In the clash of Northern Hemisphere heavyweights France and England, both have taken very different paths to the final four.
While one has been the quiet achiever, the other’s every move has been under the international spotlight.
For so long described as the dark horse of this Tournament, the impressive French bolted out of the gates with a 43-21 defeat of Ireland in the quarter finals to reach the last four.
In contrast, pre-Tournament favourites England have been under the microscope throughout.
The trusty boot of fly half Jonny Wilkinson clinched a semi finals berth for Clive Woodward’s men in a heart stopping 28-17 victory over Wales in the quarter finals, after trailing 10-3 at the break.
Back to the pools
Fabien Galthie’s men reigned supreme in Pool B racking up 50 points in their first three pool matches, maintaining their perfect winning record in RWC Pool matches with victories over Fiji (61-18), Japan (51-29), Scotland (51-9) and the USA Eagles (41-14).
In the French engine room, the back row of Serge Betsen, Olivier Magne and number 8 Imanol Harinordoquy have paved the way for 20 year old fly half Frederic Michalak to showcase his remarkable talents in a star studded back line.
Michalak has racked up 101 points in the Tournament including two tries, 17 conversions, 18 penalty goals and one drop goal.
In Pool C, England recorded big wins over Tournament debutants Georgia (84-6) and Uruguay (111-13), but were pushed all the way by South Africa and Samoa before eventually winning 25-6 and 35-22 respectively.
England has been served well up front by their inspirational captain Martin Johnson and the ever present Phil Vickery and Ben Kay.
Galthie, France’s 63 Test veteran scrum half, has said something inspirational in the match, such as a big hit or a surging run with ball in hand could swing the game France’s way.
But the same could be said for England with the irrepressible Johnny Wilkinson calling the shots at fly half and game breaker Jason Robinson waiting in the wings to pounce on the smallest of opportunities.
The scene is set
This should be a classic battle. The flair of the French versus the clinical English. Michalak versus Wilkinson, Ibanez versus Thompson, Betsen and Magne versus Hill and Back. There is potential match winning clashes right across the pitch.
France will be hoping for a repeat of the semi final in the 1999 RWC, when France pulled off a shock 43-31 win over the favoured All Blacks. While England have to wind the clock back to 1991 for their last RWC semi final win, 9-6 over Scotland.
The winner earns the right to represent the Northern Hemisphere in their bid to wrestle the Webb Ellis Cup away from their southern counterparts for the first time in the Tournament’s 16 year history.
Make sure you join us here at rugbyworldcup.com to follow all the action from the second Rugby World Cup 2003 semi final live on the match tracker, from 20:00 (09:00 GMT) on Sunday, November 16.