England fans may have a restless night before this weekend’s final, but the players are unlikely to lose any sleep. A strict regime drawn up by fitness coaches, nutritionists and scientists means that their body clocks will be set perfectly for the game.

For the past week, the players have been training between 7.30pm and 9pm instead of during the day. Sleep experts have recommended that they enjoy very late nights and wake up late in the mornings.

A person’s body clock usually dips every 24 hours between 2am and 6am, with a smaller dip into sleepiness after lunchtime. Most people are invigorated some time between 6pm and 8pm. As a result, Olympic athletes are likeliest to break world records at night when the body is at its most dynamic.

The new sleep pattern, established after the quarter-final victory against Australia, ensures that the team will be at their peak on Saturday night.

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BACKGROUND

• Cueto ready to prove his point in Dad’s Army

• Hipkiss bid to force Ashton’s hand falls short

• Clive Woodward: Why England are my favourites

• Resurgent Gomarsall sets his sights on summit

BACKGROUND

• France exceed all expectations as hosts

• Steyn presents threat in close final

• Broccoli for breakfast is recipe for success

• The rough (sleeper’s) guide to Paris

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• Robinson calls for 'one last push'

• Springboks unchanged for final

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Jonny Wilkinson’s understudy at fly half, Toby Flood, told The Times: “It takes about three days to become accustomed to the change in sleep patterns. When I get home I’ll be wandering around like an insomniac around 3 to 4 o’clock in the morning.”

The regime has been set by Calvin Morris, the team’s fitness coach, and Matt Lovell, the nutritionist, both of whom have worked with Olympians. Flood said that Lovell told each player “exactly what you’re going to eat, and when you’re going to eat it”. Each player is also weighed to work out precisely how much fluid he should take in before and during the match.

Their diet is designed to release energy slowly. A typical breakfast could be a bowl of porridge or plate of chicken with broccoli. Four hours before the match starts, players might have chicken with pasta.

Amanda Ursell, the Times nutritionist, said: “Eating four hours before the game is perfect. Everything will have left your stomach, so nothing will be bouncing around while you’re playing. Also, the nutrients would have just digested and be in your blood, whizzing around and doing their good.”

Even this meticulous planning does not prevent the jitters though. Wilkinson wrote in The Times on Monday that he had only an hour’s sleep after the semi-final win against France. “When I did go to bed my mind won’t stop racing,” he said. “I’m just wired.”

Jim Horne, a sleep expert, said: “If you’re down to one hour’s sleep it might affect you mentally. Physically, adrenalin will overcome the sleepiness, but extreme sleep loss does affect your ability to work out tactics. You might take your eye off the game and miss a trick.”

Sleep deprivation will make a player repeat tried and tested moves. That will come as good news for fans hoping to see Wilkinson repeat the last-minute kick that won the 2003 final.

French transport will be thrown into chaos today by a 24-hour public sector strike that could be extended to disrupt travel to the Stade de France for the World Cup final on Saturday.

A site for sore eyes

My attempts to storm the fortress of the rugby World Cup organising committee website were thwarted. It was the last official sale of tickets for the final and I had opted for a full-frontal assault on the French and English pages, multiple windows, aggressive mouse-clicking. I was told to try later. The 2,000 tickets sold out in 20 minutes.

First principles

Somewhere among the mass of corporate sponsors and affiliated organisations, there must be an unwanted ticket. I call a big French sponsor: Société General. A lady on the switchboard puts me through to a colleague. “We don’t have any tickets any more,” she says. “All the most important people are already going. I am sorry. Maybe next time.”

Off to Paris

There are reports from Paris that touts are hoovering up the best tickets. Time to get there. This is no mean feat. Even the seven-hour overnight coach rides are fully booked. National Express has been providing extra coaches. “We’ve laid on ten buses for each departure time and they’re all full,” said a sales agent. “It’s like D-Day.”

— Will Pavia