Drop of gold: Jonny holds his nerve to put England in final

An emotional Phil Vickery, England's captain, said: "If you had to put your mortgage on anyone, then Jonny's your man."

Jonny Wilkinson kicks a drop goal to seal dramatic victory

Wilkinson, whose drop-goal in the last minute of extra-time four years ago won the World Cup in Sydney against Australia, sent English fans in the Stade de France wild when his 74th-minute penalty and 78th minute drop-goal turned an 8-9 deficit into a 14-9 winning score.

Vickery added: "He took that penalty and the drop-goal chance as if it was a stroll in a park on a Sunday afternoon. He really is a great player."

But Wilkinson, whose kicking had looked out of sorts until the moments when it mattered most, was far from the only English hero on an astonishing night of drama.

England's Josh Lewsey scores the opening try of the match

Vickery hailed Joe Worsley's tap-tackle on Vincent Clerc when the French winger was clean through as a match-saving moment.

"It was try time," said Vickery. "Moments like that tackle are the difference between winning and losing World Cup semi-finals."

The victory, England's first in the French capital since 2000 but their second successive World Cup semi-final victory over France continued an extraordinary revival by Vickery's team since they were humbled 36-0 by South Africa at the very same venue just four weeks ago.

Nobody gave them a prayer of reaching the semi-finals, let alone next week's final.

Now the impossible has happened, and England will play the winners of tonight's second semi-final between South Africa and Argentina, when they bid to become the first country to retain the Webb Ellis Trophy.

Damien Traille of France is tackled by Mathew Tait

Vickery added: "Sometimes sport just doesn't make any sense. It's a very special day. The underdog has once more risen and come through. It wasn't a great game because both teams were desperate to win but the result is just fantastic for us.

"That South Africa result and performance was a bitter pill to swallow. We simply had to bounce back and we've been playing World Cup finals ever since. It's been a case of backs to the wall and we've made ourselves awkward enough to have got to another final. It's unbelievable, a real rollercoaster ride, and now we're looking forward to next Saturday."

Proud head coach Brian Ashton said: "It's been four cup finals in four weeks and we've won them all. The players deserve massive credit.

"They've shown incredible mental strength. That's why I selected the squad I did. I knew we needed players who have been here before and were up for the challenge. It's been up and down since I got the job in January, but this is the first time I've had the players together for a long period of time and at last it's beginning to show."

Raphael Ibanez, France captain and a Wasps team-mate of Vickery's, said: "The game was so close and it could have gone either way but England deserved to win because they took their chances. It's difficult to describe how disappointed we are."