England had outscored Canada 234-41 in the four previous World Cup matches between the two nations including a 53-10 victory in the same second versus third semifinal in Barcelona in 2002.

But the Canadian side proved that was then and this is now with a gutsy effort that saw them come within a few yards of a victory. With just three minutes remaining in the match and England ahead 20-7, the Canadians mounted a late comeback as Heather Moyse blazed into the end zone to put the home team to within six points after captain Kelly McCallum's successful convert.

Moyse almost completed the dramatic comeback with less than a minute remaining with another long run before having the ball batted in her grasp and called for a knock-on just 10 yards out. England took possession and was able to hang on for the 20-14 victory.

``If it hadn't have been a knock-on, it still would have been our possession and you never know,'' said Moyse, who hails from Summerside, P.E.I. ``You can say what if until you are blue in the face. If I had got by that one hand there was nothing but green left.''

Canadian head coach Neil Langevin wasn't sure how to feel after the match.

``It's kind of a mixed reaction,'' he said. ``I'm very happy with the effort by our girls, but it is bitterly disappointing to lose in a World Cup semifinal when your are yards away from making the final.''

England came out of the gate well in the match as Charlotte Barras scored an unconverted try in the seventh minute. Kicker Karen Andrew made up for her missed convert four minutes later when she made good on a penalty kick to put England ahead 8-0.

England continued to apply the pressure but the Canadian women held the line, including an impressive defensive effort when England was within 10 yards of the Canuck goal for about a seven minute span, keeping the score 8-0 at the half.

The English side would finally find another hole in the Canadian coverage in the 43rd minute as Kim Shaylor broke to the outside for another unconverted try and a 13-0 lead.

Canada finally got on the board six minutes later when Moyse broke for a long run to the two before passing off to Julie Foster for the try. McCallum's convert pulled Canada to within six points.

England missed a pair of penalty kicks before getting the eventual game winner in the 73rd minute when Barras scored her second try of the match, giving them a 20-7 lead before Canada's last minute and near successful comeback attempt.

English captain Jo Yapp admits the Canadians gave them a real scare.

``We knew playing the home team in a tournament like this would be a challenge,'' she said. ``And the crowd really got behind them for the 80 minutes and it made it very hard work for us. They are

improving all the time. We are slightly disappointed that we made some errors and allowed them back in, but all credit to them. They kept coming back and coming back and fortunately we got the win.''

McCallum hopes Canada can feed off their performance against England.

``It is really disappointing,'' she said. ``But now it is time to turn it around and bring it back up again. We'll try to take the momentum we had in the second half and use it in the next game.''

Canada will now face France in the bronze medal match on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. The gold medal match between New Zealand and England will follow at 7 p.m.

The two-time defending champion New Zealand Black Ferns remained undefeated in World Cup play, beating France 40-10 to advance to the gold medal game.

Canada has never won a medal at this tournament but have every reason to believe in themselves after Tuesday's near miss.

``We came here with the goal of winning it all,'' said Langevin. ``That goal is gone now but our second goal was to move up a spot from the fourth seed. Our girls have been so resilient, I like our chances every time we step on the field.''

In other action at the Women's Rugby World Cup on Tuesday Spain got past Kazakhstan 17-12, Samoa blasted South Africa 43-10, the U.S. beat Australia 29-12 and Scotland defeated Ireland 11-10.