France promise respect but no fear
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) -- France will face England with respect but without fear in Sunday's World Cup semifinal in Sydney, team manager Jo Maso stressed.
"We have a lot of respect for the England team but we have also showed we have been capable of raising our game since the start of the World Cup," Maso said on Monday. "Bernard Laporte (France coach) and I we think it will be a great game because the two teams respect each other."
Laporte said he was pleased that France had been labelled as the team to beat after they destroyed Ireland 43-21 in the quarterfinals while England struggled to overcome Wales 28-17.
"Of course we are happy to be considered, but it doesn't mean much. Frankly, I think that England still are the team to beat," he said.
"A lot of the press have been saying they were a fairly laborious side but nobody has beaten them yet.
"I was not expecting England to score 50 points against Wales. They only scored one try and the Welsh scored three but who won the game? England once again."
Laporte said England's latest victory on their way to the last four had been typical of the game they have developed over the last three years.
"They play a hard-pressure game, sticking first to the tight and kicking to win territorial advantage and then, when their opponents' defence starts to break down, they widen their game, make more passes," he said.
"They are a physical side and are very good on the turnovers and counter-attacks with players like Ben Cohen and Jason Robinson."
But Laporte also stated that England were "beatable" adding: "That's lucky because otherwise, nobody would go and face them!"
He promised: "We shall go into the game full of enthusiasm and dying to do well. We'll face England with confidence too, because over the last two years, they won once and we won once in the Six Nations.
"Sunday's game will be a kind of decider. We wanted to face England in the semifinal and here we are. It's very exciting."
