England will take on New Zealand in the Women’s Rugby World Cup final after they held off Canada in a nerve-racking semi-final at Eden Park.

Simon Middleton’s side booked their place in next week’s showpiece match after edging to a 26-19 victory in Auckland, with Canada pushing them all the way.

The tough victory saw England extend their winning run to 30 games and sets up a final with hosts and holders New Zealand, who came back to see off France.

Closer match than many predicted

The Red Roses began the contest in fine form, striking first blood through Marlie Packer in the ninth minute.

When Abby Dow found her way across the line just four minutes later, it looked like the world number one side were on track for a landslide victory.

However, amateurs Canada refused to roll over, breathing life into their game through a try from Karen Paquin in the 22nd minute.

Both teams traded points throughout the rest of the first half, with England keeping a narrow 15-12 advantage at half-time.

England pushed their lead out to six through an Emily Scarratt penalty in the early stages of the second half, and maintained the ascendancy with Dow’s second five-pointer in the 50th minute.

The match then settled into an arm wrestle until Tyson Beukeboom scored in the 68th minute to keep Canada’s hopes alive.

Penalty goals for each side kept the scoreboard rolling over until England were ultimately able to repel a late offensive from Canada and secure the thrilling World Cup victory.

New Zealand hang on against France

In the second semi-final, France missed a late penalty goal and the chance to join England in the final as New Zealand held on to win 25-24 on Saturday.

After the Red Roses had earlier seen off Canada, it was time for the Black Ferns to take centre stage at Eden Park.

Hosts New Zealand, though, were pushed all the way by a determined French side, with Caroline Drouin missing a penalty in the 80th minute which would have sealed a memorable victory.

France raced into a 10-0 lead following an early penalty by fly-half Drouin and then a try from Marine Menager.

New Zealand, though, were soon back on level terms after Stacey Fluhler went over only for France to score another try from Gabrielle Vernier just before the break to go into half-time 17-10 ahead.

Ruby Tui scored for the hosts again soon after the restart, with Renee Holmes missing the chance of the extra points before Theresa Fitzpatrick charged through to make it 22-17 just before the hour.

Late semi-final drama at Eden Park

A penalty from captain Ruahei Demant looked to have put the match beyond France heading into the closing stages.

However, a driving maul from a line-out ended with Menager touching down between the posts to reduce the deficit to just one point.

A high tackle from Santo Taumata on Agathe Sochat was revived by the Television Match Official (TMO), resulting in a yellow card for the replacement prop and a penalty for France – which Drouin sent agonisingly wide as the hosts held out.

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