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| The winner of the Rugby World Cup 2011 will be decided on the 23rd of October. |
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| French captain Thierry Dusautoir. |
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| All Blacks captain Richie Mccaw. |
France:
RWC 2011 Ranking
IRB World Rankings
| Team | Pos. | (Prev.) | Rtg. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | New Zealand | 1 | (1) | 91.34 |
 | Australia | 2 | (2) | 86.49 |
 | France | 3 | (5) | 84.79 |
 | South Africa | 4 | (3) | 84.34 |
 | England | 5 | (6) | 81.58 |
Path To The Final:
Pool Play (Pool A)
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | TF | TA | BP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 New Zealand | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 240 | 49 | 36 | 6 | 4 | 20 |
 France | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 124 | 96 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 11 |
 Tonga | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 80 | 98 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 9 |
 Canada | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 82 | 168 | 9 | 20 | 0 | 6 |
 Japan | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 69 | 184 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 2 |
QuaterFinals:
France bt England 19-12
HalfTime: France Leading England 16-0
SemiFinals:
France bt Wales 9-8
HalfTime: France Leading Wales 6-3
Morgan Parra kicks a penalty for France on their way to the final
Against England in the quarter-finals it was France's sharp attack that made the difference with two tries, but in the semi-final it was an obdurate defence that allowed them to progress to a 23 October date with New Zealand or Australia.
Wales, despite having captain Sam Warburton sent off in the 18th minute, were in sight of the winning points with the clock running down. France were forced to defend in their own half for 27 phases without giving their desperate opponents the chance to sneak through.
Wales were repeatedly driven back in the tackle, their kickers were pushed out of drop-goal range and their hopes of a remarkable comeback were snuffed out.
"We did not start well, we lost confidence," France coach Marc Lièvremont said after the match. "When they went down to 14 and we had 15 we were still inhibited, but that does not matter; what matters is when they scored a try, we kept out composure.
"I will not brood or be unhappy because that was not our best match, what matters is we are going to the final."
Dangerous tackle
The match swung firmly in France's favour between the 10th and 18th minutes. First, Welsh prop Adam Jones was forced off with an injured ankle, then Warburton was sent off for a dangerous tackle on France wing Vincent Clerc.
It meant that Warren Gatland's team was forced to play for more than an hour with 14 men, and while they fought back in the second half through a Mike Phillips try, when the crunch came Wales did not have quite enough energy left to find a way through the French defence for a second time.
Warburton said he was surprised by his red card. "It felt that as soon as I hit him his body weight took control of what happened. I went to compete for the ball, thinking it was a normal tackle. The next thing I know I'm walking off into the stands.
"All the boys are gutted with the result but I thought the courage and bravery they showed was second to none."
Parra's display, if not quite a full vindication of Lièvremont's decision to continue with the scrum half at fly half, was enough to win the match for France.
Crucially he kicked the opening points of the second half in the 50th minute to give France a six-point lead.
His successes contrasted sharply with his Welsh counterpart James Hook, who was given the nod over veteran Stephen Jones when first-choice fly half Rhys Priestland was forced out with a shoulder injury.
Hook was on the mark with his first from out on the left touchline to open the scoring, but he missed two more direct kicks later in the first half that would have put Wales in front at half-time.
Eventually Gatland brought Stephen Jones on in the 46th minute and his cool head allowed Wales to grab a toehold as the match went into its closing stages.
"Parra was magnificent and defensively courageous," Lièvremont said. "He is the player who created the most breaks and he was successful with all his kicks."
Relieve pressure
France flanker Julien Bonnaire became the second France back row named man of the match in consecutive weeks after number 8 Imanol Harinordoquy received the accolade in the quarter-final victory over England.
Bonnaire's athleticism meant that he was able to steal five Wales lineouts and relieve pressure on the France line just as the Welsh were gaining momentum.
"I am happy that we won, but I am disappointed with the level we played and the defence saved us tonight," Bonnaire said.
"Our World Cup hasn't been so great and we let a lot of people down here and at home, but I hope we made up for that by reaching the final."
France will now play their second Rugby World Cup final at Eden Park, having lost the inaugural final in 1987 to New Zealand.
That match ended in anticlimax for Les Bleus after they had beaten Australia in the semi-finals. Twenty-four years on they know they cannot repeat such a flat attacking performance if they want to win the Webb Ellis Cup at the third time of asking.
"I think we had a guardian angel tonight," Lièvremont said. "I think there are a lot of people annoyed that we have qualified, but we played with our hearts."
New Zealand:
RWC 2011 Ranking:
IRB World Rankings
| Team | Pos. | (Prev.) | Rtg. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 1 | (1) | 91.34 |
| Australia | 2 | (2) | 86.49 |
| France | 3 | (5) | 84.79 |
| South Africa | 4 | (3) | 84.34 |
| England | 5 | (6) | 81.58 |
Path To The Final:
Pool Play (Pool A)
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | TF | TA | BP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Zealand | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 240 | 49 | 36 | 6 | 4 | 20 |
France | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 124 | 96 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 11 |
Tonga | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 80 | 98 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 9 |
Canada | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 82 | 168 | 9 | 20 | 0 | 6 |
Japan | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 69 | 184 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 2 |
QuaterFinal:
New Zealand Bt Argentina 33-10
HalfTime: New Zealand Leading Argentina 12-7
SemiFinal:
New Zealand Bt Australia 20-6
Halftime: New Zealand Leading Australia 14-6
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw fends off opposite number David Pocock
A try by centre Ma’a Nonu, four penalties by Piri Weepu and a cool drop goal from Aaron Cruden secured New Zealand a place in the Rugby World Cup 2011 final against France, the team they beat the last time they lifted the Webb Ellis Cup, in 1987.
"It's awesome," captain Richie McCaw said. "We realised that we were going to have to front up and be on the job for 80 minutes.
"The intensity was there. Every single man out there did their bit tonight. That's what you have to do in World Cup rugby."
New Zealand’s ferocious play left the Australians scrambling to respond for much of the match, with the Wallabies now set to face Wales in the play-off for bronze.
"There's not much to say," wing James O’Connor said. "They beat us in every facet. They used the ball well and the physicality was up there. I guess that's what you need to win a Rugby World Cup semi-final and the All Blacks had it.
"They deserved that win. They lifted their physicality and we've never met physicality like that before."
Set the tone
The All Blacks were quick to take control of the match, while Australian fly half Quade Cooper set the tone for his game with his first touch. He kicked the ball out on the full from kick-off, much to the delight of a vocal crowd wearing mostly black.
"It was a tough night for all the boys. Nobody likes coming second," Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said.
New Zealand set the pace early by playing with tempo and the early charge forward paid dividends in the sixth minute when Nonu crossed the line after good work by Israel Dagg.
"We came out and played with spirit and great control," All Blacks number 8 Kieran Read said. "It was outstanding work from our forwards and they really put us on the front foot."
Referee Craig Joubert kept a careful eye on the breakdown, with Australia flanker David Pocock conceding two penalties in quick succession for leaving his feet at the ruck.
At the other end of the pitch a penalty against Pocock's opposite number McCaw gave Australia their first points courtesy of O’Connor’s boot.
As Cooper struggled to find his rhythm, the pressure of the famous All Blacks number 10 jersey did not get to young fly half Cruden, who joined the New Zealand squad two weeks ago following Dan Carter’s exit from the tournament through injury.
Surreal introduction
"It has been a pretty surreal couple of weeks,” the 22-year-old said. “It was great to get the late call-up and great to get called up to a World Cup semi-final. We really stepped up tonight and had a fantastic 80 minutes.
"Australia really tested us, especially in those first 30 minutes. We stood up to it and scored points when we could."
The All Blacks continued their high-tempo play in the second half and Weepu’s successful penalty kick after two minutes brought up New Zealand’s 2,000th RWC point.
Australia’s best chance came late in the match but the All Blacks defence stood firm in the final minutes, despite being reducted to 14 men after replacement Sonny Bill Williams was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder charge on Cooper.
As the clock wound down, chants of "four more years" rang out around Eden Park with the bulk of the 60,087 crowd revelling in the chance to finally return Australian legend George Gregan’s famous taunt from RWC 2003.
"It's sort of hard to summarise the feeling after a loss like this,” Wallaby second row Dan Vickerman said. “Unfortunately there's not a next week for us. The group is pretty low. It's devastating. Any Test you play for your country is special. It's just unfortunate it's against Wales next week.”
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