But with in-form Wales standing in the way of a third World Cup final, Lièvremont has warned his troops that they cannot afford to let their level drop.

“The players fulfilled their moral contract. Now it’s up to them to write their own history.

“The risk is that we fail to digest the matches, that we think we are fantastic rugby players.

“This group, like each of its predecessors, has never been able to bounce back after a hard-fought win.

“Back up good performances? For the moment we don’t know how to do that. I’m demanding and my players sometimes complain that I show the worst side of things. But we will look at our mistakes in the second half.

“We chased the ball a lot and gave away a lot of penalties. I hope we wouldn’t try to just hang on to our lead. It wasn’t the case.”

Six players missed training today with minor injuries, but all are expected to be fit to take on Wales on Saturday.

The biggest doubt is scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili who was replaced after 50 minutes against England having suffered a bruise on his left thigh.

Meanwhile hooker William Servat has admitted a clear-the-air session after the defeat to Tonga was key to the improved performance against England.

He said: “Quite a lot of people spoke about the state of the squad, about us, and speculated on what was going on.

“We’ve given the best response. We are a squad which is enjoying ourselves. Last Sunday was an important moment that we shared. A few things were said which weren’t very nice to hear.”