With only hours to go until the World Rugby U20 Championship 2017 semi-finals get underway at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi, we decided to get the thoughts of TV commentators Willie Lo'se and Simon Ward on what fans can expect from England v South Africa and New Zealand v France.

England v South Africa 

Simon, these two nations have met four times already in the semi-finals so aren't strangers to each other?

I am not sure how much history will play into this one, especially on the back of the last two games which were effectively quarter-finals. I think we saw a new South Africa coming through, particularly in attack and 11 tries against Argentina says it all to a large extent. You have got five fly-halves in that backline so you know you have got creativity and you know you have got flexibility, but what we saw was cutting edge, imagination, thrust and execution and, of course, they have kept that backline intact for this semi-final. I think we are seeing a different South Africa coming through now. A lot of people are talking about how South Africa need to change ... well, maybe that change is starting here at U20s with the Junior Springboks. 

What about England, they had a very different match last time out against Australia?

I am not sure with England. Going into that Australia came we talked about how calm and assured they were, they had all the tools in the box and had shown plenty of them going into that game in terms of how they were able to manipulate the game, manage the game and get tries on the board from different angles. Against Australia they really were put onto the back foot from the first whistle and had to cope with it and that was a different challenge for them. They will be delighted to be in the semi-finals because for large portions of that game they really didn’t look like they were going to get ahead of an Australian side that were rampant, both in terms of the pack and the whole team playing attack.

But credit to England because they will take a lot of belief from that game in as much as they held on thanks to Max Malins’ boot, thanks to Gabriel Ibitoye’s remarkable finish. Again we have seen Ibitoye produce a quite astounding finish in a phonebox to get a try down that nobody thought he had a right to score. Those sort of positives they will take through.

They have had an extra day between those two matches to recover. Mentally they will be fine I am sure, it’s the physical strains that they went through in that Australia game that make you think how are they going to bounce back and they will need to bounce back because we know this South African side have the physicality should it be needed. What we saw from the last game, of course, is that they have an attack that is quite different. England will be galvanised by the victory, it will be interesting to see from that first whistle whether they go in with that same sort of set-up that we saw against Wales and against Samoa against this South African side and that is the key for me, how they start, how they come out of the blocks and how quickly then they settle.

What type of game do you think we are going to see?

Taken from the last round robin matches, I think it will have plenty of pace on it if South Africa have got the ball. I think they will be delighted and invigorated by the way they scored tries in the last match and no doubt will be looking to replicate that against England. I think England may well look to keep it tighter early on in order to squeeze the game a bit to make sure that South Africa don’t hit their straps too early in their attack, trying to limit the gears that they can go through and manage that game a bit more. England similarly have plenty of attacking thrust out wide, it is a matter of when they use it and I think we may see a more structured England, certainly in the early parts of the match.

What do you think could be the key thing to claiming the victory?

Wow, there are more than one to be honest. It could well be a moment of magic from Ibitoye. He’s scored in every round, those tries against Australia and Wales showed that he is a world-class finisher. It could be a moment of magic from any of that South Africa backline and I am particularly looking at Wandisile Simelane, who whether at outside centre or on the wing has produced some quite electric rugby. That said he has got to watch his discipline, two yellow cards now, both for tripping. If anybody forces their team into 10 minutes a man down that could give the opposition the chance to take the lead and then not relinquish it. I think the ultimate line for this semi-final is that in any sporting contest you want a question mark as to the outcome and I think in this semi-final there is a huge question mark.

New Zealand v France

Willie, you've seen a lot of New Zealand in this tournament, how would you sum up their performances to date?

I think they are tracking nicely. I think the shock of last year being fifth really sits uncomfortably with a number of the players but also the coaches who have changed their strategy and are playing more of a New Zealand type style of game as well. The conditions have played a big part in that, last year they didn’t have a Plan B, playing in the rain and wet in Manchester, and they struggled against a very committed Irish side. We saw the other day in pool play that they wanted revenge on a hard ground and to score the tries that they did, some of them going the full length of the field, just the skill set that they have got. I have always believed that if teams can stay with New Zealand, and South Africa and England, as far as the skill set goes then it is always going to be a great game.

What do this New Zealand team have that perhaps those of the previous few years were missing?

I think they have got a nine and 10 that are controlling the game brilliantly and making good decisions. Ereatara Enari is just one of those types of half-backs, he is so decisive but also just makes good decisions. What I mean is if there are three runners, he will pick the one that will got through the gap as opposed to just passing along the line. He has been instrumental as far as I am concerned. Tiaan Falcon is a guy who was identified at High School level. We saw a lot of him at that level in New Zealand but he just seems to show a lot more maturity in this competition. For me I think that is what it is, you need a great nine and 10 and this year New Zealand actually have both.

How do you think they are going to stack up against France?

I have seen a little of France. They are a great side, any side that can draw with South Africa as red hot as they are says a lot. The thing that I like about this French team is they are big, physical and they are confident. Anyone who has played against France knows if they get their tails up it is a long 80 minutes and a long day at the office. For me, New Zealand need to assert dominance in the set-piece and really knock the confidence out of the French straight from the kick-off. You have really got to put them on their backside, be physical in the tackle, physical at the breakdown and contact areas and just ask questions of the French because when they are confident they are unbeatable, but once they start to look around and argue amongst themselves they can implode.

There's a great rivalry between New Zealand and France at international level, especially in Rugby World Cups?

You can take it back to the 1999 World Cup, everybody thought New Zealand was going to win that at the highest level and then along comes France in the semi-finals and they repeated the same medicine in 2007 and on that occasion it was the quarter-finals, the All Blacks’ worst ever tournament. I think that is what it is. I think in the past, including at this tournament, sides take the field and they see the black jersey and sometimes they are in awe of it. South Africa never feel that way, England have learnt and that is why they have won the tournament on three occasions because they are not overawed by New Zealanders now, they don’t care about the history or how good it is at the top level, and France have finally learnt to have that arrogance. I am not criticising them, I am saying it is a great arrogance to have because it says to me we are here to play and we don’t care what colour your jersey is, just make sure you can play to our level. That is what I have loved about this French side. They are exciting, it is going to be a terrific match and two dream semi-finals that are really worth being top class.

Who do you think will come out on top on semi-finals day? Join the conversation @WorldRugby using #WorldRugbyU20s.