Entrants were being told by the end of today whether they were among the lucky last few to pocket tickets, while tens of thousands of others are expected to make the trip across the Channel on Saturday.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) said returned tickets from other countries knocked out of the tournament would also be released tomorrow morning.

An IRB spokeswoman said it was impossible to predict how many tickets would be released – or at what price – until they were all returned but confirmed they would go on public sale through the competition’s official site, www.rugbyworldcup.com.

The RFU’s business operations director Paul Vaughan said: “We received the same number of tickets in 2003 but with France being so much more accessible to fans than Australia the demand for tickets this time around has been phenomenal.”

Four-figure sums have been offered for tickets on the internet.

Bids on the online auction site eBay are ranging from an ambitious £250 (€359) for one to £8,500 (€12,200) for a pair of tickets.

Eric Baker, founder and chief executive of ticket exchange viagogo, said tickets had sold for over £3,000 (€4,306) as England fans scrambled for the chance to follow their heroes.

With the number of fans crossing the Channel expected to be similar to the 40,000 who made the trip for England’s semi-final against France, accommodation was also looking hard to come by.

The Paris Tourism Office today said the city’s hotels were at around 80% capacity and advised visitors to bring tents to pitch at suburban campsites.

The Metropolitan Police said “initial preliminary work” had begun on the possibility of a homecoming victory parade if England retain the Webb Ellis Cup.

A spokeswoman said the RFU had not yet approached the force about a possible public celebration, but she added: “The Metropolitan Police have however started some initial preliminary work should we receive such an approach, due to the time scales we would have to operate under if one was to go ahead.”

When England won the Cup in 2003, an estimated half a million people lined the streets of central London to welcome home the team after their triumph in Australia.

Among those heading to Paris for the Stade de France match will be Gordon Brown and Prince Harry, but as a guest of the Rugby Football Union the Prime Minister will go free.

For other fans able to afford tickets, the cost of transport could be enough to price them out: some airlines airlines were charging up to £1,000 (€1,435) for a return from London to Paris over the weekend.

During the hour after Saturday night’s semi-final, 5,000 people logged on to Eurostar’s website to search for tickets. The company had anticipated extra trains might be needed a few weeks ago and added seven additional services to its Paris schedule for the weekend.

A huge armchair audience is expected for the match after viewing figures revealed more than 12 million people – over half of the television audience - watched the end of England’s victory over the French.

After a dismal performance in the group stages, Brian Ashton’s men were dubbed the worst reigning champions in history, but both they and South Africa have the chance to go top in the world rankings on Saturday.

International Rugby Board rankings announced today showed bookies’ favourite South Africa were up to second place and England up three to third after semi-final victories over Argentina and France, respectively.

The Springboks will top the rankings if they win, while the men in white can also assume the number one position with a victory of 16 points or more.