New Zealand beat England to win women's Rugby World Cup, France take bronze

New Zealand beat England 34-31 in the final of the women's Rugby World Cup in Auckland. It was the hosts' sixth World cup title. Ayesha Leti-I'iga scored the only try for the Black Ferns. England's Lydia Thompson was shown a red card for a head-high tackle. England played three-quarters of their game with 14 players. The game was played in front of a record crowd of 40,000 people. New Zealand's coach Wayne Smith had steered his team to 11 straight wins.

England beat New Zealand to win the women's Rugby World Cup. France beat Canada 36-0 in the playoff for third place. France scored five tries to secure the bronze medal for the seventh time. Canada had never qualified for a final. England took early control with tries from Ellie Kildunne, Cokayne, Marlie Packer, Leti-I'iga and Amy Rule. New Zealander scored tries through Georgia Ponsonby, Stacey Fluhler and Krystal Murray.