Catt celebrates after the final whistle
As the game progressed it became apparent to me that it was not as going to be as tough as I thought it would be, which was a weird feeling. We knew we had a big game in us and the way I looked at it was that it could possibly have been my last International match so my thought process was to go out there and do what I'm good at, which is to chuck the ball around a bit and start playing to our strengths.
Listen to Mike talk about the Australia game
The pack was immense
We probably played a little bit too much in the first 30-40 minutes but in the same breath we did play well. The pack was absolutely unbelievable and it took me back to the France game in the 2003 semi-final where our forwards blew the French forwards away. I haven't seen a scrummaging performance like that from an International side in a long time. They were all immense and defensively we were good at the break down. I think we dominated almost every facet of the game.
Having said that, we really should have had more points to show for our efforts. We created chances and had a few more passes stuck to hand, we would have been under the sticks a couple of times. I also had a chance to score but unfortunately Wilko hurled the ball at me and it bounced off my big chest! I was hoping he would just pop it up because I don't score many tries and when I get the opportunities I like to take them. But I was quite happy with my game and felt I created a few chances for the boys and we put ourselves in the right areas to make things happen, which was pleasing. Obviously Jonny also missed a couple of kicks he usually gets but those big games against Australia as always tight affairs and I'm sure he'll be spot on against France.
France will be confident
It was physically a very tough game but everybody has come through unscathed which is great going into the France game. We were down in the port on a yacht in Marseille after the match so we didn't get to see the France v New Zealand game but we will study tape of it. The atmosphere and expectation now down here is incredible.
France will be pretty battered after their performance against New Zealand but they'll also be very confident. There's a lot of pressure and expectation on them though and we'll have to use that to our advantage. It's in Paris, it's the semi final of the World Cup and you don't get a much bigger game. We've got to make sure we get our preparation right starting on Monday and see what the coach decides to do.
I can't see there being too many changes to the side for France but we'll see!
Mike Catt.
Catt previews England v Australia
Catt on England v South Africa
Watch Mike talk about England's chances
8th October 2007
