England overcomes France to face Canada in Women’s Rugby World Cup final

England's Amy Cokayne celebrates her try during the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 semifinal match between France and England in Bristol, England, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

England will face Canada in the final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup after beating a spirited France 35-17 in Bristol on Saturday.

England was brilliant in defence, the breakdowns and set-pieces but a misfiring attack kept alive France hopes in the sold-out semifinal at Ashton Gate.

France had a lot of regrets. Despite forced changes after the quarterfinal win over Ireland, Les Bleues were all over England in the first half but weren’t clinical enough and somehow trailed at halftime 7-5.

The lead was still only 14-12 an hour in until the injection of new front-rowers gave England the power to blast through the French defence and get lock Abbie Ward over the line.

An opportunistic second try by fullback Ellie Kildunne for 28-12 with 10 minutes to go finally put England out of reach.

“They threw everything at us and we were able to break them eventually,” England coach John Mitchell said. “I always said to the girls it’s going to take a long time, but probably a little bit longer than I thought it would.”

England will go after its third World Cup title next Saturday and first since 2014, when it beat Canada. The teams will play in front of a world record crowd of 82,000 for a women’s standalone international after Twickenham was sold out before the tournament.

Canada set up the 1-versus-2 showdown by stunning two-time defending champion New Zealand 34-19 on Friday.

Foster Niumata, The Associated Press