England coach Brian Ashton hailed England's 14-9 World Cup semifinal win over France as a typical "British bulldogs" performance.

Defending champions England will face either South Africa, against whom they lost 36-0 in the first pool matches or Argentina in next weeks finals.

England had been written off as a team too old to defend their title but have bounced back after suffering that record World Cup defeat to the Springboks last month, also at Stade de France.

Jonny Wilkinson, who kicked all the points in the quarterfinal win over Australia last week, was successful with two penalties and a trademark drop goal today to break French hearts on their home ground.

The other semifinal between South Africa and Argentina kicks off at 7am tomorrow.