A chance for trophy glory, for a piece of rugby history, an opportunity to end 11 years of hurt. These are all things England have the opportunity to grasp next Saturday at a sold-out Twickenham against Canada but it will not be an easy match by any stretch of the imagination, and based on these semi-final performances alone, the Maple Leafs should be favourites. The Red Roses were put under immense pressure by France, who posed England the most questions they have been asked since the last time they played one another in England, last April.

Le Crunch is usually a tense and close battle when hosted in England, the last one coming in the Women’s Six Nations with England clinging on to a 43-42 thrilling win. France were pegged by many before kick-off on Saturday as firm underdogs but they let their actions show what they thought of that with a thoroughly impressive performance, particularly in the first half, frustrating and dismantling the Red Roses.

Pre-match it was not marked out as one that was going to be close on the scoreboard because of the disruptions to France’s squad. They had two players banned and two key stars ruled out with injury in Lina Queyroi and Joanna Grisez. As England have said repeatedly, they can only play what is in front of them and what they can control is their own performance.

A complete 80 minutes has not been on display from England at this tournament and it is something their fans will have to wait to see if they can put it together in the final. Their defence in this semi-final was impressive at times, particularly through Meg Jones at the breakdown and Hannah Botterman at set pieces, but their attack needed to be more clinical.

Meg Jones celebrates scoring England’s fifth try, ending France’s hopes. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

There was rain pre-match but it dried up for kick-off, much to the appreciation of those fans not sat under cover in Bristol. There isn’t a sound at a Red Roses game quite like when the full-back Ellie Kildunne, who returned from injury, makes a break and at a sold-out Ashton Gate the cheers only encouraged her to make more metres. Her first effort was rumbled initially but on the second time of asking she ran half the pitch and dodged Kelly Arbey, who made a good run back to try to tackle her, to go under the posts. Some raised an eyebrow as they believed there was a knock-on in the buildup but it wasn’t picked up. Not only was it Kildunne’s third try of the tournament but it was England’s 100th of the calendar year.

Quick GuideEngland 35-17 France teams and scorersShow

England Kildunne; Dow, Jones, Heard (Aitchison 66), Breach (Rowland 68); Harrison, Hunt (L Packer 66); Botterman (Clifford 54), Cokayne (Atkin-Davies 54), Muir (Bern 54), Talling (Feaunati 66), Ward (Galligan 66), Aldcroft, Kabeya, Matthews. Tries Kildunne 2, Cokayne, Ward, Jones. Cons Harrison 5.
France Bourgeois; Arbey (Boulard 71), Konde, Vernier, Ménager; Arbez (Tuy 71), Bourdon Sansus (Chambon 78); Brosseau (Deshaye 53), Gérin (Riffonneau 53), Bernadou (Khalfaoui 53), Fall Raclot (Maka 71), Ikahehegi (Okemba 53), Escudero, Champon, T Feleu. Tries Konde 2, Arbey. Cons Bourgeois.

Referee Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZ). Attendance 25,478.

Thank you for your feedback.

Beautiful chaos ensued with possession being exchanged as thrilling attacks weren’t coming off for either side. Four impressive defensive sets from England came next, with patience throughout the team forcing France to knock on, two breakdown penalties from Jones and a penalty in a defensive maul. Those moments were a good stress test for England’s defence, who are not used to being put under pressure in every game, and they will be under an immense amount against Canada next week.

Eventually the defensive dam burst and Nassira Konde went over, with France’s attack outnumbering England on the right. The Red Roses continued to absorb pressure and were let off the hook at one point with a Marine Ménager try ruled out because of a forward pass, leaving the half-time score 7-5.

skip past newsletter promotion

The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week’s action reviewed

Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

France’s Nassira Konde scores their first try. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters

The second half started with drums coming from the crowd and it looked as though they had chimed them over the line through Abby Dow, but it was ruled out for a forward pass. They had to revert to their ever-trusted rolling maul to score and the sheer joy from the crowd showed just how worried fans had been by a resolute French performance.

Momentum swung back and forth, with French tries from Arbey and Konde and English scores by Abbie Ward and Kildunne. But the decisive try came from Jones, who was outstanding for England all afternoon, to seal their spot in the final.

England players celebrate after Abbie Ward goes over for England’s third try. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

For a neutral this game was a thriller and yet more evidence as to why women’s rugby is one of the fastest growing sports. But if England want to get their hands on the World Cup next week they will have to achieve a complete 80-minute performance.