France 19-12 England
True to form, France produced a performance out of nothing to qualify for the World Cup semi-final with a defeat of England that was more comprehensive than the scoreline suggests.
Rumoured to be in disarray after two defeats in the pool stages, France rushed out of the blocks in Auckland and chalked up an unassailable 16-point advantage at the break thanks to two penalties from Dmitri Yachvilli and tries from Maxime Medard and that man Vincent Clerc.
England, perhaps buying into the reports of unrest in the France camp, were blown away by the ferocity and quality of the French performance as Les Bleus produced the type of rugby we all know they are capable of.
Predictably and typically, France took their foot off the pedal after the break and England rallied with tries from Ben Foden and Mark Cueto to give them a fighting chance of making a comeback.
Instead, Francois Trinh-Duc popped over a drop goal to increase the gap between the sides and what has been a turbulent World Cup campaign for Martin Johnson’s side came crashing to a unceremonious halt.
France, on the other hand, march on to the last four, with Wales standing in the way of a place in the final. As to what will happen from here on in, who knows? This is France after all.
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