Coping with the Cup cauldron

AFTER one of the most amazing weekends in the history of the World Cup we are left with semi-final pairings that few would have predicted.

On so many occasions in the past this tournament has been far too predictable, with shocks at a premium. The sight therefore of New Zealand and Australia bidding au revoir at the quarter-final stage has enabled both France and Argentina to dream that a first-ever tournament success could be on the cards.

South Africa now carries the torch for the SANZAR countries as they seek to emulate Francois Pienaar and the class of 1995. Holders England, who at one stage looked as if they could be eliminated by Tonga, will now fancy their chances of becoming the first side to retain the Webb Ellis trophy.

What a difference a few weeks can make. Had you consoled Brian Ashton on the morning after England’s 36-0 demolition by South Africa or comforted Bernard Laporte after their opening night defeat to Argentina that their respective sides would meet in the semi-final they would have checked to see the whereabouts of the padded van.

Now as a reward for their respective victories over the best of Australasia, we are set for a repeat of the 2003 semi-final which England won 24-7. On that night in Sydney the heavens opened and France were beaten even before Jonny Wilkinson kicked off. Now, in their own backyard, the opportunity for revenge and the carrot of a home final beckons.

To their credit, both have shown immense mental strength to recover from extremely poor starts to the tournament. France in particular defied all the odds in travelling to Cardiff to defeat a New Zealand side that at half time looked home and hosed. Their mental fortitude and ability to change tactics when the need was greatest will have worked wonders for their confidence.

The challenge for Bernard Laporte’s side, having beaten England twice in World Cup warm-up games in August, is to ensure that complacency plays no role this evening. Perhaps they should focus more on how they lost 26-18 to England in the Six Nations at Twickenham in March.

England were written off by all bar their own two weeks ago. Even within the squad, the senior players were unhappy with the direction coming from the coaching staff and never anticipated getting this far. When it mattered most however, the experienced heads, in particular Phil Vickery, Jonny Wilkinson, Martin Corry and Mike Catt took control and devised a strategy to beat Australia.

That victory in Marseille was a direct product of a dominant scrum and the ferocity with which the forwards competed at the breakdown. That work was complemented further by the intelligence that Andy Gomarsall, Wilkinson and Catt brought to bear in terms of the use of possession.

England have got to this stage by accident and their record since Martin Johnson lifted the trophy four years ago has been incredibly poor. Up to this semi-final, England have played 30 internationals in a row without ever selecting the same starting 15.

Their Achilles’ heel against stronger opposition has been the failure to score tries, registering no five-pointers against either South Africa or Australia. If England are to win tonight then they must rectify that problem.

The difficultly here however is, despite conceding two tries against New Zealand, defensively the French are outstandingly well organised. Nowhere was this better exemplified than the manner in which they defended their try line, despite the All Blacks going through 26 phases of play in the closing minutes in Cardiff. The confidence and self belief that instils in a side is immeasurable.

Laporte, for once, has named an unchanged line-up but one wonders does anyone get concussed in professional rugby any more. The inclusion of Serge Betson is surprising to say the least.

France have already stared down the barrel of elimination in this tournament and having been offered a second chance are unlikely to slip up once again. They do struggle at times however to produce quality back-to-back performances. England’s ageing forwards gave a master class against Australia but the question remains with four in the pack between 33 and 36 will they be able to repeat the dose?

The second semi-final tomorrow night between South Africa and Argentina offers a unique pairing with the Parisian and perhaps even the remnants of New Zealand and Australian support getting behind Los Pumas. For me Argentina have been the story of the tournament, their performances in the pool stages setting them apart.

Understandably, for a team that expends so much emotional energy, they looked exhausted against Scotland last Sunday. Hopefully Marcelo Loffreda, who has got everything else right in this tournament so far, has placed a priority on rest and recuperation in the days building up to this clash.

Protecting a vulnerable six-point lead with minutes to go against the Scots, Argentina could have conceded the try that would have almost certainly eliminated them given the kicking prowess of Chris Patterson. Having survived that scare they are back in familiar territory as underdogs.

Springbok coach Jake White can’t believe the route his side has taken in the past few weeks. He now faces the distinct possibility of reaching a World Cup final without engaging any of the world superpowers in the knock-out stages. That said, Fiji provided a major challenge last weekend and exposed frailties in the Boks’ defensive armour.

With the exception of the clinical dismantling of England in the pool stages, South Africa have been competent without ever having to extend themselves. Argentina will ask serious questions of a South African pack that is accustomed to bullying all before them. The battle of the back rows and in particular the clash between the youthful exuberance of Shalk Burger against the indomitable presence of Gonzalo Longo will be fascinating.

Argentina have revived the Garrowen and used it with better effect than any other side in the tournament. While Juan Martin Hernandez will continue with this tactic to expose the fragility of Percy Montgomery at full back, if Agustin Pichot’s men are to win then they must show greater confidence in their attacking game.

Both Fiji and Tonga proved that South Africa’s defence is vulnerable from broken play and Hernandez must seek to exploit this. Ignacio Corleto is an outstanding broken field runner and he, along with Felipe Contepomi and the under-estimated Lucas Borges, have the ability to split any defence.

South Africa have adopted an air of world champions-in-waiting with the experienced Os du Randt expressing the view that wining the World Cup without beating New Zealand or Australia is somewhat flawed. On the basis of last weekend, du Randt and his team-mates would be well advised to concentrate on the task at hand. If this World Cup has taught us anything, it’s that nothing should be taken for granted. Argentina have every chance of proving that once again tomorrow night.