Red Roses reach World Cup Final

The sporting weekend kicked off in thrilling fashion with an extremely tense victory for England’s Red Roses over Canada in the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. 

From the very beginning, the amateurs from Canada were outstanding, forcing England into some early errors but the Red Roses turned to their powerful forwards for the opening score, Marlie Packer driving over from a lineout, with Emily Scaratt adding the extras. 

If the first try was all about functional force, the second was a thing of beauty, Abby Dow finishing off a lovely move to score in the corner. The Canada response was swift and decisive, reducing the lead to 12-5 with a Karen Paquin score. 

Visibly buoyed by their performance, Canada then drew level five minutes before half-time, with Alysha Corrigan touching down for a converted score, and it was no more than the underdogs deserved. 

A Scarratt penalty on the stroke of half-time edged England back in front, and she did it again after the restart for an 18-12 advantage. The Red Roses then scored arguably the try of the tournament, Claudia MacDonald feeding Dow on the halfway line and her pace to reach the line was simply sensational. 

Canada, to their immense credit, came back again with a try from Tyson Beukeboom (brilliant name) and England were under huge pressure in the closing stages, Scarratt finally confirming a 26-19 with a late penalty. 

England captain Sarah Hunter said: "It was incredible, we came here to get into the final. Boy did Canada test us. It was a showcase for what women's rugby is all about. 

"Canada were relentless, we had to put our bodies on the line and we were desperate to get into the final.”