Defending champions South Africa beat hosts France 29-28 in a thrilling semi-final at next weekend’s Rugby World Cup.
The Springboks kept their hopes of a fourth title alive thanks to a second-half goal from flyhalf Handre Pollard and will face England in the semi-finals in Paris next Saturday.
France, who showed great form, were eliminated in the quarter-finals despite leading in the first half, leaving the home fans with huge disappointment.
The Springboks next face England, who narrowly beat Fiji.
The aggressive play in the first half and the tense atmosphere in the second half led many to call this match one of the best Rugby World Cups in history.
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The other semi-final will see New Zealand take on Argentina, meaning three of the four semi-finalists are from the Southern Hemisphere – despite Europe’s overwhelming dominance in the latest rugby world rankings.
The World Cup was decided early on when world number one and two teams, Ireland and France, were knocked out despite being the two strongest contenders.
France captain Antoine Dupont is back in action after suffering a fractured cheekbone last month, and the hosts are aiming to reach the semi-finals for the first time since finishing runners-up for the third time in 2011.
French President Emmanuel Macron was also in attendance among the 79,500 spectators, looking forward to a top-class match between Fabien Galthie’s France, ranked third in the world, and Jacques Nienaber’s Boks, ranked second.
All eyes were on Dupont’s return and the 26-year-old came into the game as the home side took the lead.
He fed the ball to Damien Peno, who found prop Cyril Bail with a clever pass from the corner, sending the Paris crowd into a frenzy.
Full-back Thomas Ramos converted to make it 7-0 and France looked set to take the lead, but the Springboks responded quickly as Kurt Lee-Arendt made the most of a volleying box kick.
Mani Reebok, who has been inconsistent off the tee at this World Cup, took the lead at flyhalf ahead of World Cup winning flyhalf Handre Pollard before equalising just 10 minutes into the match to cap off a thrilling start.
The Boks found their composure after 15 minutes and benefited from another high ball as centre Damian de Allende latched onto Libbok’s up-and-under before dropping down several steps.
Reebok failed to make it to extra time and Dupont again played a key role early in the game, setting up Peato Maubacka in the same corner as Bayer to score the hooker’s third try of the tournament.
Ramos’ difficult conversion was surprisingly converted by Cheslin Kolbe to make it 12-12, giving Vokes the lead again, but it proved costly in the final.
Lock Eben Etzebeth pressured Dupont and centre Jesse Kriel attempted a grubber kick to Kolbe before Reebok slotted home another goal to put the Springboks ahead 19-12.
A very well-played first half-hour saw Bayer score two goals to level the score at 19-19 with the French team ahead, but Nienaber’s team were efficient in their possession.
South Africa went into the break after Eben Etzebes was shown a yellow card for making head contact with Winnie Atonio during a tackle on the massive prop.
Ramos converted a penalty to put France 22-19 ahead at half-time. Five minutes into the second half, Kobus Reinach and Riebok were replaced by Faf de Klerk and Pollard, and the hostile home fans whistled as they entered the pitch.
Etzebeth received the same treatment when he returned from the prison cell, with another 30 minutes of seduction left.
France dominated the field and dominated possession, with Ramos converting a penalty to make it 25-19 and extend his lead as the tournament’s top scorer.
But the momentum shifted back to South Africa, with Etzebeth rushing to make up for his previous mistake and Pollard’s conversion put Vokes back ahead 26-25 with 15 minutes remaining.
Pollard ended a tense game by exchanging a penalty with Ramos in his own half.
France had possession of the ball in the dying minutes, but De Klerk snatched a vital ball from Reda Vardy’s grasp and Kurt Lee Arendse cleared the ball, ending France’s dreams of a first World Cup title.
