Mike Catt has given England another option in midfield after his commanding performance in the second-half against Wales.
The Bath centre wasn’t even part of the 50-man training squad before winning his late call into the squad after proving his fitness in his club’s warm-up games.
But he sparked the second-half revival against Samoa, impressed with two tries against Uruguay and settled everyone’s nerves against Wales with precise distribution and some booming tactical kicks
Dan Luger was taken off at half-time as England trailed 10-3 with Mike Tindall taking over on the wing and Catt slotting in between Jonny Wilkinson and Will Greenwood.
And Catt would relish the chance of a starting role in the semi-final against France.
“Whatever comes my way, comes my way,” said Catt.
"It was a lot easier for me, having watched the game in the first 40 minutes, to come on and change the way things were being played. I had that advantage.”
"I am thoroughly enjoying it at the moment. It was great to get a run-out. We've got a lot to work do, but we are through to the semi-final of the World Cup, and that's pretty impressive in its own right
"We played a lot of the first-half in our own half, so it was a case of trying to take the pressure off the forwards a little bit by trying to play down in Wales' half. We caused a few mistakes and got the points."
After the game England boss Clive Woodward admitted the man on his right at the post-match press conference had helped change the course of the quarter-final.
“Mike Catt made quite a difference - I’m not going to say anything else while I’m sat next to him,” joked Woodward.
