Australia’s all-conquering women have beaten Fiji to reach the semi-finals of the Sydney rugby sevens.

On a training field outside Allianz Stadium, about 2,000 people watched Australian co-captain Sharni Williams cross in the dying moments to seal a 17-5 victory on Saturday.

Australia, the reigning world and Olympic champions, took a 5-0 lead into halftime after speedster Ellia Green raced down the sideline to score early in the match.

Some strong midfield link-up play led to Rio star Charlotte Caslick crossing in the corner to extend the home side’s lead early in the second stanza.

Fiji fought back to dominate field position for much of the remainder of the match, scoring a try with three minutes to go and forcing some strong goal line defence from Australia.

But the resistance was short-lived as the crowd favourites broke the Fijian line with about a minute remaining, before Williams sealed the deal by scoring under the posts.

Australia will meet Canada in the semi-finals, to be played at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, after they beat Russia 26-5 in their quarter-final