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 dogged 35-17 victory on Saturday that teed up an enticing 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, who inflicted a ninth successive semi-final defeat on France.
England, who extended their world-record winning run to 32 matches with a gritty if unspectacular performance, will face another stern test at Twickenham next Saturday against a Canada side who produced a dazzling display to beat New Zealand on Friday.
"I'm so proud we've got here, we're going to a final," said England captain Zoe Aldcroft. "I am super excited for the week. We can't believe it. We cannot wait to get out there."
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, missing a number of key players including suspended captain Manae Feleu, became the first team at this tournament to make England look vulnerable.
The hosts, chasing a third World Cup title, 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.
FRENCH PRESSURE
England's lead looked fragile, however, and France deservedly struck back in the 24th minute when Nassira Konde crossed following a spell of huge French pressure.
After the feast of attacking rugby served up by Canada against New Zealand on Friday, this was an altogether uglier encounter, with handling errors far more common than expansive line breaks.
Leading 7-5 at the break, England thought they had increased their lead early in the second half when Abby Dow's effort was ruled out for a forward pass, yet it was not long before the hosts struck again as a huge maul rumbled towards the French line before Cokayne touched down six minutes after the restart.
Once again, though, France conjured up a response - another spell of French pressure was resisted on the line but they spun it out wide for Kelly Arbey to score in the corner.
That was not the cue for France to turn the screw, however, with England restoring their nine-point cushion in an increasingly open encounter when Ward bundled over and Harrison added her third conversion.
Kildunne then took matters into her own hands, ducking inside several defenders and racing to the line to score a stunning individual effort.
That seemed to end France's resistance and when Holly Aitchison's grubber kick came back off the post, Jones picked it up to score England's fifth try in the final seconds.
For France, falling at the penultimate hurdle has become a familiar feeling yet, after seeing another opportunity to reach a first final slip through their fingers, co-head coach David Ortiz was full of praise for England.
"We knew we could have a big fight against England, we knew we could have a big arm wrestle against them. In the end they were very strong," he said.
"I want to wish them all the best for the final.”
