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England have been narrowly beaten in the final of the Women's Rugby Union World Cup.

The Red Roses lost to host nation New Zealand 34-31.

Before the final, England were on the longest winning run in international rugby, but in a nerve-wracking second half New Zealand came out on top to win the World Cup for a sixth time in front of a record women's rugby crowd of 42,579.

Despite going down to 14 players when Lydia Thompson was shown a red card and sent off in the 18th minute,the Red Roses managed to lead for most of the game.

But with nine minutes left to play, the host nation New Zealand took the lead again as Ayesha Leti-I'iga scored a try.

England had lost four previous finals to New Zealand and, despite pushing to get over the line for a winning try themselves, their hearts were broken as the final whistle was blown.

England captain Sarah Hunter said she was "gutted" to lose the match but "so proud" of the team.

"Hopefully back home we've inspired the next generation", she said.

New Zealand have never lost in front of their home fans at Eden Park and performed a haka before the start of the match - a ceremonial performance from Māori culture.

Not intimidated, England got off to the perfect start with 14 points in 14 minutes but it was a high tackle by Thompson that resulted in the red card.

Despite having fewer players, England led at half-time 26-19, Amy Cokayne - who was actually called up to a New Zealand camp as a teenager, before choosing to play for England - scored three tries for the Red Roses.

But New Zealand fought back in the second half, eventually taking the lead and despite England scoring more points, were able to hold on until the final whistle to win the trophy.