Sydney Sevens: BlitzBoks book spot in semis
The win means the BlitzBoks will meet hosts Australia in the semis after the latter beat Wales in their play-off match.
New Zealand and England will meet in the other Cup semifinal after they secured wins against Fiji and Argentina respectively.
Cup quarterfinals:
England got off to a brilliant start in their quarterfinal against Argentina when Tom Mitchell broke through the Pumas; defence to sprint away for the first try of the game in the second minute.
England found themselves further in front two minutes later when Phil Burgess crossed the whitewash to give his team 12-0 lead. Matias Osadczuk did reduce the deficit for the Argentinians just before half-time with a converted try.
However, England scored another two unanswered tries in the second half for a 24-7 win.
In the quarterfinal between New Zealand and Fiji, New Zealand stole an early lead through Iopu Iopu-Aso.
However, Fiji are so incredibly quick at turning defence into attack with Sevuloni Mocenacagi rounding off a magical move to bring them level, despite being a man down after a yellow card.
NZ went back in front courtesy of Regan Ware, but Fiji struck back again just before half-time with Jerry Tuwai the architect and Kalione Nasoko finishing a sublime move. Fiji led 14-12 at half-time.
Sherwin Stowers then went from hero to villain in a couple of minutes as he gave the All Blacks Sevens the lead in the second half, but was also shown a yellow card for a high tackle and sat out a pivotal two minutes.
Fiji made New Zealand pay for their indiscipline within seconds of Stowers being shown a yellow card with Nasoko finding a gap to roar over again.
With time up on the clock, NZ went in search of a winner and after several phases, it was Sione Molia who stretched over for a brilliant try to win the game 24-21.
South Africa found themselves behind in the third minute of their quarterfinal against the USA when Carlin Isles pounced on a loose ball to score the game's first try.
The USA's lead was short-lived, however, when Justin Geduld evaded a few defenders to score the BlitzBoks' first try of the match.
The BlitzBoks then extended their lead just before half-time when Chris Dry went over for a converted try.
The USA were the first to score in the second half when Stephen Tomasin went over for a try before the BlitzBoks hit back almost immediately with a try from Seabelo Senatla.
South Africa walked away with a 21-10 win.
Hosts Australia got off to a dream start in their quarterfinal against Wales when Henry Hutchinson opened the scoring.
The young Australian side then put together a total team try with Alex Gibbon on hand to evade a last-ditch tackle and put his country two tries to the good.
Hutchinson then scored another try just before half-time with Australia leading comfortably at 19-0.
There was only one try in the second half with Simon Kennewell going over to seal a 26-0 win for the Aussies.
Results:
Australia 26-0 Wales
South Africa 21-10 USA
New Zealand 24-21 Fiji
England 24-7 Argentina
Challenge Trophy quarterfinals:
In the first match of Day Two of the Sydney Sevens, Russia caused a big upset when they beat Kenya 22-0 in the first Challenge Trophy quarterfinal.
Russia opened the scoring in the first minute with a try before adding another score in the fourth minute to take a 10-0 lead into half-time. The Russians scored another two tries without reply in the second half to seal a convincing win.
In the second Challenge Trophy quarterfinal, Scotland's Gavon Lowe opened the scoring against Samoa before Tila Mealoi scored a converted try to level scores. Samoa eventually went into the break with a seven-point lead when Joe Perez went over for his team's second try.
Scotland needed to score first in the second half, and they did exactly that when James Fleming sprinted in for a converted try to level the scores once again. However, it was Samoa who walked away with a 21-14 win when Lafaele Vaa scored his team's third and final try before the end.
Japan also advanced to the Challenge Trophy semifinals when they outscored Canada by three tries to one to win their quarterfinal 19-7.
The Japanese scored all their points in the first half for a 19-0 lead at half-time, while Canada were only able to cross the whitewash in overtime in the second half to add some respectability to the score.
In the quarterfinal between France and Papua New Guinea, Jean-Baptiste Mazoue opened the scoring after five minutes of play with a try. At half-time, it was 5-0 in favour of the French.
Bastien Berenguel increased the French lead with a try in the fourth minute of the second half before Jean Pascal Barraque put the game to bed with his team's third and final try before full-time for a 17-0 win.
Results:
Kenya 0-22 Russia
Scotland 14-21 Samoa
Canada 7-19 Japan
France 17-0 Papua New Guinea
Source: @WorldRugby
