The Catt is back. Again.
Mike Catt was a surprise inclusion and Richard Hill returned to the backrow as England coach Clive Woodward made four changes to his starting lineup for Sunday's World Cup semifinal against France.
Meanwhile, Australian coach Eddie Jones, whose team will play New Zealand in the other semifinal Saturday, says the weekend matches could go either way.
PHOTO: AP
"I think all the four coaches and all the four teams know that on Sunday night, any of those four teams could be the two teams in the finals," Jones said Thursday.
Catt, who wasn't in Woodward's original World Cup training squad, went on as a second-half replacement in last week's quarterfinal win over Wales and was instrumental in turning the match in England's favor.
Woodward said Catt "deserves his chance," at the expense of Mike Tindall at inside center. He rejected the assertion that the selection of Catt was to cover flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson's problems directing the backline.
"It was straightforward really," Woodward said yesterday. "You saw when he came on against Wales, he played outstandingly well. This is no gamble, you don't gamble in a World Cup semifinal."
Hill overcame a nagging hamstring strain to replace Lewis Moody on the side of the scrum and will be reunited with Neil Back and No. 8 Lawrence Dallaglio in England's most experienced back row.
Trevor Woodman moved into the starting 15 in a switch with prop Jason Leonard, who played his 111th test last weekend to equal Frenchman Philippe Sella's international record for most test caps.
French flanker Serge Betsen, meanwhile, said he's ready for his battle with English flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson, but stressed the classy kicker is not his personal responsibility. Betsen is the man the French call the "Eater of Flyhalves."
Not only will the Cameroon-born Betsen face the task of tying down the world's most dynamic flyhalf in Wilkinson, he will also have to contend with the damaging backrow combination of Back and Hill.
In France's 20-15 victory over England in Paris last year, Betsen's continual harassment of Wilkinson proved a match winner.
Australian coach Jones said the fact that the Wallabies had virtually been written off as a serious finals contender by the media and public ahead of the New Zealand match had reduced pressure on the team.
"It's not something that we talk about a lot or think about a lot, but probably unconsciously it has," Jones said.
Jones described being the host team as a "a benefit and a burden."
"The benefit is we get to train at our own training facility, which is first class and a huge benefit," he said. "We get the support of a home crowd, which is a huge benefit."
England coach Clive Woodward said Thursday that defending champion Australia will beat New Zealand on Saturday in one of the Rugby World Cup semifinals.
"I haven't changed my views for two years -- I think Australia is the team to beat at this World Cup and I think Australia will win [against New Zealand].
"I haven't changed my mind in two years and nothing I've seen so far has altered that. Someone has to beat them to win the World Cup."
He also said he feels most Australians want England to beat France in the other semifinal Sunday, denying claims that Australians would prefer too see England out of the Cup.
"You're speaking to the wrong Australians," said Woodward. "The Australians I speak to want England to win," against France.
The 47-year-old coach said the anti-England sentiment wasn't a huge factor in Sydney.
"I lived here for five years and I think this is massively over stated and to be quite honest, I don't really care.
"We're not [former British figure skaters] Torvill and Dean, we're not here to get marks out of 10, we're here to win a game of rugby. Both teams have played five, won five, that's how I see it -- a fantastic contest between two great rugby teams."
Mutual respect
France's Bernard Laporte and Clive Woodward, rival coaches for Sunday's World Cup semifinal, have mutual respect for each other, the England coach said.
A day earlier, Laporte had to deny reports that he had been critical of the English ahead of the match.
"We speak a lot on the phone," said Woodward. "He gets badly misquoted by the French and British media. I like Laporte a lot, the respect is mutual.
"Just like all these coaches, we meet them, shake hands, have a chat, have a beer. He's done great things for France. He's an outstanding coach and I wish him well."
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