Warren Gatland Rugby Analyst: Having begun watching the first semi-final as the picture of impartiality I found myself rooting for England by the end of the match.

They played to their strengths, gritted their teeth and just hung in there against opponents who stopped playing rugby, after a bright start, and ultimately contributed to their own downfall.

France will rue this defeat primarily because it was largely by their own hand they perished. The most obvious example was Damien Traille's fatal dithering that gifted England the opening score of the World Cup semi-final and by extension helped them settle into the contest quickly.

Josh Lewsey deserves great credit for not alone being sharp to the once-again-excellent Andy Gomarsall's kick but also demonstrating power and determination to break the tackle and force his way over Traille. In some respects the characteristics that Lewsey showed in scoring were pretty much representative of those mustered by England on Saturday night.

Having endured a disastrous start, France responded brilliantly by playing all the rugby and forcing their opponents to concede penalties. They varied their game cleverly and moved the England pack around, and had they continued in the same vein they would probably have won the game comfortably.

Having got themselves in front, however, they stopped playing and just started to kick indiscriminately and poorly.

It was like someone had flicked a switch. France ceded the momentum to England, their error rate spiralled and the world champions started to squeeze.

One thing that struck me in this regard was the impression that several of England's more experienced players had taken over the running of the game and, crucially, the team tactics. If you analyse the way England played, it wasn't typical of Brian Ashton's teams. There was a ruthless pragmatism about what they were trying to do. I do not have the facts to support the assertion but I suspect the England coach empowered some of the senior players to problem solve for themselves on the pitch. If that's the case then he deserves great credit.

In a tight contest of this nature - it reminded me of an old-fashioned test match - the margins between victory and defeat are minuscule: Lewsey's opportunism and a wonderful tap tackle by Joe Worsley that saved a certain try. It's hard to recall any other real try-scoring possibilities.

It may not have been the most attractive game of rugby from a quality perspective but the raw, emotional intensity was captivating.

The fact England managed to stay tight on the scoreboard helped to foster their belief that they could win, reinforced by the fact that French anxiety in the second half manifested itself in aimless punting. Suddenly the nuts and bolts from what had been a well-oiled French set-piece machine were strewn all over the Stade de France.

Despite dominating territory and possession, the French started to hide behind the kick-and-chase philosophy, trying not to lose but not daring to win in a proactive way. They wanted to freewheel to victory.

England just kept tackling, chasing and counter-rucking aggressively, and when the opportunities arose, Jonny Wilkinson applied the coup de grâce. It is instructive to note that this was another match where defence won the overall honours.

Jason Robinson was brilliant. Gomarsall and Wilkinson were much more effective than their counterparts. And the England pack demonstrated an unbending will.

You cannot coach or buy experience, and it was that quality that helped England into a second successive World Cup final.

France may question referee Jonathan Kaplan's interpretation of the mauls, where England seemed to transgress with impunity, but as they say, you must play the referee.

Ultimately, the French must look to themselves to discover why they allowed this match to slip from their grasp.

In last night's other semi-final, Argentina abandoned the tactics that had steered them to the penultimate stage of the World Cup. The first intercept try was a major setback but it was their lack of precision and accuracy in the basics that undid them.

They did put pressure on the South African scrum, but the Argentine lineout disintegrated, and denied this platform, they could not apply sustained pressure.

During the anthems the Pumas seemed hugely emotional. It was almost as if there was a realisation of what they had achieved in reaching this stage of the tournament.

They played as individuals. They tried to run ball from the wrong positions and kicked when they should have held onto the ball. South Africa began nervously but simply settled into a rhythm of aggressive defence.

They forced turnovers and grabbed three tries before the interval. They did keep Argentina in the match with some poor discipline but in the end they just played the clock and bided their time, only occasionally showing flashes of what they can do.

Argentina have enriched this World Cup, but as I suspected before the game, this was one match too far on their odyssey.