World Cup holders South Africa dumped hosts France out of the tournament with an incredible quarter-final success at the Stade de France.
The unforgettable clash of the behemoths was a marvellous advertisement for the sport throughout, but the Springboks kept the defence of their crown alive with a 29-28 triumph and set up a final-four showdown with England.
A captivating contest was promised in the weekend's closing quarter-final, and the opening stages lived up to the billing and then some, as Cyril Baille and Kurt-Lee Arendse traded tries inside the opening 10 minutes.
The scintillating attacking play from both sides did not let up there, as France made a mess of dealing with a Manie Libbok kick as Damian de Allende ran through in the 19th minute, only for Peato Mauvaka to respond three minutes later.
However, Thomas Ramos remarkably saw his conversion charged down by Cheslin Kolbe - one of the smallest men on the field - as the Springbok winger saved two points which proved to be pivotal when all was said and done.
The champions restored their seven-point lead in the 26th minute as Jesse Kriel's inch-perfect grubber kick found a sprinting Kolbe on the left, but just six minutes later, Baille powered his way through a sea of bodies for his second of the evening.
The intensity unsurprisingly died down a tad towards the end of the half, but South Africa's Eben Etzebeth was sin-binned for a head-to-head collision with Uini Atonio, allowing Ramos to kick France into a three-point lead with a last-gasp penalty.
Six first-half tries represented a new record for a World Cup knockout match, and a more low-key start to the second 40 was perhaps inevitable - it took 14 minutes for the boot of Ramos to register the first points of the half - but an unrelenting Springboks side soon began to force the issue again.
With 67 minutes gone, South Africa passed up the chance to kick a simple three points, and that risk paid dividends for the champions, as Etzebeth used his 6ft 8in frame to devastating effect to power through and score.
Handre Pollard added the conversion to edge South Africa ahead before increasing their lead to three with a 69th-minute penalty, setting up a gripping final 10 minutes where it was try or bust for Les Bleus.
Ramos kicked through the posts with seven minutes remaining to cut the deficit down to one, but France spent most of the dying embers camped inside their 22, and a late surge forward failed to bear fruit in front of a crestfallen Saint-Denis faithful.
Ben Knapton
