of the match.
The French had led 9-8 on three penalty kicks by their 21-year-old fly half Lionel Beauxis and appeared to have a fragile control of the match, when head coach Bernard Laporte replaced Beauxis with the hero of France's quarter-final victory over New Zealand, Frederic Michalak.
In addition, hooker Dimitri Szarzewski replaced captain Raphael Ibanez, and a few minutes later wing Cedric Heymans was sent to the bench in favour of veteran Christophe Dominici.
The moves backfired, as Michalak failed to ignite the offence and England's defence began to dominate. And in the 74th minute, Szarzewski's dangerous high tackle on England fullback Jason Robinson gave Wilkinson a penalty kick from 25 metres, which he easily converted to give his side an 11-9 edge.
Wilkinson's drop kick in the 78th minute followed an elbowing penalty against France scrum half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, which eventually gave England possession well in French territory.
England had taken a 5-0 lead after only 80 seconds, when scrum half Andy Gomarsall kicked smartly into the French half and France fullback Damien Traille could not judge the bounce, allowing wing Josh Lewsey to snap up the ball and crash over Traille for the try.
But France recovered and began taking advantage of their speed, challenging the heavier English on the wings. Beauxis kicked penalties in the 8th and 18th minutes, the second from 50 metres, to give France a 6-5 lead, which they took into the second half.
Beauxis added his third penalty kick in the 44th minute, but that was the end of France's scoring. Wilkinson began the England comeback three minutes later by converting a penalty from 35 metres.
A war of attrition followed in which both sides fought fiercely for position, with the French holding a slight edge but unable to take advantage of the few opportunities the stiff England defence allowed.
The momentum began to change shortly after the French substitutions, as England defended the wings more effectively and took control of the rucks.
Many observers had said that if England was within striking distance at the hour, French nerves -- and Wilkinson's foot -- would eventually tip the match, and this is precisely what occurred.
Wilkinson has not had a brilliant tournament, converting only about 60 per cent of his kicks, but he has been on the money when it counted.
'It has been a funny story,' he said after the match. 'Some have gone over, some have not. At the start some didn't go over and I realised I had to give it my all. It got better and they went over in the end.'
With his three converted kicks, Wilkinson extended his record for World Cup points to 243. He also holds the record for points scored in World Cup knockout matches, with 109.
The loss represents a bitter loss for the hosts, who had galvanized the country with their dramatic 20-18 upset of tournament favourites New Zealand one week earlier in Cardiff.
Ibanez, who was playing in his third World Cup semi-final match, said: 'We believed in our chances to win this tournament despite our bad start (a loss to Argentina). But we knew it was going to be tough. All credit to England. It was a shame for us because we missed out so narrowly.'
England will now attempt to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cup titles when they face the winner of Sunday's semi-final between South Africa and Argentina in the Stade de France on October 20.
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