England will face the Black Ferns in the World Cup final after claiming a hard-fought 20-3 win over France in Belfast on Tuesday.
In an epic encounter, England scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to come away with a victory against a plucky France team.
The first-half was all about defence, and neither England nor France managed to score a try. At the break, the teams were deadlocked at 3-3 courtesy of a penalty apiece by Emily Scarratt and Shannon Izar.
France began to falter in the second half and England pounced on their mistakes. Scarratt nailed a second penalty to hand England a three-point advantage. England then seized control of the match with two converted tries in the final quarter to secure their place in the title-decider.
Prop Sarah Bern barged over for the opening try of the match and replacement Megan Jones rounded off the scoring with a try in stoppage-time. Scarratt succeeded with both conversion attempts to put some gloss on the scorecard.
England will meet New Zealand in the final on Saturday.
England – Tries: Sarah Bern, Megan Jones. Conversions: Emily Scarratt (2). Penalties: Scarratt (2).
France – Penalty: Shannon Izar.
England – 15 Danielle Waterman, 14 Lydia Thompson, 13 Emily Scarratt, 12 Rachael Burford, 11 Kay Wilson, 10 Katy McLean, 9 Nathasha Hunt, 8 Sarah Hunter, 7 Marlie Packer, 6 Alex Matthews, 5 Tamara Taylor, 4 Abbie Scott, 3 Sarah Bern, 2 Amy Cokayne, 1 Vickii Cornborough.
Subs: 16 Vicky Fleetwood, 17 Rochelle Clark, 18 Justine Lucas, 19 Harriet Millar-Mills, 20 Izzy Noel-Smith, 21 La Toya Mason, 22 Amber Reed, 23 Megan Jones.
France – 15 Montserrat Amedee, 14 Elodie Guilion, 13 Caroline Ladagnous, 12 Elodie Poublan, 11 Shannon Izar, 10 Caroline Drouin, 9 Yanna Rivoalen, 8 Safi N’Diaye, 7 Julie Annery, 6 Marjorie Mayans,5 Audrey Forlani, 4 Lenaig Corson, 3 Julie Duval, 2 Gaelle Mignot (c), 1 Annaelle Deshayes.
Subs: 16 Caroline Thomas, 17 Lise Arricastre, 18 Patricia Carricaburu, 19 Manon Andre, 20 Coumba Diallo, 21 Jade Le Pesq, 22 Carla Neisen, 23 Chloe Pelle.
Photo: @EnglandRugby/Twitter
