Hosts Australia breeze into semi-finals of Netball World Cup with crushing win over South Africa

Australia booked their place in the last four of the netball world cup with a comfortable win over South Africa ©Getty Images

Hosts Australia kept their pursuit of an 11th Netball World Cup title alive as they booked their place in the semi-finals of the event with a comfortable 66-31 victory over South Africa at the Allphones Arena on the Olympic Park in Sydney.

The Australian Diamonds dominated the contest from start to finish, exhibiting their attacking prowess to sweep aside the world number five ranked team.

By the end of the first quarter, the reigning champions had a commanding 23-5 lead and they were able to extend that to 38-12 at half-time.

Australia did not take their foot off the gas in the second-half as they peppered the South Africans with constant attacks on their way to a straightforward win that guarantees them the chance to play for a medal.

The Australian side will be joined in the next round by New Zealand after the Silver Ferns secured a 57-49 success against Malawi in a physical encounter in Pool E.

New Zealand began well and led 30-24 at the break before Malawi began to find their feet in the match, cutting the deficit to three by the end of the third quarter.

The Silver Ferns, who made the whole tournament stand up and take notice after beating the home country in the qualification group phase, managed to bounce back from a slight scare to seal victory.

“I thought it was pretty physical and I thought there was a lot of advantage and we've got some bruises and things to show for it,” New Zealand coach Waimarama Taumaunu said.

“That was a bit disappointing.

“There was a lot of advantage we thought being played off the ball when we had people that were hurt.”

New Zealand are also through the semi-finals after they overcame Malawi in a physical contest ©Getty Images

Elsewhere, England, ranked at number three in the world, recovered from the disappointment of their defeat to tAustralia yesterday, beating Wales 78-33 in Pool F, maintaining their quest for a place in the semi-finals.

England were clearly keen to banish the demons of their loss to the home country, starting in blistering form, opening up a 42-16 advantage by half-time.

Wales never looked like being able to overturn the deficit although they did produce a brief comeback in the third quarter.

The result put paid to slim Welsh hopes of reaching the latter stages as it was their second consecutive defeat following their loss to South Africa in their opening Pool F clash.

In the classification matches, Scotland picked up their second straight win, hammering Sri Lanka 59-27 in Pool H, while Fiji beat Barbados 48-37 in the same group.

Trinidad and Tobago built on their victory over Zambia yesterday, cruising to a 75-32 success against Singapore in Pool G.