Brilliant Kildunne helps England to grind down France and reach World Cup final

BRISTOL, England :Ellie Kildunne returned for England to score two superb individual tries as they ground down a resilient France to reach the Women's World Cup final with a 35-17 victory on Saturday that teed up a showdown with Canada.

England fullback Kildunne, who missed their quarter-final against Scotland due to concussion, produced a moment of brilliance in each half as her scorching pace delivered two of England's five tries.

Amy Cokayne, Abbie Ward and Megan Jones also crossed for the tournament hosts but it was a testing and bruising semi-final at Ashton Gate for the world's top-ranked side.

England, who extended their world-record winning run to 32 matches with a gritty if unspectacular performance, will face Canada at Twickenham next Saturday.

The statistics made grim reading for France heading into the contest, with England having won their last 16 meetings and not lost at home to their opponents since 2015. This was their sixth meeting at the World Cup, with England winning all five previous encounters, including three semi-finals.

Yet the old saying that matches are not played on paper appeared apt as France became the first team at this tournament to make England look vulnerable.

The hosts got off to a flying start when Kildunne struck the first blow.

Hannah Botterman fed the ball to the England fullback on the left wing and she turned on the after-burners to run clear before cutting inside France's last defender and touching down between the posts, with Zoe Harrison adding the first of her five conversions.

World player of the year Kildunne had been far from her best at the tournament but this was a reminder of what she is capable of.

England's lead looked fragile, however, and France deservedly struck