'Wilko dissected France'

The Australian media are proving as hard to pin down as their rucking compatriots. With an England-Australia RWC Final just five days away, one would have expected the hacks to raise the art of pommie-bashing to painful new heights - instead they have opted to heap praise on England, and have laid wordy garlands around the neck of Jonny Wilkinson.

Here is some Australian reaction to England's 24-7 victory over France on Sunday:

'England looked like a team that does not know how to lose'

"In a wet and wild semi-final clash last night, England handled the conditions and the French to grind their way into the World Cup Final on the most reliable of weapons, the boot of Jonny Wilkinson. Once again, England looked like a team that does not know how to lose, surviving everything a frustrated and gradually fraying French team threw at it."
- Sydney Morning Herald

'The rugby gods designed it'

"It was almost as though the rugby gods designed it, swamping last night's semi-final at Telstra Stadium not only with a flood of white-shirted England supporters but also a deluge of rain that made the stadium feel like a wet and drizzly Twickenham. For France, rugby's ultimate fair-weather team, the elements didn't make them feel nearly as miserable as the remorseless Jonny Wilkinson, whose three field goals and five penalty goals supplied all his side's points in England's 24-7 victory."
- The Australian

'Wilkinson was peerless'

"Jonny Wilkinson stood up to his critics in the most emphatic fashion last night, dissecting France with 24 points to guide England to victory in their World Cup semi-final. Under intense scrutiny after several below par performances, the 24-year-old was peerless, marshalling his troops in the terrible conditions as he slotted all his team's points. There was not a sign of the timid, mistaken-riddled five-ighth from the Wales quarter-final."
- Herald Sun

'A dream Ashes Final'

"Australia's last step to a third World Cup title last night became the hardest of all when England's Jonny Wilkinson became able to turn his kicking radar to a dream Ashes Final. Wilkinson's peerless kicking game gave England full value for the pressure they put on France in a tenacious 24-7 semi-final win at Sydney's Telstra Stadium."
- The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)

'A chance to get one back on Australia'

"Champion fly-half Jonny Wilkinson last night gave his team the chance to get one back on Australia by kicking England into Saturday's rugby World Cup final. Saturday's final will provide a classic confrontation between the sporting arch rivals after Australia sealed the rugby league series against Great Britain in Hull on Saturday, Steve Waugh's Test team easily won the Ashes last summer and the Socceroos defeated England in a friendly at Upton Park in February."
- The West Australian