By Jojo Doria

Auckland, New Zealand

England's bid to return to the World Cup finals and reclaim the Webb Ellis Cup was dashed by the Les Bleus Saturday, with France posting a stunning 19-12 victory in their quarter-final clash at Eden Park in Auckland.

France, coming off a pool stage loss to Tonga last week that caused it to slip to eighth in the IRB standings, rebounded against a tentative England contingent that missed 10 tackles and had five handling errors in the first half.

First-half tries from winger Vincent Clerc and fullback Maxime Medard helped lift the Les Bleus, who shut out the England side in the first half, 16-0.

Scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili added two penalties and replacement fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc a late drop-goal to give the French a 12-point cushion at the end of the contest.

England, which reached the last two World Cup finals ('03, '07) having beaten France along the way, scored its first points in the 55th minute.

England captured the title in 2003.

Meanwhile, France, the runner-up in 1987 and 1999, will be making its fifth consecutive semifinal appearance in the Rugby World Cup. It will clash with Wales next Saturday for a spot in the Oct. 23 final.

Wales downed Ireland 22-10 Saturday in Wellington.

 

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