KEY POINTS:
PARIS - England and France meet for the 90th time in their 101-year rivalry in Saturday's World Cup semi-final at the Stade de France (8 p.m. BST).
Here are six of the best of their previous encounters:
1951 England 3 France 11, Twickenham.
France's first win at Twickenham owed almost everything to "Mr Rugby", Jean Prat, who played flanker that day but was used in a variety of other positions during his career.
Prat, who was to lead France to their first Five Nations title three years later and coached France in the 1960s, scored eight of his team's 11 points from a try, a conversion and drop goal.
1977 England 3 France 4, Twickenham.
France, in those days, had little to do with flair and relied chiefly on brutal forwards. The climate had been extremely tense in the build-up to the match and the France players were jeered when they entered the stadium.
That did not stop a team featuring superb flanker Jean-Pierre Rives and captained by pocket-sized halfback Jacques Fouroux from winning a tense, tight affair on their way to a grand slam.
Francois Sangali scored the only try after a brilliant move sparked by Jean-Claude Skrela, who later became a France coach and is now the French federation's technical director.
1980 France 13 England 17, Parc des Princes.
England's first Five Nations championship for 17 years and first grand slam for 23 was achieved on the back of their first win in Paris for 16 years.
Winger John Carleton, who was to get a hat-trick in the decider against Scotland, scored a spectacular try and Nick Preston also crossed as Bill Beaumont's team finally emerged from the shadows.
1991 England 21 France 19, Twickenham.
England had blown the grand slam against Scotland the previous season and were in no mood to do it again against a French team also chasing a clean sweep.
The game is best remembered for one of the all-time great tries, scored in classic French style from under their own posts.
Serge Blanco started the move running a missed England penalty back down the right wing. Jean-Baptiste Lafond, Philippe Sella and Didier Camberabero continued it before Philippe Saint-Andre finished it off.
France added two more excellent tries but dogged England were unconcerned. They managed one try through Rory Underwood but four Simon Hodgkinson penalties and Rob Andrew drop-goal secured their first grand slam since 1980 and a victory for brawn over beauty.
1991 France 10 England 19, World Cup quarter-final, Parc des Princes.
England travelled to Paris full of confidence having won there 26-7 the previous year and this World Cup triumph was the springboard to extend their unbeaten run over France until the third/fourth playoff at the next World Cup.
The teams were best of enemies at the time and the mood of the match was set in the second minute when Serge Blanco, in his final appearance, left England winger Nigel Heslop unconscious with a flurry of punches after being hit late.
It all played into England's hands, however, as the French abandoned any attempt to win the game with their superior talent and instead became embroiled in an unrelenting, forward-dominated physical battle.
It was level at 10-10 with five minutes to go until a controversial Jonathan Webb penalty, which crept over via the crossbar, and a Will Carling try saw England home.
1997 England 20 France 23, Twickenham
England led 20-6 after an hour but France staged a remarkable comeback with tries by Laurent Leflamand and Christophe Lamaison.
First five-eighths Lamaison was a one-man points machine, scoring 18 from a try, two conversions, two penalties and a drop goal.
France went on to win the grand slam while England removed part-time coach Jack Rowell a few months later and turned to Clive Woodward.
- REUTERS
