Australia are through to the quarter-finals of the Dubai Rugby Sevens despite a heavy loss in their final pool match to defending champions South Africa.

Coach Michael O'Connor's youthful side finished second in their pool on Friday with solid victories over Wales and the Arabian Gulf and will face Samoa in the first of Saturday's Cup quarter-finals.

Australia made the best possible start to the Sevens World Series when they defeated Arabian Gulf 47-7 in their opening match.

They backed up their strong first performance with a 14-7 victory over reigning Sevens World Cup champions Wales.

In Friday's final pool match, played in front of a vocal 30,000-strong crowd, heavyweights South Africa hit their strides and ran out 29-0 victors after denying Australia any chance of getting into the game.

"We're through to the quarter-finals but we certainly had a reality check when we played South Africa in our last game," O'Connor said.

"They just went to a different level, they absolutely dominated the match."

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