Wilkinson boots England into World Cup final

12.45am - UPDATE

ENGLAND 24 FRANCE 7

Jonny Wilkinson rubbed salt into the wounds of New Zealand rugby fans overnight as he booted England into the Rugby World Cup final.

Most Kiwis would have been hoping France could knock over Clive Woodward's men in their semi-final at Sydney's Telstra Stadium but, with Wilkinson kicking five penalties and three drop goals, England claimed victory 24-7.

They will now go on to meet Australia in the final next
weekend while the All Blacks will face France in the third-fourth playoff on Thursday night.

The much-anticipated clash did not live up to expectations, with heavy rain helping cause numerous handling errors from both sides in the first half in particular.

More damaging for France, though, was a seeming lack of
intensity and they looked a shadow of the side that
demolished Ireland in the quarter-finals.

First five Frederic Michalak had a nightmare, missing a
handful of penalty attempts and being equally off target with his kicking in general play.

They were also their own worst enemy with a yellow card in each half reducing them to 14-men for a quarter of the match.

Wilkinson set the tone for the match when he opened the
scoring in the eighth minute with a drop goal but France struck straight back with the only try of the game.

England overthrew a lineout on their own 22m and French
blindside flanker Serge Betsen grabbed the ball and dashed to the line.

That gave France a 7-3 lead until mid-way through the half when French winger Christophe Dominici was yellow carded for sticking out his leg to trip English opposite Jason Robinson as he stepped inside him.

With a one-man overlap England started to build some
momentum and closed the gap to 7-6 with a Wilkinson penalty in the 29th minute.

They then hit the front just before the break with another penalty and drop goal from Wilkinson.

France needed to score first after the break to stay in
touch but in the 52nd minute Betsen virtually killed off his team's hopes when he was sin-binned for a late hit on Wilkinson.

The subsequent penalty pushed England out beyond a seven-point lead at 15-7 and from there they took control.

Playing no-frills 10-man rugby, they kept France trapped in their own territory and forced the Tricolores into numerous turnovers.

And each time they got the ball Wilkinson was there to
either slot a penalty or drop goal between the uprights and keep England edging further ahead on the scoreboard.

England 24 (Jonny Wilkinson 5 pen 3 DG)

France 7 (Serge Betsen ;Frederic Michalak 1 con)

HT: 12-7 England