World Cup: What's good for France is good for England. Maintaining the striking similarities between the two countries on their somewhat circuitous and even tortuous routes to Saturday's semi-final in Stade de France (kick-off 8pm Irish time), Brian Ashton duly followed Bernard Laporte's example in naming an unchanged starting XV and replacements.

In a damning indictment of the heavy toll placed on English frontliners and the vagaries of selection in both this and the previous coaching regime, incredibly it is the first time in two years England have named an unchanged team. If the specific needs and strategy required against New Zealand resulted in Laporte hitting upon an untried selection, which their quarter-final compelled him to retain, then to an even greater degree England stumbled upon the selection which accounted for Australia.

Having made 25 changes along the way to a team beaten 36-0 in their second outing by South Africa - it is the first time in World Cup history the four semi-finalists emerged from just two pools - the jury will forever remain out as to whether the eve-of-match injuries to the forever-put-upon Andy Farrell and to a lesser degree back-up inside centre/outhalf Olly Barkley were a blessing in disguise.

In any event, Mike Catt and his replacement Toby Flood grabbed their opportunities in the surprise 12-10 win in Marseilles, with the net result that the fit-again Farrell and Barkley have dropped from first and second choices to third and fourth in the pecking order.

"Mike took his chance last week," explained Ashton. "It was a very, very difficult decision whether Mike or Andy started as neither would be on the bench because we needed a second goalkicker on the bench. It's another good example of the rotten luck Andy Farrell has had since he's been involved with England."

England wouldn't be human if they didn't think that having France in their way rather than New Zealand offers them a better opportunity of reaching the final, although captain Phil Vickery spoke respectfully and warily of their exceptional scrum and maul.

Ashton probably had in mind the unexpected tapped 22-metre drop-out from which France scored their high-tempo, length-of-the-pitch first try by Thierry Dusautoir against the All Blacks when, in addition to having one of the top packs in world rugby, he warned: "Against France you have to be eternally vigilant. You cannot take your eye off them for a second in the 80 minutes or else you'll find yourself on the back foot or, worse, standing behind your own goalposts. We will have to be eternally vigilant both in attack and defence, to make the most of our opportunities and deny them any opportunities."

Ashton was flanked by his captain Vickery and Jason Robinson, who will win his 50th cap on Saturday in what will be either his penultimate or last competitive rugby match - allowing for an appearance for the Barbarians in December and a testimonial next year. Lured out of Test retirement by Ashton, a long-time admirer, to extend his career by a few months, Robinson said: "This is what I came out of retirement for, to play in these big games. Thankfully it's worked out well for me and I'm enjoying finishing at the highest level."

In a refreshingly relaxed and irreverent press conference at their hotel in Neuilly in the north-east of Paris, Robinson looked a little embarrassed as captain and coach were asked to pay tribute to him. Asked what he'd miss, Vickery laughed. "Earache, annoyance. Like most people I used to watch Jason playing rugby league; I think I was eight at the time," he quipped before paying tribute to "a fantastic talent".

Recalling his try for the Lions in the first Test in the Gabba, when for reasons he couldn't explain he happened to have a nearby view of, Vickery said it was "a magical moment which showed here was a very, very special and talented old man. He's also a grounded bloke who was jammy enough to have a little bit of skill with it as well."

When Ashton began recalling how he had his weekly fix of rugby league by watching a special player in a special Wigan team, Robinson interjected "You're not going to say you were eight as well?" "More like 38 then," said Ashton wistfully.