New Zealand win Women's Sevens Series event in Canada

England were beaten by eventual champions New Zealand in the semi-finals of the fourth round of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series in Canada.

Simon Middleton's side were defeated 24-12 in a close game at Westhills Stadium in Victoria, with New Zealand going on to beat Russia 29-10 in the final as Kayla McAlister and Portia Woodman played starring roles.

Victory puts New Zealand well on course to securing their place at the Olympic Games in Rio next year and they can confirm it in the next round, which takes place in London on May 15-16.

England, who are tied for fifth in the race for a place in Rio, grabbed a spot in the semi-finals at the expense of the hosts, coming out on top 12-5 thanks to tries from Amy Wilson-Hardy and Emily Scarratt.

The remaining quarter-finals included a massive shock with Russia overcoming a mighty Australian side 17-12, three tries enough to put them through to a clash with France.

The French, who had been beaten by Australia in qualifying, beat the United States 17-0 and there was an easy 26-5 win for New Zealand over Fiji.

England's semi-final against the Black Ferns was one of the best games of the tournament and set the round-five hosts up for a chance at Twickenham glory.

Wilson-Hardy produced a fine individual display to set up tries for Alice Richardson and Jo Watmore but New Zealand managed four tries in response, with McAlister and the influential Woodman among their scorers.

Russia's dream run continued with a 14-12 win over France but hopes of one final surprise were dashed by a rampant New Zealand side.

Ekaterina Kazakova ran in two tries for Russia, but by then McAlister and Woodman had put the tournament out of sight.

Honey Hireme and Carla Hohepa also crossed the whitewash, while Woodman's two touchdowns took her to 85 tries and 425 career points in the series, which finishes in Amsterdam a week after the Twickenham competition.