Can France stop Sheridan?

Andrew Sheridan has become the talisman for England's resurgence at this World Cup.

The giant prop was the cornerstone of his side's unexpected quarter-final victory last weekend, wrecking Australia's scrum and making hard yards in the loose.

France know they must nullify "Big Ted" in Saturday's semi-final if they are to fulfil the dream of playing in a World Cup final on home soil.

Yet former England hooker Steve Thompson believes Sheridan can again be the driving force behind a dominant performance.

Thompson was part of the England pack that inspired a 24-7 win over Les Bleus in the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup.

"I think England's forwards can have the same impact on Saturday that we did four years ago," Thompson told BBC Sport.

"We went into that match with the aim of taking the game to them and breaking their forwards. We managed to do exactly that and the French crumbled.

"If England can get the upper hand up front on Saturday, I think the French could get frustrated and perhaps even lose discipline.

"Then playing at home could become a negative factor for them, because the crowd could start to get on their backs."

Sheridan, 27, started his professional career as a back-row forward, moving first into the second row before a permanent conversion to the front row only five years ago.

Injury has restricted him to 17 caps since his England debut against Canada in 2004.

And Thompson, who played alongside Sheridan with the Lions in 2005 as well as England, believes the Sale man can still improve massively.

"Technically, I'd say Andrew is a good scrummager, but not world class yet," Thompson said.

"That will only come with game time. Andrew came to propping late and has been injured a lot in the last few years.

"He needs to be regularly playing in European competitions and in internationals. He needs to be given a really hard time by an opposition prop, because you learn more from that than having an easy ride.

"But he's only going to get better, because he has so much raw potential."

Thompson, forced to retire earlier this year because of chronic back and neck injuries, believes the French front row of Olivier Milloud, Raphael Ibanez and Peter de Villiers will pose a tougher test than their Australian counterparts.

"France take pride in their set-pieces and will pose a sterner test to England," he added.

"They will have tactics for taking Andrew on. They won't try and go head to head against him and will get him on angles where he's not comfortable.

"Andrew is strong but not the most mobile, so they will twist him and take him out of his comfort zone.

"Paul Wallace employed these tactics, and showed how to get the better of a much bigger prop, when he took on Os du Randt for the Lions in 1997."

Philippe Saint-Andre, the director of rugby at Sale, says the French, whose squad includes Sharks forwards Sebastien Bruno and Sebastien Chabal, will use inside knowledge to combat Sheridan.

"Bruno and Chebal are very good friends of Andrew's and I am sure they will have a strategy," Saint-Andre told BBC Sport.

"France are going to have to be very, very clever. The scrum is still the best form of attack and best form of defence in the game - we saw that last Saturday.

"Australia struggled and it meant they did not have any good ball."

Saint-Andre says he was not surprised by how well Sheridan played against Australia.

"Andrew is confident and fully fit at the moment and is one of the best players in his position in the world," Saint-Andre said.

"He did exactly the same to Australia two years ago, but was then injured for 15 months.

"In the last three or four months he has played seven or eight games for England consecutively, that has been the key. He had a fantastic game against Australia.

"He showed power, strength and drive. But his work-rate was also incredible."

Source: BBC Sport