Substitute Ross Moriarty snatched a late winner as Wales floored 14-man France 20-19 in a breathless World Cup quarterfinal with echoes of 2011 on Sunday.
A moment of madness cost France after lock Sebastien Vahaamahina was sent off for elbowing Aaron Wainwright nine minutes after halftime with his side leading by nine points.
Wales, paced by 10 points from fly-half Dan Biggar’s perfect boot, will face either South Africa or host Japan in the semifinals next weekend after surviving a scare against the swashbuckling French.
Still haunted by the memory of a stinging 9-8 semifinal loss to France eight years ago, the Six Nations champions looked decidedly uncomfortable until Vahaamahina’s rush of blood undid all of France’s hard work.
Defeat also brought the curtain down on France coach Jacques Brunel’s two-year spell in charge of the three-time World Cup finalists.
Vahaamahina had stunned the Welsh by bundling over from a lineout after just five minutes before France scored one of the tries of the tournament.
Roared on by chants of “Allez, Les Bleus!” flanker Charles Ollivon stormed through to complete a sweeping move involving Virimi Vakatawa, Romain Ntamack and scrum half Antoine Dupont.
Back came Wales in an electrifying opening 12 minutes as flanker Wainwright pounced on a loose ruck on halfway to race clear for his first test try.
Biggar slotted a penalty to bring the Six Nations champions to within two points.
But when a high tackle from substitute Ross Moriarty on Gael Fickou resulted in a yellow card, France made Wales pay as Damian Penaud released Vakatawa to grab France’s third try on the half-hour mark.
French playmaker Ntamack struck the post with a penalty just before the break but the pendulum swung toward Wales after Vahaamahina’s rush of blood.
Caught on camera recklessly swinging his elbow flush into Wainwright’s face, it was only ever going to result in a red card.
His dismissal came as an ironic twist as then Welsh captain Sam Warburton received an early red card for a dangerous tip tackle on Vincent Clerc in that 2011 semifinal in Auckland.
Wales, which had won seven of its last eight games against France, was still made to work for it in a nail-biting finish.
But just when France looked like holding out for a famous victory, Moriarty popped up after a monstrous Welsh scrum.
Making up for his earlier indiscretion, the replacement forward bulldozed over six minutes from time before Biggar kicked the conversion that broke French hearts.
-Agencies
