Antoine Dupont scored a try in injury time to send France into the semifinals of the Canada Sevens with a 12-5 quarterfinal win over Ireland on Saturday.
Dupont, France's regular 15s captain and scrum-half who switched to sevens to compete in this year's Olympics, settled a thrilling battle with the final play of the game at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.
The former World Player of the Year, who came on as a substitute, stormed over the blindside after a scrum and scored an opportunistic goal in the corner.
It was a brave comeback for France, reduced to five players at one point after both Joseph Jefferson Lee and Rayan Rebbadj received yellow cards in quick succession.
France, which faces New Zealand in the semi-finals on Sunday, had previously beaten Australia 31-5 in its last Pool B game, with Dupont among France's five goalscorers.
A win over New Zealand could see France face a repeat of last year's final, which they lost to Argentina.
Argentina made it to the last four with a hard-fought 14-12 win over Samoa in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
On the other side of the draw, the United States defeated Great Britain 27-0 to secure their place in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, New Zealand fended off a fierce defense against Fiji and won 21-19.
The Canada Sevens is the fourth stop in World Rugby's eight-tournament SVNS series, following tournaments in Dubai, Cape Town and Perth.
rcw/js