Triumph of will over skill proves a winning formula for England

The spectacular turnaround in England's fortunes may prove to be a harbinger of even greater things to come.

The morning after the night before brings many things. Sorrow, regret and anger for the French, bewildered joy for the English, and it shouldn't be forgotten, keen anticipation for the Argentineans and South Africans. This last group was by far the most prominent on the streets of Paris as the sun came up, thronging the hotel lobbies and pavements, crowding out the cold meat section of the buffet bar.

They're a confident lot. The prospect of playing the team they beat 36-0 just four weeks ago isn't, you suspect, the most intimidating of potential final match-ups. Not that they're there yet, even if they are making the most noise. Argentina should be even favourites for their semi-final, disadvantaged only by the unfamiliarity of the occasion and the size of the pot on the table in front of them.

Would England be favourites against either of them? Argentina would be more difficult opponents in some ways: surely it would be nearly impossible for South Africa not to enter the final with a hint of complacency about them, and England have done nothing since that loss but prove how illusory it was. England would be happy to be on the wrong side of the odds.

Every post-match press conference England have given has been laced with references to their underdog status. Now they may have to deal with a new problem that they've finally cast off all the doubters and disbelievers.

That is a process that kick-started in the final 10 minutes against Samoa. The 69th to be precise. Jonny Wilkinson took the ball after a series of English drives up field, and clipped over a drop-goal from 35 metres out. It gave England a seven-point margin, which rapidly became a 22-point victory.

England had been scoreless for the previous 30 minutes of that match, and Samoa had fought back to within four points of the lead. Wilkinson's drop goal was the full stop at the end of England's four-year-long sentence.

It's taken people different amounts of time to realise that something had switched. For a lot of you bloggers it was that match, for me it was the grossly under-rated win over Tonga (which is not to say I ever thought it was likely they'd do what they've done since, only that I accepted it was possible), for others still it took that blood-and-fury battering of Australia.

It is a real shame that we're never really likely to know what was said in the days after the humiliation against South Africa. If any of the players or coaches can distil the essence of whatever went on in the camp they'll be carving out careers as management gurus for years to come. The conversations they had would make some of the most fascinating listening in sport.

As Brian Ashton reminded everybody last night, this is a team that was selected almost specifically for it's mental resilience and its experience. They knew what it takes to win.

As at least a legion of cornballs have told you: knowing is less than half the struggle. The knowledge that experience provides is a yardstick against which you measure yourself, and four weeks ago it was almost impossible to conclude anything other than that this England side were coming up well short. They were not the best team in their own pool, never mind the world.

Dallaglio, Vickery, Corry, Catt, Robinson, Wilkinson, Gomarsall, Lewsey and Farrell. As Eddie Butler has suggested on the site this morning, they must have endured a frank and brutally honest exchange of opinions. Ashton's views on rugby have always emphasised the autonomy of the players, the importance of each being able to make the right decisions in the hardest situations and that has been fundamental to his success in France.

It's a triumph of will over skill. And as much as the style has split rugby fans into two camps, it is undeniably one of the most magnificently bloody-minded campaigns ever.

Even over those last two games, they have been a team thriving on playing within their limitations. "We've not played to our full potential" has been Ashton's watchword, and it is hard to argue with. Not that that would stop some of you trying, I'm sure.

That is a situation exemplified by Jonny Wilkinson, whose kicking has been, by his own standards, mediocre. Last night however, none of the misses mattered. And at the end it was again a Wilkinson drop goal providing the final punctuation.

'It's a simple game: 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes, and at the end the Germans win'. That always was Gary Lineker's single greatest contribution to sports punditry, and it strikes me that is exactly what England have done to rugby. You just wonder if their very best performance is still to come.