Springbok Defeat Was Key

Brian Ashton has singled out England's embarrassing 36-0 defeat to South Africa in the Pool stages as the "defining moment of the tournament".

At this morning's press conference, Ashton spoke of how "The South Africa game came at the right time because it gave us a massive kick up the backside and a wake-up call to make sure we got our act together."

Having won four consecutive games since then, Ashton is, of course, eyeing a fifth. "The players have come so far on a very difficult journey," he said, "I can't imagine they will be satisfied with reaching the final. They will want to create history."

"If we play South Africa in the final - and that is by no means certain, obviously, given the unpredictability of this tournament - that [result] will be a complete irrelevance now.

"What happened could be a motivating factor for us, obviously, but I think the 36-0 score margin will be a complete irrelevance just as the two games in the summer (in South Africa) were."

As he had the previous night, when together with Phil Vickery he treated the press to 20 minutes of light-hearted and good-humored banter, Ashton emphasized the extent to which he had picked the squad with experience and "mental toughness" in mind.

"We've got the players who know how to win a game," he said. "We have got the armory within the side to get us in positions where we know we can win it. I think that was the big advantage we had over the French team.

"If you'd have asked me that question five weeks ago - are you going to get to the World Cup final? I would have had to think deep and hard before I said 'yes'.

"But then again hindsight is a wonderful thing. You pick a squad to do a job and this squad was specifically selected to defend the World Cup and that is exactly what they are doing."

"Now that they are in the position they are in, it wouldn't surprise me if they completed the job."

Asked to speak about Phil Vickery's contribution, Ashton made clear the high regard he had for his captain, as if it wasn't obvious enough to anyone who has seen them interviewed together. "Phil is by nature a fairly quietly-spoken person," explained Ashton. "But for a prop forward he thinks pretty deeply about what he is going to say and always comes up with the right thing.

"He made a very moving speech to the team on Friday at seven o'clock, only for five minutes.

"It was about what it meant to him and what it should mean to everyone in the room about playing in a World Cup semi-final and beating France on their home ground. I can only assume with the performance that it had some sort of effect.

"From my point of view, and from the way I deal as a coach with the team, he is my ideal sort of captain."