The weather in Cape Town took a turn for the worse on Saturday night with swirling wind and intermittent rain but the Blitzboks were not affected as they defeated Great Britain 21-14 in the fourth quarterfinal to book a place in the semifinal against Samoa.

The Blitzboks, who exacted revenge having been previously defeated by Great Britain, started slowly in the first half and were undermined by five handling errors.

Great Britain put the Blitzboks under pressure at ruck time and the home side had to work hard for their victory.

Ryan Oosthuizen backed himself in his 35th tournament to score a long-range try after a neat step and impressive turn of pace.

However, Great Britain were in no mood to lie down and hit back shortly after with a converted try from Morgan Williams, who produced the swan dive.

The two sides went into the halftime break 7-7.

In the second half, Ricardo Duarttee opened the scoring with an inside-out step that led to a well-worked solo try.

In the injury-enforced absence of regular playmakers Selwyn Davids and Ronald Brown, Duarttee is playing in the pivotal sweeper role and seems to be relishing the added responsibility.

Nicknamed ‘Tricky Ricky’, the 24-year-old is growing in stature each game and selling his car to support his rugby career now seems like the correct decision.

The Boks, who conceded two tries, have room for improvement but head coach Sandile Ngcobo will be delighted with his side’s progress.

On Sunday, USA tackle New Zealand in the first semifinal and thereafter the Blitzboks take to the field in the second semifinal against Samoa, which is scheduled for 3.46pm.

Scorers:

South Africa 21 (7) — Tries: Ryan Oosthuizen, Ricardo Duarttee, Dalvon Blood; Conversions: Duarttee (3)

Great Britain 14 (7) — Tries: Morgan Williams, Femi Sofolarin; Conversions: Tom Emery (2)