Johnson wary of misfiring French

AUCKLAND, Oct 1, 2011 (AFP) - England coach Martin Johnson said on Saturday that his side would need to take a step up if they were to defeat misfiring France in the World Cup quarter-finals next weekend.

Speaking after Chris Ashton's try just before full-time had given England a 16-12 win over Scotland to clinch top spot in Pool B and a place in the last eight, Johnson said that France would be a huge challenge.

"France are dangerous and they're probably never more dangerous than when they're flying under the radar," said Johnson referring to the shock French defeat at the hands of Tonga earlier in the day. That was France's second defeat in a row after they lost to the All Blacks, but they still edged the Tongans for second place in Pool A setting up the clash with England.

"They are certainly flying under the radar -- we are too," he said.

"So if we play them next week, it's 80 minutes and whoever wins goes through. It gets quite simple really.

"But it is certainly a big step up in terms of the opposition we are facing, it will be knock-out rugby, big crowd, big stadium and we just need to step up.

"We need to come out and certainly play better than we did today if we want to win."

Johnson was skipper of the England team that defeated France 24-7 in the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup and four years ago it was England who came out on top again winning 14-9 in the semi-finals in Paris.

Johnson said England had struggled in the first half against the Scots, lacking in intensity at the start and giving away too many penalties and too much territory.

But he said the second half performance had been much better and his side had taken their chances when they came along.

"I think it was a bit like the Argentina game. We didn't really get a foothold in the game. We didn't get an opportunity to attack them." he said. "We kept our nerve. The guys who came on did very well. Eventually we got the reward.

"I wouldn't say we were clinical but we had the character to win the game. Teams are going to chance their arm at some point and that makes it a bit messy."

Johnson also defended goal-kicker Jonny Wilkinson, whose poor form with the boot continued as he missed three early penalties before coming good in he second half with a huge drop goal that started the England comeback.

"We took our opportunities. We did a good job. Jonny's (Wilkinson) drop goal put us back in the match," he said. Skipper Lewis Moody had praise for the way the Scots back row made it difficult for his side to construct their moves the way they had planned.