France face the very real and grim prospect of being the first host nation eliminated from a Rugby World Cup in the quarterfinals on foreign soil.

They must pull off one of the biggest upsets in their colourful history to stay in the tournament as the All Blacks await a cut-throat playoff on Sunday morning.

The French coach Bernard Laporte hasn't given up hope of a repeat of his side's 1999 semifinal result when they produced a miracle second-half comeback.

He said the All Blacks should not be considered favourites for the match many tipped as the likely final in Paris.

If the quarterfinals are decided on form, the final four will be a Southern Hemisphere shutout with the All Blacks and Wallabies in one semifinal and the Springboks and Argentina in the other.

In the quarterfinals, Australia plays England at 1am Sunday and at 7am New Zealand takes on France in Cardiff.

On Monday at 1am, Fiji takes on the Springboks while at 7am Argentina plays Scotland.