Rugby World Cup: How England fared in their previous semi-finals

By Sports Desk October 20, 2023

England will be appearing in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals for the sixth time when they lock horns with current champions South Africa at the Stade de France on Saturday.

Here the PA news agency looks back at their previous five last-four encounters.

1991, Edinburgh: Scotland 6 England 9
Rob Andrew’s drop-goal clinched the win for England but Scotland captain Gavin Hastings earlier missed a simple penalty in front of the posts with the score tied at 6-6. It was a gruelling encounter short on thrills and Scotland have never been as close since.

1995, Cape Town: England 29 New Zealand 45

A harrowing afternoon for English rugby saw giant wing Jonah Lomu run riot at Newlands, scoring four tries including one in which he marauded through Tony Underwood, Will Carling, Mike Catt and Rob Andrew.

 

2003, Sydney: England 24 France 7
It was far from a classic because of the conditions but England eventually prevailed through the boot of Jonny Wilkinson, who landed three drop-goals and five penalties. Frederic Michalak managed just one of his five shots at goal for France.

2007, Paris: England 14 France 9

Josh Lewsey scored an early try for England but hosts France fought back through three Lionel Beauxis penalties to edge 9-8 ahead. But Wilkinson came to the rescue once again by landing a penalty and drop-goal in the last five minutes.

 

2019, Yokohama: England 19 New Zealand 9
England delivered possibly their greatest World Cup performance of all, routing the All Blacks with the scoreline failing to reflect their dominance. Manu Tuilagi crossed in the second minute, setting the tone, and George Ford kicked four penalties.

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    Stokes suffered the hamstring injury in August playing in The Hundred and has not played since, missing England's three-match series against Sri Lanka last month.

    England said last week that the 33-year-old was "on track" to participate in the tour and trained away from the rest of the team in their first session.

    Stokes confirmed he will miss the first Test, which begins on Monday in Multan, and Ollie Pope will continue to deputise as captain in his absence.

    "I tried my hardest to get myself fit for this game but have taken the call to miss this one because I've not quite managed to get game-ready," Stokes told BBC Sport.

    "There is a lot that has to go into my rehab programme. We got to a certain point, but looking at the picture of what we've got coming up and physically where I'm at, I'm not quite ready to play.

    "It's always frustrating to miss out. I've got some good things to focus on, so even though I'm not playing, I've got a goal in mind."

    The second Test starts on October 15, but the all-rounder admitted he was not sure whether that was a realistic target for his return.

    "I've pushed myself incredibly hard and worked really hard with the medical team to get to where I'm at now. I think I'm further ahead than what we expected," he added.

    "I'll be working just as hard over the next 10 days to try to get myself fit for the second Test."

    In his absence, Durham seamer Brydon Carse will make his England Test debut.

    He has previously played 19 ODIs and four T20s for England and will make his red-ball bow just over a month after completing a three-month ban for historical gambling offences.

    England XI for first Test against Pakistan: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Bryson Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

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    Stokes tore his hamstring playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred competition, forcing him to miss the side's last three matches against Sri Lanka, with England winning the series 2-1.

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    Stokes had been hoping to make his return in the series opener on Monday, but looked uncomfortable in England's first training session, and is yet to be given the green light.

    "I think he's got to do a few more tests, but he's been doing some running and stuff," Crawley said.

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    "We've got a really deep squad with plenty of options with the ball and with the bat as well."

    If Stokes is available to play, they could have some selection headaches, as they would be forced to drop one of the top six batters with his inclusion to make way for an extra bowler.

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    Crawley, meanwhile, has been cleared to feature after recovering from a broken finger that kept him out against Sri Lanka. 

    "I feel brand new. I'm looking forward to getting out there," Crawley added.

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    Carsley oversaw 2-0 Nations League victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland last month, having taken the reins on a temporary basis after Gareth Southgate's resignation.

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