±«Óătv

England calm before storm (20)

• Mark Orlovac
• 12 Oct 07, 05:31 PM

Paris – I’ll have to be honest here, I woke up this morning with butterflies in my stomach. It did not take me long to work out the reason why.

After all the hype and build-up, we are just over 24 hours away from Saturday’s massive clash between .

The anticipation is building.

And I’m sure that both England and France fans are feeling the same now, as will the supposed 40,000 English supporters who are expected across the channel in the next day or so.

If it's bad for the watching public, can you imagine what it is like for the players that actually have to do the business on Saturday night?

For the players, these final few hours before the game in the hotel must be horrendous. There is little to occupy the mind apart from thinking about the game, the planned moves and all the things they have talked about in team meetings during the week.

So it was no surprise that at England’s final press conference before the big day, attention soon turned to how the squad are dealing with the tension.

“We are as relaxed as we can be,” said skipper Phil Vickery. “There are a lot of nerves around the camp but I don’t want people to use up all their energies now.

“I don’t want people to play the game in their minds this week, I want them to play on Saturday against what will be a ferocious team.”

For Ashton, handling his players correctly over the next 24 hours will be crucial to how they perform at the .

He talked of anxiety “being a positive thing” - if it is channelled in the right way come game time, and like he has done before during this tournament, Ashton is more than happy to let the players take charge.

“I just keep out of the way,” he said. “Friday and Saturday this week is all about the players.

“We had our final run on Friday morning and it would be completely wrong for me to go steamrollering in saying “don’t forget we have to do this or do that”.

“Now is the time for the players to think about their roles. The more a coach stays with the players as it gets closer to a game, the more the anxiety grows.

“The players are happy to take over. The majority of these guys are very experienced players. They have been through massive games before and are more than capable of looking after themselves in the 24 hours before the game.”

In his unique style Vickery issued a clarion call to his players, saying that gameplans mean nothing if “you haven’t got that physicality, bravery or guts”.

And he seemed quite emotional when he praised the attitude of the squad.

“I can tell you that there are some absolute bloody heroes in my team and they are people who I am very proud to be playing alongside,” he said. “We just want to go out there and do the very best for our country.”

Vickery admitted that the build-up had been completely different to , a match most people outside the camp had expected England to lose.

The sense of expectation this week is certainly a lot higher than it was ahead of that memorable quarter-final in Marseille. A lot has changed for England in the last seven days.

Despite the understandable jitters, England’s players were relaxed enough in the media room at England’s hotel.

Wing Paul Sackey was laid-back as ever, showing off his iPod to ±«Óătv Radio 5Live pundit Matt Dawson, while Vickery pretended to snore as lock Ben Kay was being interviewed.

Vickery at one point even broke out into song – singing England’s new favourite tune, .

And Ashton raised a laugh when he was asked if there had been any messages from the great and good back home.

“The England football manager Steve McClaren,” he said. “England cricket and the England women’s football team.”

“The Prime Minister?” asked a reporter. “No,” said a deadpan Ashton. “He’s Scottish isn’t he?”

So now the build-up is over and we have the calm before the storm.

Here’s to hoping this weekend will be as good as the last and let’s hope our nerves can handle it.

Mark Orlovac is a ±«Óătv Sport journalist based in London. He will be based in Paris for the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup.

• Permalink