England beat holders New Zealand to reach World Cup final for first time

England reached the World Cup final for the first time by beating reigning champions New Zealand 46-40 in Cape Town.

The Roses stayed on course to become the only nation other than Australia or New Zealand to lift the trophy in the modern era and sparked scenes of jubilation on their bench at the end of a thrilling semi-final.

Jess Thirlby’s side will now face Australia in Sunday’s final after holding their nerve against the Silver Ferns and grinding out a thrilling win.

Thirlby said: “When I got the job in August 2019, we had a Zoom call because as you know half the team are never England-based.

“One of the things I said was I wanted to help take us where no Roses team has gone before and that for us was a World Cup final.

“It has been four years in the making so it feels brilliant that we’ve gone on a journey and been patient.

“We’ve managed to get more court time and match minutes against the best teams in the world and we wanted to get to the start line of a World Cup with much more depth and I think we’re proving that it’s working well for us.

“I’m just incredibly proud that we’ve made that history.”

England will be full of confidence after securing wins against both Australia and now New Zealand for the first time at a World Cup, having beaten the former 56-55 on Thursday.

Their semi-final against the Silver Ferns hung in the balance going into the final quarter with the scores locked at 32-32.

The decisive moment came with four minutes remaining with England 41-40 ahead when Fran Williams made a brilliant clean intercept to help the Roses extend their lead.

When Helen Housby missed a chance to put England 43-40 up with the clock ticking down, Eleanor Cardwell pounced on the rebound to make it.

Imogen Allison then produced another crucial touch to keep the ball in play as England added five points without reply and it was left to Housby to seal a historic win.

After her game-changing intervention in the final quarter, Williams said: “I treat it as a privilege and an opportunity to go out and pick up the ball that these girls have put the groundwork in for.

“I think definitely with those pressure moments, these are the games that you want to play and you thrive in. That’s why I’m an athlete – I love competition.

“I’m super-competitive and I think just staying calm under pressure is something I really enjoy and the grind of the game like that, going goal for goal, you have to take it in your stride and embrace that challenge.”

Australia defeated Jamaica 57-54 in the other semi-final to progress to the final.