England bid to give France Les Bleus

England are hoping to give retiring wing Jason Robinson the perfect send-off to his career by beating hosts France in their World Cup semi-final in Paris on Saturday.

The world champions will be hoping for a repeat of the result four years ago when England beat Les Bleus 24-7 to reach the final in Sydney with talismanic fly-half Jonny Wilkinson scoring all the points.

Boss Brian Ashton's side has gone through one of the greatest sporting transformations ever.

They have gone from a team of no-hopers at the start of the tournament to genuine contenders following their 12-10 quarter-final victory over Australia to become the first nation to make a successful defence of the Webb Ellis trophy.

Veteran Mike Catt, who keeps his place at centre in an unchanged starting XV, has hailed fellow World Cup winner Robinson, who will win his 50th cap for his country this weekend.

Catt said: "He has been amazing. He is a model professional, he looks after himself and he is just an awesome bloke. He has got the utmost respect from all the players. For him to achieve what he has achieved is very, very impressive."

The 36-year-old continued: "His talent his unique. He is right up there, right up top, and this is why we need to play a particular game that suits him.

"For him to have a good swansong, he's got two big games left in him, and let's hope we can make them special for him."

Meanwhile, World Cup-winning flanker Neil Back believes the lineout could hold the key to England beating France to book their place in the October 20 final.

Back was part of the English team that dispatched the French in a rain-drenched semi-final four years ago, when a dominant forward display laid the foundations for a convincing win.

And the Leicester Tigers legend said: "England will not dominate France in the scrum as they did Australia, so they need to look for another weakness and I think that could be the lineouts.

"The French have good jumpers in the lineout, but their hookers are not the best throwers.

"If England can get on top of the lineout, they will be able to kick for touch more, rather than kicking behind the dangerous French backs and allowing them to counter-attack. That could be the key on Saturday."

Teams news for England versus France:

England: J Robinson (unattached); P Sackey (Wasps), M Tait (Newcastle), M Catt (London Irish), J Lewsey (Wasps); J Wilkinson (Newcastle), A Gomarsall (Harlequins); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), M Regan (Bristol), P Vickery (Wasps, capt), S Shaw (Wasps), B Kay (Leicester), M Corry (Leicester), L Moody (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins).

Substitutes: G Chuter (Leicester), M Stevens (Bath), L Dallaglio (Wasps), J Worsley (Wasps), P Richards (London Irish), T Flood (Newcastle), D Hipkiss (Leicester).

France: D Traille (Biarritz); V Clerc (Toulouse), D Marty (Perpignan), Y Jauzion (Toulouse), C Heymans (Toulouse); L Beauxis (Stade Francais), J-B Elissalde (Toulouse); O Milloud (Bourgoin), R Ibanez (Wasps, capt), P de Villiers (Stade Francais), F Pelous (Toulouse), J Thion (Biarritz), S Betsen (Biarritz), T Dusautoir (Toulouse), J Bonnaire (Bourgoin).

Substitutes: J-B Poux (Toulouse), D Szarzewski (Stade Francais), S Chabal (Sale Sharks), I Harinordoquy (Biarritz), F Michalak (Toulouse), C Dominici (Stade Francais), C Poitrenaud (Toulouse).

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