England 6 New Zealand 20: Brave hosts miss out on home World Cup final

The sport has made huge strides in recent times with England at the heart of the rise in popularity.

Craig Richards' side have received unprecedented backing during the home World Cup and in return they have inspired the next generation.

A semi-final against New Zealand proved to be a game too far for England but they have closed the gap in the five years since their 52-4 hammering by the Kiwi Ferns at the 2017 World Cup.

While they still have some way to go to seriously challenge Saturday's finalists New Zealand and Australia, England's women leave the tournament with reputations enhanced.

The hosts were the underdogs in front of a partisan crowd of 7,139 spectators – a stadium record for a rugby league match – but they gave a team predominantly made of NRL players a real scare.

It was an enthralling first half with England giving as good as they got, even if they did lose the territory battle.

Georgia Roche got the hosts on the front foot early on with two superb long kicks, the second forcing New Zealand full-back Apii Nicholls into an error.

In the next set, Roche drew defenders in to leave Fran Goldthorp with a three on one out wide.

The full-back was never going to pass up the opportunity, ignoring the support on her outside to race over for her third try of the tournament in just the fifth minute.

Tara Stanley nailed the touchline conversion to make it a dream start for Richards' team.

With Jodie Cunningham leading the charge, England were more than holding their own in the middle.

But the Kiwi Ferns quickly warmed to the task and began to overpower the hosts.

The fearsome Amber Hall sparked New Zealand into life, bumping off Amy Hardcastle to put Mele Hufanga over out wide in the 16th minute.

The Kiwi Ferns went on to dominate field position but England held firm on their own line, initially at least.

On a rare foray into New Zealand territory, Courtney Winfield-Hill earned the hosts a repeat set with a neat grubber only to follow it up with a poor kick in the next set.

England continued to scramble bravely but they eventually buckled just before the half-hour mark.

After conceding back-to-back penalties for offside, the last thing the hosts needed was the sight of Hall winding up for another rampaging run on the right edge.

The second-rower skittled several defenders to give Raecene McGregor the chance to scurry over from dummy-half.

Two missed conversions limited the damage but New Zealand's physicality had drained England resources.

Although they were only 8-6 behind at the break, Richards' side were at the bottom of a mountain looking up as they ran out for the second half.

There was no repeat of five years ago but England rarely threatened to break down the Kiwi Ferns' defence.

With limited time and space, the hosts were forced into errors and quickly discovered that heart alone was not going to be enough.

New Zealand put the game to bed thanks to back-to-back tries in quick succession.

First Otesa Pule went over at the end of a sparkling team move before Brianna Clark coasted in under the sticks.

England had more field position in the second half but their execution was off as their tournament hopes faded in the drizzle.

The Kiwi Ferns have the opportunity to avenge their defeats to Australia in the previous two finals and will take heart from the recent meeting, although the Jillaroos were back to their ominous best on Monday night.

After digging deep to see off New Zealand 10-8 and secure top spot in Group B last week, Australia's reward was a date with a PNG outfit fresh from a hammering at the hands of England.

The Jillaroos lit up a dreary evening with an 82-0 rout of the Orchids that featured 15 tries.

The game went to form from the off as Australia blew PNG off the park on their way to a 40-0 half-time lead.

There was little respite for Papua New Guinea after the interval, Isabelle Kelly and Emma Tonegato finishing with hat-tricks and Shenae Ciesiolka adding a brace.

Saturday's final has the makings of a classic in front of a big crowd at Old Trafford as the party goes on without England.

England: Goldthorp, Beevers, Stanley, Hardcastle, Burke, Roche, Winfield-Hill, Hoyle, Jones, Wood, Molyneux, Rudge, Cunningham. Substitutes: Bennett, Dodd, Field, Whitfield.

New Zealand: Nicholls, Vaha'akolo, Hufanga, P McGregor, Bartlett, Roache, R McGregor, Clark, Rota, Nu'uausala, Murdoch-Masila, Hall, Hale. Substitutes: Maynard, Hill-Moana, Pule, Scanlan.

Referee: Kasey Badger.