Springboks coach Jake White saluted the leadership of his senior players after South Africa survived a major World Cup fright against Fiji at Stade Velodrome.

Fiji wiped out a 14-point deficit to draw level at 20-20 midway through the second period of a pulsating quarter-final.

Tries in rapid succession by wings Vilimoni Delasau and Sireli Bobo threatened the biggest upset in World Cup history before South Africa pulled away to triumph 37-20.

They now face Argentina or Scotland in next Sunday's second semi-final, avoiding the early elimination suffered by Tri-Nations rivals New Zealand and Australia.

White said: "We didn't play as well we we could have done, we know that, but we have still got a chance to win the World Cup.

"I would much rather be where I am today than where New Zealand and Australia are.

"Fiji are a really good rugby team. They offload in the tackles, they break tackles and defensively they are very strong. To score five tries against them is a huge positive.

"I thought the leadership of the senior players was outstanding. With 20 minutes to go, we could have fallen apart.''

Fiji, conquerors of Wales eight days earlier, pushed an unbeaten South African side to the limit.

Had lock Ifereimi Rawaqa not missed adding a third second-half touchdown by a matter of inches - he was denied by a brilliant J P Pietersen tackle - Fiji might have prevailed.

But in the end South Africa's forward strength and technical discipline guided them through.

It was not pretty, but the Springboks claimed tries by centre Jaque Fourie, skipper John Smit, Pietersen, flanker Juan Smith and fly-half Butch James, with Francois Steyn and Percy Montgomery each kicking penalties and Montgomery adding three conversions.

Smit added: "We didn't want to allow them into the game and when we played in their half, everything went well for us.

"We are quite happy we got out alive today, especially looking at the other results this weekend.

"Fiji came out at us and at 20-20 I thought I didn't want to be in that position with only a couple of minutes to go.

"But there were still 20 minutes left and we put ourselves into a position to get back into their 22.

"The priority was to get through but we made life difficult for ourselves. We knew Fiji were solid and well organised, with a couple of great runners. Their skills are top-class.''

Fiji captain Mosese Rauluni, comfortably his team's best player, acclaimed an outstanding performance by the Pacific Islanders.

He said: "I couldn't be more proud of the boys for their effort. It has been a great ride in this World Cup but the road stops here.

"We had great belief when we 13-3 down because we knew we were finding holes in their defence.

"France beating New Zealand yesterday was inspirational to us, although we didn't sleep much because of all the car horns going off in the old port!

"A lot of people wrote France off, but it could be tough for everyone else now in this tournament.

"A few mistakes started to creep into South Africa's game and the boys were really bouncing, but they eventually punished us and really put pressure on our scrum.''