SYDNEY, 12 November 2003 — England must improve or face World Cup obliteration against France, veteran scrumhalf Matt Dawson warned here yesterday.
The pre-tournament favorites were still smarting from their unconvincing 28-17 quarterfinal win over Wales as Sunday’s showdown with France loomed.
“If we play like we did against Wales, France will punish us by more than a few tries,” Dawson said. “The way they’re playing at the moment, the game would be over at half-time.
“They are the form team, they’re playing a fantastic style of rugby.”
England have delayed naming their team to face the French until tomorrow, amid increasing speculation that blindside flanker Richard Hill may be fit.
Hill, a vital component of England’s powerful pack, has had only 40 minutes of rugby after damaging a hamstring in the opening victory over Georgia.
England are also mulling the inclusion of veteran Bath center Mike Catt, who seized control of Sunday’s quarterfinal in Brisbane superbly. Dawson described the decision to bring Catt on as an “awesome substitution” saying it had relieved the pressure on flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson.
“What Catty did was just bring a second option at No.10,” Dawson said. “If you’ve got another natural 10 it does make a huge, huge difference.
“I’ve been a fan of Mike Catt throughout his career and I think he just proved once again that whether it as a substitute or starter he’s a player that has got a class about him.
He understands the game and he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. He turned it our way.”
Dawson meanwhile brushed off concerns over the form of Wilkinson, who has looked several notches short of his best in England’s four matches so far.
“When you’re labeled the best player in the world you’re going to get a lot more attention than other players,” Dawson said.
“By his own admission he’s not playing as well as he can but it’s symptomatic of the way the team is playing as a whole — we’ve had glimpses of brilliance, but we haven’t sustained it for a whole match.”
The British Lions and Northampton player said there was no chance of England’s management getting Wilkinson to refrain from a willingness to get involved in rucks and mauls.
Wilkinson’s work at the breakdown against the Welsh has seen him branded a ‘third flanker’ rather than a flyhalf. Dawson said it would be impossible to stop Wilkinson from getting involved.
“If Jonny sees a ruck he’s going to go in and win the ball. I’m not going to knock Jonny for that,” Dawson said.
“I can’t see that being a problem — we were blitzed in the first half against Wales and it was all hands on deck. It was needed at the time.”
Dawson and front-row stalwart Phil Vickery said England knew they were playing below their best but were remaining calm.
“The games have shown that we haven’t played particularly well but at times we have played some good stuff,” Vickery said. “There’s certainly no panic buttons being hit.”
