South Africa beat Japan for place in Rugby WC semis

Tokyo, Oct 20 (IANS) South Africa beat hosts Japan 26-3 in the Rugby World Cup on Sunday to set up a semifinal clash with Wales. The Springboks thus inched closer to clinching their third World Cup title following victories in 2007 and 1995.South Africa's Makazole Mapimpi scored his team's first try in the fourth minute to give his team a 5-0 lead. South Africa lost Tendai Mtawarira for 10 minutes after he was yellow-carded for a reckless tackle on his opposite number Keita Inagaki, Efe news reported.Japan then closed the gap to 3-5 following a penalty conversion by Yu Tamura, as the first half ended with the hosts enjoying 68 per cent possession.However, South Africa kept scoring in the second half with tries from Faf de Klerk in the 66th minute and Mapimpi in the 70th and a successful conversion from Pollard. South Africa will now square off against Wales at the Yokohama International Stadium on October 27.Earlier, Wales defeated France 20-19 for a place in the last four stage.
--IANS kk/arm