Antoine Dupont scored a stoppage-time try to send France into the semi-finals of the Canada Sevens on Saturday, beating Ireland 12-5 in the quarter-finals.
Dupont, France's usual 15-man captain and scrum-half who switched to sevens in order to play in this year's Olympics, settled a tense battle with the final over of the match at Vancouver's BC Place.
The former World Player of the Year, who came on as a substitute, raced from the blind side of a crowd to slot a point into the corner for an opportunistic score.
It completed a bold comeback for France, who at one stage were reduced to five players after seeing both Joseph Jefferson-Lee and Ryan Rebage pick up yellow cards in quick succession.
France, facing a semi-final match against New Zealand On Sunday, it was dismantled earlier Australia 31-5 in their final match in Group B, with Dupont among the five scorers for France.
A victory over New Zealand may leave France facing a repeat of last year's final, in which it lost Argentina.
Argentina qualified for the semi-finals on Saturday with a difficult victory over Samoa 14-12 in the quarter-finals.
On the other side of the draw, the United States beat Great Britain 27-0 to book their place in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, New Zealand fended off a ferocious late comeback from Fiji to win 21-19.
The Canada Sevens tournament is the fourth stop in SVNS' series of eight rugby tournaments following tournaments in Dubai, Cape Town and Perth.
RCW/JS
