Photos: Key semifinal match-upsKEY POINTS:
Jonny Wilkinson spent the best part of two hours firing rugby balls at the Stade de France posts yesterday. They were not any old balls, but the balls set aside for tomorrow's World Cup semifinal with the host nation.
Those followers of the reigning champions who believe Wilkinson needs all the practice he can get - the celebrated five-eighths from Newcastle is struggling more badly with his marksmanship in this tournament than at any point in his international career - will be relieved to learn that things went well. "I'm happy with where I am," he said after the session.
The problem? Wilkinson was also happy before the games against Tonga and Australia, in which he missed kicks so simple - that is to say, simple by his supreme standard - that his success rate dropped to an almost subterranean 62.5 per cent.
The fact that Stirling Mortlock, the Wallaby captain, had a shot to win last weekend's tight quarter-final in Marseille was largely down to his rival's unprecedented frailty in front of the sticks.
However sanguine Wilkinson may have seemed, it has become a major concern for the holders as they challenge for the right to defend their title.
Much has been made of issues with the Synergie balls made by the Gilbert company - issues initially highlighted by All Black five-eighths Daniel Carter.
At the request of the tournament organisers, Gilbert carried out tests, in the laboratory and in field conditions. They found no defects.
"We were taken aback by the comments made and the subsequent damaging media coverage," said Gilbert's sales and marketing director, Richard Gray. "There was no basis for it. Of course, it is sometimes more difficult to adapt to a ball if you have been used to a different product."
World Cup officials have noted that both Wilkinson and Carter are associated with a rival sports equipment manufacturer.
Yesterday, Wilkinson distanced himself from any direct criticism of the balls used in this competition. "As a fairly honest person, I've always placed the blame for missed kicks on myself," he said.
"It can be difficult to get used to new rugby balls, just as it's difficult to get used to varying wind conditions. Some of the kicks in this tournament have left me at a loose end, because they've either missed when I thought they were right or gone over when I thought they were missing.
"Is it a big deal? It is if you want to make it so, but it hasn't been talked about inside the camp and speaking personally, it hasn't troubled me."
Yes, yes. But did he consider the balls to be defective, or harbour suspicions along those lines? "You're asking me to go into areas I don't really understand," he replied.
"There would have to be some pretty complex tests and we really don't have time for them right now. I'm happy I was given the opportunity to use all six match balls ahead of this game, though. Until now, we've been restricted to a couple for the stadium visit and a couple for the warm-up."
Chris Paterson, the Scotland goal-kicker, managed a 100 per cent return in his five matches, succeeding with all 17 shots at goal before bowing out at the quarter-final stage. Francois Steyn, the South African centre, also has a faultless record, although three from three is not quite as meaningful.
Nick Evans of New Zealand and Loki Crichton of Samoa are joint-third in the table, boasting a 90.9 per cent rate, with another Scottish kicker, Dan Parks, in fifth with 85.71 per cent. Wilkinson has ground to make up, despite being newly anointed as the most prolific accumulator of points in World Cup history.
Tomorrow, Wilkinson will face the brilliant 21-year-old Stade Francais stand-off Lionel Beauxis for the first time. Beauxis, who hit the spot with a crucial long-range penalty against the All Blacks in Cardiff last week, had been capped only half a dozen times before this tournament, yet had been lumbered with the entirely predictable "French Wilkinson" tag since kicking his country to the World Under-21 title last year. His countrymen are praying that he fares better than Frederic Michalak, who faced the Englishman at this stage in 2003 and saw his game fall apart. "I really don't know about 'the new Wilkinson'," the original version commented, "but he's clearly a hell of a player. For someone so young to carry the weight of expectation and perform with such direction, such composure and with a real desire to express himself well, I didn't have that about me when I was his age.
"As far as 2003 is concerned, four years have passed, most of which I've spent watching rugby rather than playing it because of my injury problems. It was a good day, but it's long gone. I think we saw more than enough from this current France team last weekend to understand how strong and balanced they have become. There has been an enormous amount of pressure on them, and they'll have felt it most in their dressing room in Cardiff before the meeting with New Zealand. To withstand such a barrage from the No 1 team on the planet was outstanding."
Sitting alongside Wilkinson yesterday was his young Newcastle club-mate Toby Flood, who will take over the kicking duties should anything happen to the main man. Flood should have been selected in the squad in the first place - his cool-headed contribution in the final quarter of the victory over Australia reinforced the point - but he had to wait for an injury to Jamie Noon before being summoned. He admitted to being "devastated" at missing out.
His presence gave Wilkinson a chance to talk about the values that underpin his chosen sport. "Am I passing on my knowledge to Toby? If anything, I'm holding things back so I can continue playing for England a little longer," he joked.
"Seriously, I take the view that if a player helps a colleague be the best he can be, he helps himself in the process. It's an unwritten law of our game, recognised by honest, unselfish rugby people."
- Independent
