Unbeaten Australia will face hosts Canada in the semi-finals of the Vancouver men’s sevens tournament after brushing aside England 31-12 in their first knockout match.

Two first-half tries to Lachie Anderson set up the quarter-final win on Monday (AEDT) and continued Australia’s dominant form at the world series event.

After convincing pool wins over Scotland, Samoa and the United States, the Australians had a mortgage on possession in their first knockout game.

Anderson continued his fine form with a rapid double while veteran Lewis Holland crossed to make the score 17-12 at halftime.

Ben Harris kept England in the hunt with a brace but his side couldn’t stop Maurice Longbottom and Josh Turner extending Australia’s lead after the break.

Canada are ranked four places below Australia in the world series standings but the 10th ranked side have exceeded expectations this week, including a pool upset of Fiji.

The four pool winners are all through to the semi-finals, with New Zealand and South Africa to square off in a clash of the two leading world series teams.