BRISTOL - England will play France in the semi-finals of Rugby World Cup 2025 after the Red Roses beat Scotland 40-8 in Bristol on Sunday.

Story of the match

Scotland came into the game with the promise that they would give everything against the number-one ranked team in the world, and they duly delivered with a fast start to the game that delivered the first points in the form of a Helen Nelson penalty.

However, England weathered the storm and held firm to take a 26-3 lead into half-time, following a pair of tries from Kelsey Clifford and one each from Morwenna Talling and Abby Dow as England's forward dominance began to show.

Scotland were equally stubborn in defence in the second half, but could not hold out completely as Amy Cokayne and Holly Aitchison both crossed for further England tries, but there will still cause for Scotland to smile, as they had the final say at Ashton Gate. A long, sweeping move took them deep into enemy territory, which allowed Rhona Lloyd to cross for the final try of the game in Bristol.

Mastercard player of the match

Morwenna Talling scored one of the six tries, but that was not her only contribution in the game. She set the tone as the driving force of a pack of forwards that had their opponents' number and laid the ground work for victory.

"It was really good," she said. "Obviously the weather wasn't great but we put our best foot forward and the pack did a great job getting us go-forward.

"It is always massive to play your best rugby. That's what the tournament is about. The competition only drives each of us to get better and in training it helps us every day and then to put it out in the match is great."

Coach insight

England head coach John Mitchell heaped praise on his side for the way they navigated the opposition as well as the conditions - but was disappointed that they allowed Scotland to have the final say.

"I thought it was a terrific performance in very difficult conditions," he said.

"We kept them in their own half and we built pressure frequently through our set-piece on them. That's where we thought we could break them.

"The pressure by the team was superb. The only little glitch was conceding the line-break late in the game, which is something I don't really enjoy."

For Scotland coach Bryan Easson, the match was his final one in charge, and he said it has been a "real privilege" to coach the Scottish players.

"A lot of emotions at the moment. Pride. That game doesn't define us," he said.

"We said we wanted to get to the knockout stages and we did that. And just to see Rhona finishing it off at the end and the tears and the joy and the happiness of this group, I'd rather lose with this group.

"They're a special bunch, the deserve everything that they've fought for, and I'm sure they'll keep fighting. It's been a real privilege for me to work with them."

Stat of the day

10 - England have now booked their place in a tenth consecutive Rugby World Cup semi-final. They are the only team to feature in the semi-finals of every Women's Rugby Cup in history.

Next steps

England will place France in the semi-finals in Bristol on Saturday, 20 September, while for Scotland it is the end of the road. Fan favourites among the neutrals, the Scots leave Rugby World Cup 2025 with their heads held high.