Women’s Rugby World Cup: Canada stun New Zealand 34-19 to reach final vs England or France

Canada inflict first World Cup loss on New Zealand since 2014 after dominant first-half display; England play France in Saturday’s second semi-final at 3.30pm in Bristol; Red Roses bidding to reach seventh consecutive final

The Canadian team produced a stunning first-half performance to inflict a first defeat in the tournament on the double defending champions since 2014.

Six-time champions New Zealand produced a spirited fightback after the restart but could not prevent Canada reaching their second World Cup final after losing to England 11 years ago.

It was the Black Ferns’ eighth semi-final and they had only lost once to Canada in 19 previous encounters, yet they looked like rabbits caught in the headlights as they fell 17-0 down within 24 minutes.

True to predictions of a thriller in the clash between rivals positioned second and third in the global rankings the ball was kept alive with impressive accuracy, but it was Canada who showed their killer instinct to book their place in the Allianz Stadium final next weekend.

“That was crazy. It was fun to play rugby and we’ve shown what rugby can be,” Canada’s player-of-the-match Pelletier told BBC Sport.

“A lot of grit, a lot of resilience, a lot of hard work. It’s not just one game, it’s a lot of hustle in the dark. Now we’re in the light. Thanks for everyone’s support.

England face Six Nations rivals France in Bristol on Saturday looking to seal passage to a seventh successive World Cup final – and second on home soil.

The Red Roses enter ‘Le Crunch’ as red-hot favourites after winning their previous 31 Test matches, a record run that stretches back to the 2022 World Cup final defeat to New Zealand.

England have won their last 18 matches against France dating back to 2018, but in their last two meetings on home soil they just held off mighty comebacks from Les Bleus.

“If you let them in, if you give France access, they grow in energy,” Mitchell added. “It’s about staying focused on what’s next, regardless of what the scoreboard says and not putting a ceiling on if you’re ahead because, ultimately, then you become defensive.

“It’s always about making sure that you continue to attack the opposition and hunt them. That’s a different mindset and a different approach, but you still need to be very clear around what’s next to not get off process.

“We’ve got to earn the right to another week. It’s as simple as that. If we stick to our processes and we continue to build pressure on teams the way that we can, there’s no reason why we can’t control that next week. But we’re going to have to earn it.”