Warren Gatland saluted his never-say-die World Cup heroes - then admitted he had thought his Wales career was at an end, writes Alex Spink in Oita .
Gatland, who quits his role after the tournament, was six minutes from seeing his side knocked out despite France committing hari kari with a mindless red card.
But instead of having to face up to the end of his illustrious Wales tenure he watched with relief as a Ross Moriarty try stole victory and set up a last-four clash against South Africa this Sunday.
Gatland said: “I went through lots of different emotions. What will I say to the press, what will I say on the TV? You're thinking of those potential scenarios.
“But I'm very proud of our players because they never give up even when they're under a bit of pressure. They keep fighting and finding a way to get a result.
“We’re excited about where we are – the semi-final of a World Cup. Alun Wyn Jones said it's 240 minutes to do something you'll remember for the rest of your life. We're down to 160 now.
“If you can't get excited about that then nothing will excite you.”
Wales were outplayed for more than an hour, with rampant France helping themselves to three tries.
But they imploded on 49 minutes with giant lock Sebastien Vahaamahina given his marching orders for planting an elbow to the face of man of the match Aaron Wainwright.
It was a role reversal from the World Cup semi-final between the nations eight years ago when Sam Warburton was sent off and France won by a single point.
Gatland added: “We didn't play our best but we showed great character and that's testament to this group of men. Now we can look forward to the semi-final."
