Old enemies braced for high-stakes showdown

AS THE English and French assembled their heavy artillery for this morning’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final, a common thrum of tension resonated in both camps with the stakes ratcheted as high as can be.

As well as a place in the last four, the winners of the Eden Park battle will be afforded redemption for lukewarm group stage performances. The losers, however, can expect a torrid examination back home.

So while both camps erect the siege barricades, claiming to be only concerned about themselves and not their opponents, there is no doubt both know precisely what to expect from their old enemy, and what needs to be done.

“In the past France has traditionally needed this kind of electro-shock to give its best,” French coach Marc Lievremont said yesterday. “We need to prove a point. We have had a good week ... concentration and commitment has been bigger [in training] than in previous matches, that’s for sure. Now we need to prove, on the pitch, that we have had a good week. We have to prove that we can play very well on the pitch, for the French support and for ourselves.”

England appear to have struck an early psychological blow with the inclusion of Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood in the same side. “Yes, it is one more complexity for us,” Lievremont nodded.

But five forwards on the English bench came as no surprise. “It shows that they are wary of our pack and that they will meet us with a big physical challenge,” said French flanker Thierry Dusautoir.

“England has always succeeded against France in the World Cup, and that adds to the tension in this match. The essential is what we will do not what has been said. I want to see a team that fights. The most important thing is the way we start this match.”

England, too, want only to look forwards and put behind them a group stage where the media focus was as much on off-pitch behaviour as mediocre performances.

“We’re here, it doesn’t matter what’s happened in the four games. They [France] have got here on two losses and they’re through,” coach Martin Johnson said. “We’re here in a quarter-final, we’ve won our pool and it’s exactly where we want to be but we know we’ve got to play better without a doubt.

“We have to get on top of them. We can’t think of them except at their absolute best. We have to put our game on them. If you are dominating possession and dominating territory, it doesn’t matter what they can do.

“We have to take hold of the game from the start. That’s the battle and they will be trying to do the same to us.”

Captain Lewis Moody echoed his coach’s thoughts: “I think we need to focus on our performance and I think we have done that and are getting into the right mindset for the game. We are well aware of what France are capable of.”