On 31 October 1999, France caused a titanic upset with a thrilling come-from-behind win over New Zealand in a Rugby World Cup semi-final in London.

Following their disappointment in the 1995 World Cup final, the All Blacks were the favourites four years later, and sailed through their group in the global tournament, which included a comfortable victory over England at Twickenham.

In the quarter-finals, Scotland were duly swatted aside by the Kiwis, whose form was ominous and in stark contrast to the French, who struggled in the pool stages before defeating Argentina.

Les Bleus’ run was expected to end against the mighty All Blacks and they looked down and out, trailing by 14 points early in the second half.

The opening 45 minutes went to script with the Kiwis going 24-10 ahead thanks to a brace of barnstorming scores via Jonah Lomu and the accurate kicking of Andrew Mehrtens.

But, the boot of Christophe Lamaison and three tries in quick succession from Christophe Dominici, Richard Dourthe and Philippe Bernat-Salles helped complete a dramatic 43-31 victory, and one of the great World Cup shocks.

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Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Allsport