Mike Catt will complete one of English rugby's greatest comebacks when he runs out in the World Cup semi-final against France on Sunday.

The 32-year-old Bath centre has forced himself into England boss Clive Woodward's midfield equation, removing his club colleague Mike Tindall in the process.

It represents a staggering revival in fortunes for Catt, who spent most of last season injured and then only made England's World Cup squad because Charlie Hodgson and Alex King were both injured.

But his decision to take the summer off, make a full recovery and recharge the batteries has now reaped glorious dividends.

Sunday's clash at Telstra Stadium will see Catt win his 60th cap, but make just a second Test start since England beat South Africa at Twickenham two years ago.

He has been rewarded for an outstanding super-sub display against Wales last weekend, when his second-half appearance turned a tense quarter-final England's way.

"It's down to a lot of hard work," said Catt, a survivor from England's 1995 World Cup semi-final defeat against New Zealand in Cape Town, when he was famously 'run over' by a rampaging Jonah Lomu.

"It has been a pretty lonely road at times, but I never really lost sight of my ultimate goal, which was to play for England in the World Cup.

"I knew that if I just kept quiet and put my head down, I knew I would be capable of playing international rugby again.

"Clive believes in my ability, and has for the past five years, for which I am very grateful.

"A lot of people wrote me off six months ago, even two months ago, and that's why I say rugby is so fickle.

"Rugby has been everything to me in my life, but now I have a completely different outlook."

Woodward has no doubt that Catt deserves his call-up, even though Tindall remains one of England's most consistent performers.

"It was quite straightforward, he has been playing very well. I don't think it is any slight on Mike Tindall at all. Catt deserves his chance," said the England coach.

"We've set a lot of stall on this. It is a brutal world we live in, but Test match rugby is about winning. We've got a winning mentality, even though we haven't been playing well, but we are still winning.

"Clearly, France are going into the game with a little more form than us, but I think that you will find come Sunday, you can tear all those postscripts up. It's 15 versus 15.

"It doesn't matter how we win. We are not Torvill and Dean, we are not here to get marks out of 10.

"We haven't lost a game of any note for a long period of time, and I don't expect us to lose on Sunday. I am very confident in my team.''