England break French hearts to reach Paris finale.

England have done the unthinkable. No one thought they could do it; even captain Phil Vickery admitted he had not expected to be in the final, nonetheless, when Saturday comes, England will be there.
A fantastically courageous performance against France on Saturday has given the nation hope that England can retain their World Cup crown when they face South Africa in one week’s time. England’s pack were, s they had been against Australia, colossal. Propelled by Wilkinson’s boot, England were resolute in defence to the bitter end, resisting every last wave of French attacks. Josh Lewsey’s early try gave England the perfect start, but it seemed the men in white were happy to bide their time and play a patient game. Moreover, Brian Ashton’s game plan was executed par excellence, as England stayed within touching distance of the home side for seventy minutes, before Wilkinson, that familiar figure of heroic calm, turned the match in England’s favour in the final ten minutes; slotting home a straight forward penalty after a stunning counter attack by the outstanding Jason Robinson, before adding the coup de grace, typically for Wilkinson, it was a drop goal, which sealed France’s fate; it’s what we’ve come to expect from the man.
While Wilkinson certainly stepped up when it counted, he did not start the game in such confident fashion, missing several first half penalties and skewering a drop goal attempt just wide of the right upright. In contrast France’s young and talented fly-half, Lionel Beauxis had fewer problems in putting points on the board, albeit his three penalties were the only points that France managed to register. Even Frederic Michelak, labelled a genius by ITV’s Stuart Barnes on several irritating occasions, could not stir the home side into action, as he missed a drop goal from a more than promising position. As the clock counted down, there was still time for substitute Joe Worsley to deny Vincent Clerc a try with a fantastic, possibly match-saving tap-tackle. But France were unable to deny England this fairytale ending. A second successive World Cup Final beckons, our hearts will be on our sleeves, our fingers will be crossed, but every part of our bodies will be wiling England to produce the kind of heroic performances which they showed themselves to be capable against both Australia and France. And then, maybe, just maybe, we might be in for a real game.