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France coach Bernard Laporte admitted Jonny Wilkinson played "a great game" in kicking all of England's 24 points

ENG 24 v FRA 7: What they said

16/11/2003

 

Clive Woodward (ENG) - Coach

On the victory over France:

“A lot of the game is commonsense. It is a huge night for England and we are very pleased about the final next week and we are ready for Australia.

“The English fans are incredible. This is better than Twickenham. It is a happy change room. We came here to win, so it is a good day and we are happy to be in the final.”

On the conditions:

“It rains in France too. I have been there on holiday. Tonight we played the conditions and we played pretty well. I am confident this team can beat anyone, anywhere at any time, in any conditions.”

Martin Johnson (ENG) - Captain

On the victory over France:

“We kicked the ball well today. The second half was mainly in their half. We would like to have scored a try, but, oh well, we are into the final.

“We weren't happy to see the rain before the game. We were lucky he [France's Frédéric Michalak] missed his kicks ... that’s part of the game.”

On Jonny Wilkinson:

“People said to him during the week - 'Have you turned the corner?' ... he's the best fly half in the world. We are lucky to have him. I'm just glad he's on our side.”

Bernard Laporte (FRA) - Coach

On the conditions:

“It was not so easy to play. It is much better for us to have a dry ball for long passes. The wet ball was very difficult for us. When it is not so good, it puts the pressure on the team. We prefer the sun.

On the French discipline after two yellow cards:

“We make many faults when playing under such pressure, minute after minute. Jonny Wilkinson has a very good ability to put the teams under pressure. He played a great match. It was fantastic for him.”

Fabien Galthié (FRA) - Captain

“Today the best team won the match ... won the pressure of the match. The weather conditions were quite difficult for us. England were better than us.

“We are disappointed, but the World Cup is for England. It is difficult for us to play in the rain, we like to run with the ball and to make moves, so today it was difficult for us.”

Tony Marsh (FRA) - Centre

“We are pretty disappointed. We made a lot of mistakes, we couldn't put it together. They [England] put a lot of pressure on us.

“We wanted to play expansively, but the conditions weren’t good for that. They played better rugby.”

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