Stay tuned here as Ali Donnelly gives her live updates throughout the World Cup semi-final between England and Australia. Both teams will battle it out at The Stoop in an effort to meet New Zealand in the final after the Black Ferns demolished France in the first game.
20.12. Anthems on now.
20.16: Testy start. Amy Turner wins her 50th cap today. Bit of early ariel pingpong.
20.20: Lovely break from Alice Richardso there. Kristy Giteau came from nowhere to stop the try but England are pressing. TRY ENGLAND!! The skipper Catherine Spencer gets it just 7 minutes in. England's scrum had far far far too much strength there and Spencer just had to turn and dive over. Nice convertion from Katy McLean 7-0. Richardson has made a great start here at 12 - putting in some good kicks already.
20.30 England are impressing I have to say (hard for me as an Irish woman to admit that!) Richardson and Mclean are kicking superbly and turning Australia round time and time again. The crowd is good - I'd say maybe 6,000 here. It's no surprise that England are making life in the scrum hard - they are far stronger there.
20.34: WHAT A TACKLE! Fiona Pocock made a searing break down the line and Nicole Beck just put in an IMMENSE tackle. Looks better on the TV replay I bet! The atmosphere is great as Engand press on.
TRY ENGLAND! Danielle Waterman put way with a nice pass from Amy Turner. Sadly Pocock has not got up after that tackle and has been replaced by Mic Staniford. 12-0 with the kick to come.
20.43: You can feel some of these tackles in the stands. No-one is shirking any contact that's for sure.
20.49: This is a far better game than the other semifinal. England have got the strength up front and there have been some fine runs from players like Charlotte Barras and Waterman but Australia seem mentally tougher than the French and they are not afraid to have a go.
20.51: The crowd are calling for a card for Cheyenne Campbell after she shoved Barras but nah for me it's not. She wasn't going to score and England have a chance now with a lineout.
21.09: Second half: It's all England here. Waterman has started with more super running disaplays and Maggie Alphonsi almost got to the line with a break. Australia are hanging on. The longer Oz can make England hang on without a score the better obviously but it would also cast some seed of doubt in the home team who must be feeling the pressure. Mind you - they are totally on top here.
21.19: Oz are making life hard here for England who OWN the ball but haven't scored.
21.25: England coach Gary Street is making plenty of substitutions, He has a strong bench but surprising given that the game is far from won yet. A score from Oz now would make it interesting. I can't really believe he has just taken of Spencer and McLean - two of England's most experienced players surely needed in the last 20.
21.34: Australia have been pressing and are finally in the English 22, but a couple of good turnovers have halted progress. England are under the cosh here.
21.38: If England win this they better buy Alphonsi a stiff drink. Her turnover and tackles have stopped a few scores and Waterman on Beck now just stopped another. If Oz are going to score it will be now. They have been camped in England's 22.
21.43: Australia should have scored by now - they have had their chances and not taken them. Heather Fisher has been binned so they are playing against 14 here but the clock is against them. 9 minutes left.
21.49: England will win this but they have far from inspired in this second half. The raft of subs hasn't helped and Australia are a much better defensive outfit than they were at the start of the tournament but there will be concerns. Can they end with a score though? That would boost confidence.
21.53: The game is ending in a bit of a scrap. Sims was sinbinned just seconds after going on but Richardson wraps it up with a penalty. 15-0.
England will be relieved to have come through fairly unscathed though not sure yet how Pocock is. Australia put them under A LOT of pressure in the second half but ther first half was a good spectacle for the women's game. New Zealand will be favourites on this showing though.
RESULT: England 15 Australia 0 Read my report HERE
