The Blitzboks had to work hard for a 24-21 victory over Fiji before they cruised past New Zealand by 19-14 as most of the 36,183 spectators soaked up the sunny conditions, scintillating rugby and superb entertainment. Their final pool game, against Great Britain, ended in a 41-7 win for the South Africans, who grew in confidence as the day progressed.

In the opening game, Shilton van Wyk scored his third try on the hooter after the Fijians conceded a scrum penalty and Ronald Brown took the quick tap, making it to within inches of the tryline before offloading to the speedster who only had to put the ball down for the win.

Even though they won the game, the Blitzboks conceded too many soft tries, but they will be very satisfied with the result against a team that beat them 28-10 in Dubai last weekend.

Fiji scored first after the Blitzboks missed a couple of tackles, but they responded almost immediately through Christie Grobbelaar, with Ricardo Duarttee's conversion making it 7-7. 

Unfortunately, Fiji broke through a couple of soft tackles from the restart, with their second converted try making it 14-7 in the sixth minute. Van Wyk then got in on the action with his first try late in the half, but the conversion sailed wide and Fiji held a 14-12 lead at the break.

It was 21-12 three minutes into the second half when Fiji grabbed their third try, but as Blitzbok coach Philip Snyman emptied the bench, the momentum started shifting, with the Fijians' discipline letting them down and the hosts keeping the pressure up by opting for scrums.

Van Wyk scored his second try, through a bit of luck with the bounce of the ball, converted by Brown, with a minute to go and completed the hat-trick shortly thereafter for a great win in their pool opener.

Shilton van Wyk in action against Fiji.

The Blitzboks had to dig deep against New Zealand - who beat Great Britain by 29-12 in their pool opener - after conceding two yellow cards in the first half, spending most of the opening stanza on defence and hardly getting their hands on the ball.

With Impi Visser in the bin for a high tackle, New Zealand scored a third-minute try, and not long after the Blitzbok captain returned to the field, Van Wyk was yellow carded for slapping the ball down. The South Africans had to work very hard on defence and managed to keep the Kiwis at bay.

Donavan Don scored from the second-half restart as the Blitzboks managed to retain possession through a number of phases, working the ball left and then back into space on the right, where the speedster was waiting. The try was converted and with six minutes to go, scores were level at 7-7.

Van Wyk then compensated for his yellow card by scoring the Blitzboks' second try, grabbing a loose ball behind a New Zealand ruck and racing away for the points, with the conversion pushing South Africa into a 14-7 lead in the 11th minute.

They sealed the deal with 40 seconds to go when Ronald Brown crossed for a superb try, with the TMO confirming the grounding was good. New Zealand scored a consolation try after the buzzer, but the win was in the bag for the Blitzboks.

Christie Grobbelaar scores against Great Britain.

The South Africans shifted to a higher gear against Great Britain, scoring seven tries in a 41-7 victory, with Don grabbing a brace, while Nabo Sokoyi scored his first try on debut for the Blitzboks.

Don scored from the kick-off as the Blitzboks controlled the ball from the start, and a few minutes later, Duarttee went over as the hosts took control. Visser crossed two minutes later and David Brits scored on the stroke of halftime to give the hosts a 22-0 lead at the break.

Sokoyi scored his first try from a scrum shortly after the second half restart, stepping his way through the opposition defence. Grobbelaar added his name to the score sheet with a great finish in the corner, and Don had the last say for South Africa, before Great Britain scored a consolation try on the buzzer.

The other semi-final is between Argentina and Fiji (12h44), while Dubai champions New Zealand will contest the fifth-place semi-finals after losing two of their pool games.

Scorers:

Springbok Sevens 24 (12) Fiji 21 (14)
Blitzboks - Tries: Christie Grobbelaar, Shilton van Wyk (3). Conversions: Ricardo Duarttee, Ronald Brown.
Fiji - Tries: Apete Narogo, Viwa Naduvalo, Joseva Talacolo. Conversions: Terio Veilawa, George Bose.

Springbok Sevens 19 (0) New Zealand 14 (7)
Blitzboks - Tries: Donavan Don, Shilton van Wyk, Ronald Brown. Conversions: Tristan Leyds, Brown.
NZ - Tries: Tone Ng Shiu, Scott Gregory. Conversions: Sofai Notoa-Tipo, Riley Williams.

Springbok Sevens 41 (22) Great Britain 7 (0)
Blitzboks - Tries: Donavan Don (2), Ricardo Duarttee, Impi Visser, David Brits, Nabo Sokoyi, Christie Grobbelaar. Conversions: Ricardo Duarttee (2), Selvyn Davids.
GB - Try: Roan Frostwick. Conversion: Frostwick.