By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport

England saw their Commonwealth Games sevens medal dream destroyed as they crashed out 7-5 in the quarter-finals against Fiji.

And there was no joy for Wales either, who lost 24-0 against tournament favourites New Zealand and also saw their medal aspirations disappear.

Tomorrow's semi-finals will see New Zealand tackle Samoa and Fiji take on South Africa.

England and Wales, meanwhile, must make do with contesting the plate event for beaten quarter-finalists, which will provide scant consolation.

England, third favourites for gold, stormed through their group unbeaten after defeating the Cook Islands, Kenya and Samoa, but Fiji were a totally different proposition.

England beat Fiji on each of their last two meetings - in Hong Kong and Cardiff last season - and coach Joe Lydon fielded a team packed with his major short-game exponents in skipper Phil Greening, Henry Paul, Simon Amor, Tony Roques, Ben Gollings, Paul Sampson and Josh Lewsey.

But with so much at stake, it was perhaps no surprise that a tension-packed first period ended scoreless.

England wasted no time getting on the second-half scoresheet though, and it was playmaker Paul who delivered the critical final pass to Wasps wing Sampson who finished off out wide.

The lead was short-lived though, and Fiji responded through a try from Rupeni Caucaunibuca, converted by legendary skipper Waisele Serevi and that was enough for victory.

"We had it there to be won," said coach Joe Lydon. "The effort was there, but a few poor decisions cost us dearly.

"Amid all the pressure, little things can turn into huge things, and we gave Fiji back possession on too many occasions.

"We felt that we had enough quality to beat Fiji, but that is the nature of sevens. One mistake can turn a game.

"I don't think that we have fulfilled our potential as a squad, but the Commonwealth Games has provided a phenomenal experience for the players, and you have got to take out of it what you can."

Gollings reflected the players' state of desolation, claiming: "I am absolutely gutted.

"We had our sights on gold, and we knew that we were good enough. We made all the chances - we were better than them.

"We are going to regroup now, put our heads up and play well in the plate competition tomorrow. We will put on a brave face, but we will hurting deep inside."

Serevi admitted it had proved a massive test for Fiji, given England were on home soil.

"They wanted to win more than us, but we tried to play competitive rugby. England played well - they just missed their chance in the last minute," he said.

Wales were determined not to just make up the numbers against New Zealand, having beaten Tonga and Sri Lanka and then ran South Africa close in reaching the last eight.

But they made the worst possible start, conceding a first-minute try as Northampton-bound Bruce Reihana dashed clear for a score he also converted.

Wales, for whom this would be former Test skipper Rob Howley's final major representative appearance, were not fazed by their daunting task, despite Brad Fleming adding another touchdown before half-time that Reihana improved.

Mils Muiliaina took the game out of Wales' reach, scoring two tries as top seeds and reigning champions New Zealand triumphed.

But coach Colin Hillman was far from downhearted with their campaign, claiming: "I think we did as well as could have been expected - everyone gave of their best.

"We had chances to win against South Africa, but our finishing let us down. Overall though, we have proved that we are no-one's whipping boys.

"If we could have beaten South Africa, then the quarter-final draw would have favoured us, but it is all a case of ifs and buts."

There was a dramatic second quarter-final between Australia and Samoa, with the South Sea islanders grabbing an unexpected 12-10 victory.

Samoa, beaten by sevens minnows Kenya in their opening game on Friday night, recovered to make the quarter-finals on points difference above Kenya and the Cook Islands.

Australia were expected to sweep them aside, but Samoa never looked back after establishing a 12-0 lead through tries from Semo Sititi and Gaolo Elisala, plus a Fa'atonu Fili conversion.

Second-half tries by Richard Graham and Julian Huxley hauled Australia to within striking distance, but Huxley's final-kick conversion agonisingly struck both posts before falling on the wrong side, and Samoa were home.

There was similar drama in the final last-eight clash between South Africa and Canada.

South Africa came close to blowing a 12-0 lead as Canada hit back to draw level, but a last-gasp score from Jean de Villiers sealed a 19-12 South African win.