Andy Farrell pulled out of the England lineup for their quarter-final showdown with Australia while the Wallabies dropped the tournament's top try scorer.
The shocks and surprises continued at the Rugby World Cup on Thursday, two days ahead of the next match and four days since the last one.
While New Zealand flyhalf Dan Carter predicted he was almost over his calf muscle strain and would be fit to face France in Cardiff, Farrell heard the bad news about his own similar problem.
PHOTO: AP
A day after he was recalled to the England starting lineup to add starch to the midfield, Farrell aggravated a calf muscle in training and had to withdraw from the game against the Wallabies. Coach Brian Ashton won't announce his replacement -- likely to be either Olly Barkley or Mike Catt -- until Friday, the day before the match.
While England can at least adjust, the news is a big blow for Farrell.
A big name and former British captain at rugby league, Farrell was persuaded by the English Rugby Football Union to convert to union specifically with this World Cup in mind. What followed was a series of long term injuries and a huge debate about where he should play -- as a center or a back row.
PHOTO: AFP
The 32-year-old Farrell struggled to make the expected impact and, if England are knocked out by Australia in Marseille today, he may not be back.
Australia's decision to put Drew Mitchell on the bench after his championship-high seven tries suggests coach John Connolly wants his team to play a slightly tighter game against the English at the Stade Velodrome.
Jonny Wilkinson is likely to launch high kicks behind the Wallaby backs and Connolly has selected Adam Ashley-Cooper instead.
Stirling Mortlock has recovered from the shoulder injury he collected in Australia's 32-20 victory Wales in Cardiff and returns at outside center and Lote Tuqiri, who played center against Canada, goes back to the wing.
"The shoulder is great," Mortlock said. "I could have played last week but I decided to have an extra week of rehab. I'm excited to be playing again. There's no chance of getting complacent. Most of these England guys have been on teams that have beaten us."
It's the first time the two teams have met in the World Cup since the 2003 final where Wilkinson's drop goal near the end of extra time captured a 20-17 victory and the title. Although England have been in a prolonged slump since that title-winning performance and the Australians are hot favorites to win, the two teams are 2-2 in World Cup play.
New Zealand have not lost to France in seven years and have won eight and drawn one of the last nine meetings. But the French are remembered for one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history against the All Blacks in the 1999 semi-final when they rallied from 24-10 down to win 43-31.
Although he's not predicting another fightback, center David Marty sees another French victory when the two teams meet at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
"We're here and we can try something historic. And yes, we remember '99 and every match," Marty said.
They are almost certain to face Carter, the most talented back in world rugby, who feels he is virtually over the injury that ruled him out of the last group game against Romania.
"I'm confident I've progressed and I'll be fine," the flyhalf said. "I'm reasonably happy. I've only played two games [here] but this is what I've prepared myself for, the knockout games. I need to step up my game another level."
Another All Black, No. 8 Sione Lauaki, came back into contention on Thursday after winning an appeal against a two-week suspension imposed for an alleged dangerous tackle on Romania wing Gabriel Brezoianu during the All Blacks' 85-8 victory in Toulouse. The appeal panel's decision means he's available for the remainder of the championship even though he was not named either in the starting lineup or reserves for the game against France.
While the winners of today's games in Marseille and Cardiff meet in one semi-final, the other is shaping up to be South Africa against Argentina.
The Springboks, who won the title in 1995 on home turf and are looking strong here, are expected to beat Fiji in Marseille tomorrow while Argentina, who have also won all four games so far, face a Scotland team they have beaten in their last five meetings.
"People think that we are already in the semi-finals and that the match against Scotland is just a formality, but that's not true," said Argentina fullback Ignacio Corleto. "They didn't play their best match against Italy, but they are growing."
Scotland captain Jason White is happy that most people don't expect his team to win.
"Historically we prefer to be the underdogs," said White, whose team edged Italy 18-16 to reach the knockout phase.
"If we can play to our potential we have a great chance of winning this game, and of doing something special. For me it is about producing a big performance when it matters and on Sunday it definitely matters," he said.
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