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DUBAI 7s: Blitzboks miss Fiji in semis

The Blitzboks ran in six tries to defeat the All Blacks Sevens team 40-0 to set up a semifinal showdown with Wales, who fought their way back from being 0-12 down to run in three consecutive converted tries to defeat Australia.

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Defending Series champions Fiji completely overpowered France to comfortably head into the semifinal where they will meet England, who scored two late tries – one after regulation time had expired – to get the better of Scotland.

Fiji will play England in the first semifinal while Wales and South Africa/New Zealand will duke it out for their spot in the Gold medal match.

In the Challenge Trophy section, Argentina were too clinical for Japan, while Uganda pushed Samoa all the way. Kenya turned on the style to beat Canada while the USA were too powerful for Russia.

Cup quarterfinals

South Africa 40-0 New Zealand

Cecil Afrika punished an early New Zealand error by slicing through their defence to grab the opening try of the game. Branco du Preez' conversion ensured a 7-0 lead. A quickly taken penalty inside New Zealand's 22 saw the ball find Seabelo Senatla, who had an easy score in the corner to take the lead to 12-0 after four minutes.

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A line-out error by New Zealand saw them cough up possession and Kyle Brown pounced to score his side's third try. Du Preez added the extras as the Blitzboks took a 19-0 lead into the half-time break.

Three minutes into the second half and the Blitzboks had their fourth try as Chris Dry pounced on another New Zealand error to stretch the lead even further. A successful conversion made it 26-0. The Blitzboks were not letting up as, with two minutes to go, Justin Geduld added his name to the scoresheet after dotting down under the posts. His conversion made it 33-0.

Werner Kok rounded off an emphatic victory by scoring in the final seconds of the game. Another Geduld conversion ensured the rout.

Australia 12-21 Wales

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Wales shocked Australia by grabbing a try after the opening minute to take a 7-0 lead. Australia kept plugging away and found reward with two minutes left in the half to level matters before taking a 12-7 lead with the final play of the half.

Wales regained the lead soon after the break by dotting down under the posts. The arm wrestle continued for the remainder of the match as Australia dominated possession, only to see their attempts come to nothing as Wales tackled with everything they had. A neat interception in the dying seconds saw Wales race the length of the field to grab the final points of the game.

England 24-21 Scotland

England grabbed the opening score after two minutes but were soon reduced to six men. However, it mattered little as they stretched their lead to 14-0 after four minutes. Scotland got themselves on the board with two minutes remaining in the half to make it a seven-point game. The Scots kept plugging away and levelled matters with the final play of the half.

Scotland took the lead in the opening two minutes of the second half. England held onto possession for the remainder of the match but were thwarted by some dogged Scottish defence. England got their try in the final seconds of the game to bring themselves within two points. England claimed a dramatic victory after the match was extended by three minutes.

Fiji 40-5 France

Both sides went flat out in the opening two minutes before Fiji won a turnover inside their 22 and raced up-field to grab the opening score. France took the game to the Fijians though and found gaps in their defence, only to be let down by some passing and handling errors. They were punished for those mistakes as Fiji grabbed two tries in the final minute to stretch their lead to 19-0 at the break.

France got themselves on the board in the opening minute of the second half but Fiji responded with two scores of their own to ensure a 33-5 lead with two minutes remaining in the contest. There was enough time for a final Fijian try as they closed out the match.

Trophy quarterfinals

USA 40-5 Russia

The USA started like a house on fire as they took a 7-0 lead from the kick-off before stretching that lead to 19-0 with two quick scores. It remained one-way traffic as the USA grabbed another score to ensure a 26-0 lead at the half-time break.

The dominance continued as USA stretched their lead to 33-0 in the opening minute of the restart. The pace slowed down from that point but the USA had enough time to grab a final score before Russia grabbed a late consolation to ensure they got on the board

Kenya 22-14 Canada

Kenya hit the ground running and bagged the opening try of the match inside the first few minutes before doubling their lead soon after to take a 10-0 lead. The African side remained in control for the remainder of the half but could not add to their lead.

Canada got themselves on the board in the first minute of the second half to reduce the deficit to 7-10 but Kenya hit back a minute later to restore their 10-point advantage. The match was over as a contest with two minutes to go as Kenya broke from inside their 22 to run the length of the field and grab their fourth try. Canada grabbed a consolation try with the final play of the match to restore some respectability.

Samoa 27-19 Uganda

Samoa bagged the opening try in the opening 10 seconds as they raced to dot down in the corner before doubling their lead after just three minutes. However, Uganda hit back with a break-away try of their own before grabbing a 12-10 lead with the final play of the half.

Two quick second half tries inside three minutes of the restart ensured Samoa regained and stretched their lead to 22-12. Uganda once again hit back by grabbing a try with two minutes remaining to reduce the deficit to just three points, however, Samoa wrapped up the victory with a final try in the closing seconds.

Argentina 31-14 Japan

It took Argentina just two minutes to open the scoring after having Japan under pressure and take a 5-0 lead. Argentina remained in control and extended their lead with two minutes remaining in the first half. They were not done though as they grabbed a third try with the final play of the half to take a comfortable 19-0 lead into the break.

Japan got themselves on the board in the opening minute after the break  to reduce the deficit to 7-19. However, Argentina hit back immediately with a try of their own to ensure a 24-7 lead with four minutes remaining in the match. Japan set up a tense final two minutes with their second try of the match to trail by just 10 points but Argentina had the final say to ensure the victory.

Semifinals fixtures

(all times are local. GMT plus four)

Cup

17.03 – Wales v South Africa

16.41 – Fiji v England

Fifth place

16.19 – Australia v New Zealand

15.57 – France v Scotland

Challenge Trophy

14.44 – Kenya v USA

14.22 – Argentina v Samoa

Thirteenth place

14.00 – Canada v Russia

13.38 – Japan v Uganda

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