France will face defending champions South Africa in the World Rugby U20 Championship final after Adrien Drault’s late try secured a dramatic victory over New Zealand in their semifinal clash in Tbilisi, Georgia.

In a contest that went down to the wire, Drault crossed in the 76th minute to hand Les Bleuets a thrilling win and book their place in Saturday’s championship decider at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium.

The match marked the sixth time the two nations had met in a Junior World Championship semifinal, with France emerging victorious in another tightly contested encounter between rugby’s traditional powerhouses.

France captain Lucas Andjisseramatchi praised his side’s determination after the hard-fought triumph.

“I’m really happy because it was a really hard game against a great team,” Andjisseramatchi said.

“We always stayed together and our team is incredible.”

For New Zealand, the defeat was a painful one as they missed the chance to return to the final on the same Georgian soil where they last lifted the title in 2017.

Captain Haki Wiseman admitted the loss would take time to process.

“It’s a tough one to take and everyone’s hurting right now,” Wiseman said.

“We wanted to defend what the 2017 New Zealand team did here and it’s a really tough pill to swallow at the moment, but we’ll look to end the tournament on a high.”

The young All Blacks struck first after a strong opening spell when tight-head prop Ethan Webber was driven over for the game’s opening try.

France responded through hooker Gabin Garault, who finished off a well-executed rolling maul to level proceedings.

With humid conditions making attacking opportunities scarce, the game became a tense arm wrestle. New Zealand suffered a setback when lock Max Fale received a yellow card in the 21st minute, but still managed to regain the lead through prop Henry Stuart, who powered over from close range.

Garault continued his impressive tournament form, crossing for his second try of the match from another powerful lineout drive to claim his sixth try of the championship.

New Zealand looked to have regained control when replacement Finn McLeod crossed from close range, but the momentum shifted once again when flanker Caleb Woodley was sent to the sin bin.

France capitalised on the extra space, drawing level through Elia Masi in the 61st minute before a penalty from Mika Muliaina edged New Zealand back in front with just eight minutes remaining.

However, France had the final say.

With the clock winding down, the French backs produced a brilliant handling movement that created space for centre Adrien Drault, who sprinted clear to score the decisive try and send the French camp into celebration.

The victory sees France advance to the final, where they will meet South Africa in a blockbuster showdown for the Junior World Championship title, while New Zealand will turn their attention to the third-place playoff.