Rugby World Cup: France last-gasp penalty miss sees New Zealand book repeat final spot against England
France have never before made it to a women's Rugby World Cup final; trailing by one-point in a dramatic finish, fly-half Caroline Drouin had the chance to win it but missed her penalty wide left; hosts New Zealand will now face England in the final next Saturday at 6.30am UK time
Last Updated: 05/11/22 12:35pm
Holders New Zealand survived a last-minute missed penalty from France to book their place in the women's Rugby World Cup final against England with a 25-24 win in Auckland.
In a hugely dramatic finish, fly-half Caroline Drouin had a chance to win it for France with a penalty awarded in front of the posts after Black Ferns prop Santo Taumata was yellow-carded for a high tackle, but Drouin shanked her last-minute kick wide left.
- England beat Canada in nail-biting semi-final
- Women's World Cup fixtures | Results
- Women's World Cup news
After the Red Roses had earlier seen off Canada, hosts New Zealand were pushed all the way by a determined French side, but ultimately pulled off a great escape in front of a roaring home crowd, setting up what promises to be a blockbuster final next Saturday, with kick-off at 6.30am UK time.
It will also be a repeat of the 2017 final, which the Black Ferns won 41-32 in Belfast.
France have never made it to a World Cup title match and will rue a semi-final that got away from them after they did the hard work early.
The French had raced into an early 10-0 lead following a penalty by Drouin and then a try from Marine Menager, with the pressure finally telling after New Zealand had fought off a fierce, 17-phase assault on their try-line in the opening minutes.
But home side were soon back on level terms after Stacey Fluhler went over, only for France to score another try from Gabrielle Vernier just before the break to go into half-time 17-10 ahead.
Ruby Tui scored for the hosts again soon after the restart, with Renee Holmes missing the chance of the extra points - as well as a long-range penalty a few minutes later - before Theresa Fitzpatrick charged through to make it 22-17 just before the hour mark.
France went a woman down with a yellow card for loose forward Safi N'Diaye for a high tackle in the 70th minute, and a penalty from captain Ruahei Demant looked to have put the match beyond doubt heading into the closing stages.
However, a driving maul from a line-out ended with Menager touching down between the posts for her second try to reduce the deficit to just one point and set up a grandstand finish.
A high tackle from Taumata on Agathe Sochat was reviewed by the Television Match Official (TMO), resulting in a yellow card for the replacement prop and a penalty for France, which Drouin sent agonisingly wide as the hosts held out.
"It was just an unbelievable ending, really," New Zealand coach Wayne Smith said after the game.
"I thought we were pretty jittery at the start. I thought it was gone, but it wasn't. It's there and we've got a chance next week."
England beat Canada in nail-biting semi-final
England booked their place in the women's Rugby World Cup final with a nail-biting 26-19 win over Canada at Auckland's Eden Park on Saturday, with a length-of-the-field try by Abby Dow swinging the game in the two-time champions' favour.
With Canada tying things up with four minutes left in the first half, a pair of penalties either side of the break from Emily Scarratt put England back in front, before Dow truly dented Canada's hopes 10 minutes into the second half.
England turned determined defence into devastating attack within seconds when Claudia MacDonald received the ball behind her own try line before bursting towards the halfway line and feeding Dow, who used her searing pace to outstrip the Canadian defenders and score in the corner.
The tournament favourites, who will be playing in a sixth straight final, extended their record winning streak to 30 games.
"It was incredible," England captain Sarah Hunter said after the game. "We've come here to get into that game next week, but boy did Canada really test us.
"Right down to the wire it went, so proud of the way the team dug in at the end... We were desperate to get into that final next week."
She added: "We're a team that realises we haven't won anything yet. We'll save celebrating until if we get the result we want next week."
