(CNN) -- France beat heroic 14-man Wales 9-8 in Auckland Saturday to reach the final of the Rugby World Cup. The match was overshadowed by the 18th minute dismissal of Wales captain Sam Warburton for a dangerous tackle. It looked to be a harsh decision by Irish referee Alain Rolland and tipped the match in France's favor although they had to withstand a late Welsh onslaught to maintain their slender lead. Wales had led 3-0 through a James Hook penalty before losing their skipper, but a pair of Morgan Parra penalties put France 6-3 ahead at the interval. He increased that lead to 9-3 with his third penalty early in the second half only for Wales to hit back through a clever solo try by scrum half Mike Phillips.
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France beat Wales 9-8 in semifinal of Rugby World Cup in Auckland
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Wales captain Sam Warburton sent off in 18th minute for dangerous tackle
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Wales score only try of the match through Mike Phillips in second half
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Hosts New Zealand play Australia in second semifinal Sunday
"I don't care at all whether it was a good match or not, whether the @placeholder deserve to be in the final, we have qualified for the final and that's all that counts."