England sealed a place in a seventh straight Women’s Rugby World Cup final with a 35-17 victory over France.

The Red Roses battled to hold a two-point lead at half-time but were clinical in the second half to secure the win over Les Bleues at Ashton Gate.

They will now face Canada on Saturday at Twickenham Stadium after they knocked out defending champions New Zealand in a thrilling 34-19 triumph.

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The Red Roses moved one game away from World Cup glory with a determined win over France in Bristol. 

Ellie Kildunne marked her return from concussion with a try after just five minutes, having been set up perfectly by Hannah Botterman on the halfway line.

France responded as they built phases patiently, eventually sending the ball out wide to Nassira Konde to score, but Morgane Bourgeois missed the conversion to see England retain the advantage.

The game was dominated by penalties from set-pieces, with expert jackalling from Botterman and Meg Jones crucial to stop France going ahead.

Les Bleues were unable to take their chances in the first half, with both sides seeing scores chalked off. 

England started the second half similarly to how they started the first, with a try; this time, Amy Cokayne dotted down from a 20-metre rolling maul.

France again hit back, this time through winger Kelly Arbey, but a try from Bristol native Abbie Ward and a second for Ellie Kildunne gave the Red Roses confidence of a 17th consecutive win over France.

It meant that Konde’s second on 73 minutes was not a cause for concern, and that was emphasised when Jones went over for a deserved score six minutes later to round out the victory.

Botterman impressed both in the scrum and at the breakdown on her return from injury and spoke of her delight in helping England get to the final, having missed the latter stages of the Red Roses’ run to the showpiece in 2022.

She said: “Missing out last time was difficult. I tried to enjoy the experience today. I really enjoy playing in these big games.

“We knew we had to get this job done first, and we still have one more massive job to do.

"I was massively disappointed and didn't feel like I'd got into a rhythm of it. I didn't play the second game, and came off early in the third and didn't play the fourth.

“I wanted to put my best rugby out there, and I did that in certain areas today. I am pleased with that.

“We've got a massive week coming up."