All white on the night
"Just win. That's all that matters." It was signed by Jack Charlton.
The 1966 World Cup winner got his wish, in a manner he probably enjoyed, as England smothered France with an awesome display of power and control at the Telstra Stadium.
However, beyond the pounding and the pressure, the precision of Jonny Wilkinson's boot remains the most memorable image of an utterly forgettable semi-final in Sydney.
The critics had been twisting the knife into the England fly-half this past fortnight. They had observed his anxious expression, studied his agitated demeanour, revelled in the stories of him being fused to his kicking coaching manuals while others took down time on the beach.
And they had come to the conclusion that he was only one missed drop kick away from the men in white coats.
Wrong. Not only did Wilkinson kick three drop goals and five penalties to score all his side's points, he also controlled the ebb and flow of everything England created.
Pressure?
You would hardly have known it from Wilkinson's performance.
But there were sodden heroes in white shirts all over the Telstra stadium not least in the back row where Lawrence Dallaglio, Neil Back and the ubiquitous Richard Hill, playing his first match for five weeks, brought much-needed bite and urgency to the English challenge.
Afterwards, Clive Woodward balked at the suggestion that the elements favoured his side - "I've been on holidays in France, it rains there too" - but when the heavens opened, it made for bulldozing, barging rugby, straight out of the mud fields of Middle England perfect conditions, if the truth be told, for the biggest, most fearsome forwards in the world.
England will rarely lose in such circumstances, not when they have a captain driving them on of such dogged determination and inspiring leadership as Martin Johnson.
In the first half that huge English juggernaut plundered 63% of the possession - such an unequal slice of the action that it always had French rugby's World Cup death certificate written all over it.
That was confirmed with the return to the old days of French indiscipline when they were a scrap waiting to happen Christophe Dominici gouging at the eye of Johnson and then hacking down Jason Robinson with a trip.
It landed him in the sin-bin, which had a subsequent visit from flanker Serge Betsen, after a mistimed tackle left Wilkinson pole-axed.
They were all symptoms of the increasing pressure on a French side who were denied their greatest assets mesmeric running and dazzling handling by the fickleness of the Australian weather.
"What more can you say about Jonny Wilkinson," Johnson reflected. "A lot of stick came his way this week, totally unwarranted in my view, but there you go. And he came through and played a fantastic game.
"Getting ahead and making them chase was always going to be important," he said. "We could see them start to get just a little bit frustrated and the mistakes crept in."
England coach Clive Woodward meanwhile said he was looking forward to a dream final against hosts and defending champions Australia. "If six weeks ago somebody had said what would be your dream final, I would have had to have said England v Australia," Woodward said.
The Wallabies defeated tournament favourites New Zealand 22-10 on Saturday, and the magnitude of that victory was not lost on Woodward.
"Australia were in a different league to the All Blacks on Saturday, so it's just well done to (coach) Eddie Jones and (captain) George Gregan for staying strong. It is a great final," said Woodward.
"I've been a bit surprised at how much stick the Australia team have got from the so-called experts. I thought their first-half performance against New Zealand was probably the best 40 minutes we've seen in the whole tournament.
"I thought they were outstanding, and they are where they should be in the final. Australia have got themselves there by sheer force of character. We've won the last four games against them, but I don't think that will have any bearing on the game next Saturday.
"Anyone who follows any tournament and I follow a lot of football World Cups will know you find most teams who get to the final haven't played well in every single game. That tends to happen, and it is about grinding out results."
There was also time for veteran England prop Jason Leonard to win his 112th cap.
His appearance off the bench saw him overtake Frenchman Philippe Sella's world Test appearance record.
ENGLAND: Lewsey, Robinson, Greenwood, Catt, Cohen, Wilkinson, Dawson, Woodman, Thompson, Vickery, Johnson, Kay, Hill, Back, Dallaglio. Replacements: Tindall for Catt (69), Bracken for Dawson (70), Leonard for Woodman (79), West for Thompson (79), Moody for Hill (73).
FRANCE: Brusque, Rougerie, Marsh, Jauzion, Dominici, Michalak, Galthie, Crenca, Ibanez, Marconnet, Pelous, Thion, Betsen, Magne, Harinordoquy. Replacements: Poitrenaud for Dominici (34), Merceron for Michalak (64), Milloud for Crenca (62), Labit for Betsen (64).
Attendance: 83,000
Referee: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand).
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