In-form Wales out to derail France in Rugby W. Cup

Wales go into their World Cup semi-final against France as favourites having hit a rich vein of form that mixes defensive nous with attacking flair. Led by 23-year-old captain Sam Warburton, Wales rebounded from an opening 17-16 pool loss to South Africa to rack up victories over Samoa, Namibia and Fiji before outplaying Ireland in last weekend's 22-10 quarter-final win. Saturday's match will be Wales' first semi-final appearance since the inaugural World Cup in 1987, when they were well beaten by the All Blacks. France have reached the last four despite losing twice in the pool phase, to New Zealand and in their final match Tonga. But they turned the formbook on its head with a gutsy display against a toothless England, winning 19-12 to advance to the final four. Twelve of France's 30 players at this World Cup lived through the disappointment of a semi-final exit four years ago on home soil, with three still in the starting XV: wing Vincent Clerc and flankers Julien Bonnaire and Thierry Dusautoir, who will captain the side at Auckland's Eden Park this weekend. After pulling off a shock 20-18 victory over favourites New Zealand in the 2007 quarter-final in Cardiff, the French imploded in the semi-final against England, who went on to lose to South Africa in the final. And this time around, the French, losing finalists in 1987 and 1999 but yet to win the World Cup, have vowed to do their best to prevent it happening again. "There are many of us in the squad who went through 2007, we know very well what can happen after an excess of euphoria," said Dusautoir. Bonnaire said the French reaction to reaching the semi-finals this time round was tempered by the knowledge the troubled England side they beat last Sunday were not in the same league as the New Zealand team of four years ago. "This time around, we're keeping our feet firmly on the ground with a great desire to continue the adventure," Bonnaire said. France coach Marc Lievremont, for the first time since he took charge in 2008, named an unchanged team for the semi-final despite concerns over player fatigue. The French have rarely produced two great performances on successive weekends of World Cup knockout action but Wales assistant coach Shaun Edwards said their Six Nations results proved they could put a string of victories together. "If you look at France over the last few Six Nations tournaments, they have won it the most, so that shows they can consistently perform over five games," former Wigan and Great Britain rugby league star Edwards said. "It is in the France team to be consistent." Edwards put the resurgence of the Wales team down to hard graft. "They've come together and in quite a short amount of time they've improved rapidly," he said. "It's not an accident that they've improved. It's been down to hard work, strength of character, no little skill. Obviously, a lot of work on the paddock, in the gym, on the running track. There's no substitute for hard work." He also said the youthful nature of the team captained by 23-year-old flanker Sam Warburton meant it had no 'fear factor'. "They do not have any past defeats and they don't bring any doubts in the head (about) where we lost to them two or three years ago," he said. "We are on the big stage now and that is where we want to be."