Let’s start with the happier, personal one: Ellie Boatman has rejoined Trailfinders. That means she becomes the first GB Sevens player to indicate where her immediate future lies.

A crucial passage in her statement is that she is focusing on TF this season. That must mean she does not intend participating in any round of the SVNS Series.

By the purest chance, TF has given more players to the GB 7s squad than any other, including the captain, Emma Uren, Abi Burton, Amy Wilson Hardy, Lisa Thomson, Vicky Laflin and Grace White. All of them were on TF’s books, but – as is the way of the GB 7s set-up – we could never be sure if or when individuals might be made available for PWR matches.

Boatman’s reappearance helps to offset the departure of Abby Dow.

We can be sure that the entire 7s squad, both men and women, have been in deep conversation about their future, ever since the announcement on 23 May that the full-time programme would terminate in July. It had an effect similar to England Rugby’s decision in August 2020 to withdraw contracts from its 7s players. The only positive result that had was to strengthen the Red Roses squad enormously.

The other side of the coin

Then comes news from Scotland that the Union is attempting to revive Sevens. It holds a special place in the national annals, since the first ever tournament was staged at Melrose.

The CE, Alex Williamson, is keen to re-establish GB 7s in something closer to its original form, though he realises he will need to engage the support of the RFU and the WRU to achieve this end.

David Barnes of theoffsideline.com comments on the current “camp and competition” format.

Yet the Scottish Union is willing to take the lead in the initiative. That means, in cold blood, stomping up the costs, or a goodly part of them, depending on the interest the two other unions show.

Williamson claims not to be starry-eyed about the prospects of success, but feels it’s in the interests of Scottish rugby – if no others – to invite a similar response from Cardiff and Twickenham. The Performance Director, David Nucifora, is even more wedded to the idea. But the very basis of their thinking stretches credibility as far as it can.

The RFU has long been cool in its attitude towards the short-version game. The Welsh Union simply does not have the money to throw at an initiative it had so recently agreed to reject. The Chair and the CE, Richard Collier-Keywood and Abi Tierney, have far more urgent matters to attend to.

Nor is Barnes the only Scot to shrug a shoulder. Others have pointed out weaknesses in Murrayfield’s arguments. One major reason for GB 7s’ decline to a part-time operation was precisely the cost – especially when set against playing success, which has proved hard to achieve.

Any rebirth of the combined organization automatically means a reduction of national identity, and GB 7s has come nowhere near to creating the aura of the British and Irish Lions.

At their last outing in mid-June the GB women’s squad took part in the Makarska Sevens in Croatia. They played Belgium, France, Germany and Poland. They lost only the final match against Belgium, 26-29.

Tying two ends of string

The whole confused business comes down to central questions within rugby. Do we support our own national (Scottish, Welsh, English) team, or an amalgamation that exists only at the quadrennial Olympic Games and at the SVNS Series, which studiously avoids taking place in the UK? Furthermore, other leading 7s experts agree that WR’s restructuriing has badly damaged tier-two Sevens nations and has failed to exploit all the commercial advantages it possesses.

Does Sevens exist in its own isolated sphere or an an organic part of the world of rugby? For PWR players the answers have not been clear.

Players will still come together to compete in SVNS tournaments, but without financial backing their results are bound to take a nose-dive.

Where else have we seen three unions merging to form a single team? The Pacific islands occasionally, perhaps. Certainly the West Indies in cricket. But asking the English, Scottish and Welsh to combine efficiently was unreasonable.

The proof is in the pudding. Results have rarely risen above the mediocre.

You may be familiar with my criticisms going back across the years. My involvement with Sevens dates back to the Sixties, so this isn’t the attitude of a dyed-in-the-wool 15’s addict.

The way the operation has been conducted has often left me wide-eyed in disbelief. Changes in management have been as frequent as in players. Head coaches have come and gone, and up-to-date news has been hard to discover. Who was really in charge? Who was accountable? Well, one person, who now occupies a leading post, Charlie Hayter, was for a while. One position he held, ’Women’s and Sevens Performance Manager’, shows the unbalanced nature of management positions people were asked to occupy.

Then the selection of players: there were few signs of consistency. You could expect to see certain players picked regularly (Abbie Brown, Amy Wilson-Hardy, Emma Uren), but every squad announcement seemed to include an unexpected player. She might or might not be seen at the next tournament. Players have switched between 7s and 15s without any obvious pattern – Jasmine Joyce-Butchers and Jade Shekells are two recent examples.

GB’s ranking has rarely risen above sixth in the world; mostly it was around eighth. Given the shortage of funding (no government backing available), and the cost of covering three nations, the bosses have decided to cut their losses.

An early downturn was the RFU’s sudden withdrawal of contracts from its English players. That came like a thunderbolt, causing extreme distress to players. By the same token, it ensured a strengthening of the Red Roses enterprise which lasts till today.

We will feel immense sympathy for the players; we wait to see their reactions. The question then is: how many of them will remain faithful to 7s, and how many will switch across to 15s? That was one central consideration in the minds of the people who made the call.

While few, if any of the English players could hope to force their way into the national squad, the SRU and the WRU might be delighted to add a few more talented players to their strength.

Notice the absence of the initials IRFU. That was another cause of disruption to the GB cause. Ireland qualify for the Olympics under a different banner, so no Ulster player could hope to qualify for a GB and Northern Ireland squad. And the Irish men’s squad has recently been disbanded!

The enterprise comes to an end in July. Will Giselle Mather stay in post or look elsewhere?

Both teams have won their respective tournaments in 2023 and 2024, with the 2025 edition at the new, Kai Tak Sports Park.

The Black Ferns Sevens have named an unchanged line up from the squad the won in Vancouver last month. They currently sit atop the standings with 76 points, six clear of rivals Australia.

The All Blacks Sevens welcome Amanaki Nicole back from injury, running out for his first tournament in 12 months. Currently in seventh place, the team will be looking to replicate their recent success in Hong Kong.

In pool play the Black Ferns Sevens will come up against Brazil, USA and China, while the All Blacks Sevens face a stern challenge against South Africa, Australia and Uruguay.

Black Ferns Sevens squad
1. Manaia Nuku
2. Jorja Miller
3. Stacey Waaka
4. Mahina Paul
5. Sarah Hirini (C)
6. Michaela Brake
7. Risaleaana Pouri-Lane (VC)
10. Theresa Setefano
11. Maia Davis
12. Alena Saili
13. Jazmin Felix-Hotham
28. Dhys Faleafaga
88. Kelsey Teneti
Unavailable: Shiray Kaka

All Blacks Sevens squad
1. Amanaki Nicole
2. Brady Rush
3. Tone Ng Shiu
4. Oli Mathis
5. Dylan Collier (C)
8. Andrew Knewstubb
11. Joe Webber (VC)
24. Ngarohi McGarvey-Black
25. Cody Vai
27. Sione Molia (VC)
64. Regan Ware
75. Frank Vaenuku
81. Sofai Maka
Unavailable: Akuila Rokolisoa, Xavier Tito-Harris, Lewis Ormond, Roderick Solo

Match schedule (games listed in NZDT)

28 March
10.07pm Black Ferns Sevens v China
10.30pm All Blacks Sevens v Australia

29 March
12.53am Black Ferns Sevens v USA
1.16am All Blacks Sevens v Uruguay
5.57pm Black Ferns Sevens v Brazil
6.43pm All Blacks Sevens v South Africa

30/31 March
Play off Matches

• Portugal and Kenya were crowned men’s and women’s champions at the second round of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 in Cape Town.
• Portugal overcame Germany 12-7 in the men’s final, while Kenya beat South Africa 17-0 in a hard-fought women’s final.
• Germany’s men’s team and South Africa’s teams earned silver.
• Top eight women’s teams, Kenya, South Africa, Argentina, Colombia, Thailand, Czechia, Poland and Uganda, celebrated International Women’s Day by qualifying for the next round in Krakow.
• Top eight men’s teams, Germany, Canada, Portugal, Chile, Samoa, Japan, Madagascar and Tonga progressed to the third round in Krakow on 11-12 April.
• The Challenger provides a promotion pathway to HSBC SVNS, with the top four placed men’s and women’s teams securing their place in the high stakes HSBC SVNS Play-Off in Los Angeles on 3-4 May and an opportunity to gain promotion.

After two days of intense, high-action rivalry, Portugal’s men’s team and Kenya women’s took top honours at the second round of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 in Cape Town.

The top eight men’s teams to go to the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger third round in Krakow are Germany, Canada, Portugal, Chile, Samoa, Japan, Madagascar, and Tonga.

On International Women’s Day, there was joy for Kenya, South Africa, Argentina, Colombia, Thailand, Czechia, Poland and Uganda, who marked the occasion by securing their places in the third Challenger round on 11-12 April in Poland.

Germany won the first men’s semi-final 24-12 over Canada, and Portugal reached the final thanks to a 36-14 win over Japan. Portugal dominated the men’s competition, claiming a spot in the final with a 12-7 victory over Germany.

South African women beat Czechia 21-15 in the first semi-final, while Kenya was victorious over Colombia with 12-5. For a second consecutive tournament, Kenya lifted gold beating South Africa 17-0 in an all-African women’s finals. South Africa ended in second place—Canada men’s and Colombia women’s beat Japan and Czechia to third place.

VIEW POOLS, SCORES AND FIXTURES >>

The Challenger series starts with back-to-back events in Cape Town, with the top-ranked eight men’s and women’s teams progressing to the third and final tournament at the Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium in Krakow on 11-12 April.

Captain of the Portuguese team, Diogo Sarmento reflected on their experience: “This win is overwhelming. The conditions were not perfect for us as we had a lot of players making their debut and the average age of the group is 20. We stood together, and what we accomplished is fantastic. We worked hard and now we are looking forward to going to the next round.”

“Reflecting on their second World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger win in Cape Town, the captain, Grace Okulu said: This is the first time we achieved back-to-back wins in the Sevens Challenger and we are now Challenger champions. We are now ready for anything.”

The four men’s and women’s teams with the most cumulative points gained across the three Challenger rounds will then qualify for the HSBC SVNS Play Off in Los Angeles on 3 – 4 May, where they will face the bottom four ranked teams from HSBC SVNS 2025 in a high-stakes promotion and relegation tournament with four coveted places in future SVNS at stake.

The Challenger was introduced in February 2020 to boost the development of rugby sevens across the globe and provide a clear promotion pathway to reach the top level of global rugby sevens for the short format of the game, which has experienced massive growth over the past two decades since the introduction of the global sevens series and becoming an Olympic sport at the Rio 2016 Games.

Fans around the globe can watch the action on rugbypass.tv or via domestic broadcast partners.

With thanks to World Rugby

• Perth set to host the third round of HSBC SVNS 2025 on 24-26 January as the world’s best 12 men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams meet at HBF Park
• With four different title winners across the opening two rounds in Dubai and Cape Town, New Zealand women and Fiji men lead the current standings
• 2024 SVNS champions Australia are in women’s pool C with France, China and Spain while the hosts face Argentina, South Africa and the USA in men’s pool A
• The three-day event kicks off at 11:00 local time (GMT+8) on Friday with pool matches, continuing from 12:00 on Saturday before finals day from 13:30 on Sunday with the women’s final set to bring down the curtain at 20:11
• Following last year’s finals day sell-out, fans are urged to secure their tickets early to avoid disappointment. Remaining tickets are available from www.svns.com

Rugby sevens fever is set to grip Perth once again as the city gears up to host the third round of the HSBC SVNS for a second time at HBF Park, following a sold-out finals day on debut in 2024.

Captains of the world’s top 12 men’s and women’s teams gathered at South Perth Foreshore on Wednesday ahead of the three-day event on 24-26 January.

POOLS AND FIXTURES >>

With a plethora of star-studded Olympians on show alongside new breakthrough talent, the action is set to be more competitive than ever with four different title winners across the opening two rounds in Dubai and Cape Town.

One player to watch will be Australia’s recently crowned HSBC World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Maddison Levi who scored a record-breaking 15 tries in a single tournament in Dubai last month.

SQUADS >>

Women’s Olympic champions New Zealand lead the current standings following victory in Cape Town and will face Japan, Ireland and Brazil in pool A.

Olympic silver and bronze medallists Canada and the USA respectively are in pool B together with Great Britain and Fiji.

Hosts and HSBC SVNS 2024 Champions Australia are in pool C with France, China and Spain and they will be looking to back up their opening round title winning performance in Dubai on home soil this weekend.

Fiji lead the men’s standings following gold in Dubai and bronze in Cape Town,  and they will go into battle in pool C along with rivals New Zealand and newly promoted Kenya and Uruguay.

Hosts Australia were drawn in men’s pool A together with reigning SVNS league winners Argentina, Cape Town champions South Africa and the USA.

Olympic champions France are in pool B alongside Spain, Great Britain and Ireland in an all European affair.

STANDINGS >>

Men’s Olympic champions France are looking to retain their SVNS Champions crown after they defeated SVNS league winners Argentina to claim the inaugural men’s title in 2024. Meanwhile New Zealand’s women secured their second successive Olympic title in Paris and will be aiming to reclaim the SVNS Champions title they lost to Australia in 2024.

The HSBC SVNS action kicks off at 11:00 local time (GMT+8) on Friday with pool matches. The pool phase continues from 12:00 on Saturday before the quarter-finals begin at 17:27. Sunday’s finals day begins at 13:30 with the men’s and women’s finals at 19:35 and 20:11 respectively.

In a landmark first, the women’s final will be the last showpiece match of the tournament, taking centre stage on Sunday evening and bringing down the curtain on HSBC SVNS Perth.

Australia women’s captain Isabella Nasser said: “We’ve loved our time in Perth again so far and to be back playing in front of the Aussie fans at HBF Park gives the girls a lot of motivation to try and win the title this year. We fell short in the final last year and that has only driven us as a team to get better.”

Australia men’s captain Henry Hutchison said: “It’s great to be back in Perth and we’re looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd that really turned up and got behind us last year. We’ve got some fresh faces in the group but hopefully we can go one better this year and put on a show.”

New Zealand women’s captain Sarah Hirini said: “I’m really proud of the way we have started off the season. Perth is our closest event to home so I know we will have a heap of Kiwi’s down here supporting us. It’s my first time in Perth so I’m exciting to see what the stadium is like and hopefully get another win on the Series.

“I think the women’s final being played after the men’s is a pretty cool step forward, showing a lot of young girls that things can change as we keep adapting to how society is.”

Argentina men’s captain Santiago Mare said: “We are very happy to be back in Perth. We have very good memories here from last year so we hope to have a good tournament and achieve the same as last season. We are always looking to keep improving, with new players and new staff. We love the beach and the sun so we are very happy to be playing again here in Perth.”

Ireland women’s captain Megan Burns said: “Winning last year’s tournament here in Perth was definitely a great moment for us and one that will stay in our memories forever. We are really excited to be back here, we all love it here and can’t wait to get back out there on the pitch. The support from the many Irish fans here gives us massive energy. We’re going out there to enjoy it and hopefully get to the final again.”

This year’s SVNS festival promises another action-packed weekend on and off the pitch. Alongside the epic rugby sevens action, featuring the world’s best 12 men’s and women’s teams packed with Olympic stars, fans can enjoy global food offerings, interactive activities, roaming performers and a blockbuster line-up of entertainment.

Internationally acclaimed artists Voyager featuring Perth Symphony Orchestra’s INNEKA, Southern River Band, and Adrian Dzvuke are some of the big names set to light up the stage with unforgettable performances.

Following last year’s finals day sell-out, fans are urged to secure their tickets to avoid disappointment. Remaining tickets are available from www.svns.com

WHERE TO WATCH >>

Fans can watch the HSBC SVNS action wherever you are in the world, either via broadcaster partners or on www.RugbyPassTV. Following the blockbuster Olympic sevens competitions, an impressive roster of broadcast partners will bring the SVNS to a huge potential global audience.

VIEW HSBC SVNS 2025 CALENDAR >>

Following a successful inaugural year for World Rugby’s revamped and rebranded global celebration of rugby sevens, HSBC SVNS 2025 features seven events across seven months in seven iconic global destinations.

Six regular season events are being played in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Singapore to decide the HSBC SVNS League Winners, before the HSBC SVNS World Championship at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles, which will host the 2028 Olympic Games rugby sevens competitions.

The top eight placed teams based on cumulative series points after six events in Singapore will compete in the ‘winner takes all’ World Championship, where the women’s and men’s SVNS Champions will be crowned.

Los Angeles will also play host to the high stakes promotion and relegation play-off competition where teams ranked ninth to 12th will join the top four teams from the World Rugby Sevens Challenger, in a battle to secure their places in the next HSBC SVNS.

In a huge year for women’s rugby, World Rugby’s commitment to grow the women’s game is unwavering and all HSBC SVNS events will see men’s and women’s teams receiving equal participation fees and sharing the platform equally on the biggest stages around the world. For the first time in history, there is an all-female panel of match officials for the women’s SVNS 2025.

With thanks to World Rugby

• HSBC SVNS Perth pool draw took place at HBF Park on Thursday ahead of the third round of HSBC SVNS 2025 on 24-26 January
• 2024 SVNS champions Australia in women’s pool C with France, China and Spain
• Hosts face Argentina, South Africa and the USA in men’s pool A
• It is all to play for with four different title winners across the opening two rounds in Dubai and Cape Town
• Following last year’s finals day sell-out, fans are urged to secure their tickets early to avoid disappointment. Tickets are available from svns.com

The pools for HSBC SVNS Perth were drawn at the HBF Park venue on Thursday, meaning fans can now whet their appetites and get set for the third round of HSBC SVNS 2025 on 24-26 January.

HSBC SVNS Perth Ambassadors Sera Naiqama, Matt Hodgson and Australia Wallaroos captain Michaela Leonard gathered at HBF Park to draw the pools for the highly anticipated event.

Hosts Australia were drawn in men’s pool A together with reigning SVNS league winners Argentina, Cape Town champions South Africa and the USA.

Olympic champions France are in pool B alongside Spain, Great Britain and Ireland in an all European affair.

Fiji and New Zealand will go into battle in pool C along with newly promoted Kenya and Uruguay.

Women’s Olympic champions New Zealand will face Japan, Ireland and Brazil in pool A.

Olympic silver and bronze medallists Canada and the USA respectively are in pool B together with Great Britain and Fiji.

Hosts and HSBC SVNS 2024 Champions Australia are in pool C with France, China and Spain.

After two action packed tournaments in Dubai and Cape Town kicked off the HSBC SVNS 2025 campaign in December, it is all to play for with four different teams claiming the titles to date.

Olympic champions New Zealand lead the women’s standings following victory in Cape Town. While Australia’s women got off to a flying start with gold in Dubai, featuring some of the biggest stars in world rugby, including the newly crowned World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Maddison Levi who scored a record-breaking 15 tries in a single tournament in Dubai.

Fiji lead the men’s standings and were back to their thrilling best taking gold in Dubai, while South Africa thrilled their fans with victory on home soil in Cape Town.

VIEW HSBC SVNS STANDINGS >>

Following last year’s success, this year’s SVNS festival promises an action-packed weekend like no other. Attendees can enjoy epic rugby sevens matches featuring the world’s best 12 men’s and women’s teams with Olympic stars gracing the HBF Park, alongside global food offerings, interactive activities, roaming performers and a blockbuster line-up of entertainment.

Internationally acclaimed artists Voyager featuring Perth Symphony Orchestra’s INNEKA, Southern River Band, and Adrian Dzvuke are some of the big names set to light up the stage with unforgettable performances.

Following last year’s finals day sell-out, fans are urged to secure their tickets early to avoid disappointment. Tickets are available from www.svns.com

The match schedule will be confirmed shortly here. In a landmark first, the women’s final will be the last showpiece match of the tournament, taking centre stage on Sunday evening in Perth.

World Rugby Sevens General Manager Sam Pinder said: “Today’s HSBC SVNS Perth pool draw has delivered some mouth-watering match-ups and kicks off an exciting year for rugby sevens with Perth set to deliver another festival of world class sevens, music and entertainment in a festival atmosphere at HBF Park.

“The opening two rounds of HSBC SVNS 2025 showed it is all to play for on the pitch with four different winners so far and exciting new talent emerging alongside many of the stars of the Olympic Games. We are all set for what promises to be another exhilarating event in the Perth sunshine.”

Australia women’s head coach Tim Walsh said: “We had a fantastic Dubai tournament, statistically one of our best ever and looked unstoppable, but were a bit complacent in Cape Town where we slipped and have learnt lessons.

“It was a fantastic tournament in Perth last year so we’re really looking forward to getting on the plane, putting on a show and doing our best to get the win. We’ve been at the top of our game for over a decade with a lot of big occasion experience and we’re really looking to express ourselves in Perth.”

Australia men’s player Henry Paterson said: “It’s a super tight draw. There’s no easy games for anyone on the sevens circuit and if you want to win the competition you have to beat everyone.”

With thanks to World Rugby

Hosts South Africa beat Olympic champions France 26-14 to win a thriller of a men’s final and claim their first HSBC SVNS title in Cape Town in nine years.

READ MEN’S REPORT >>

New Zealand came back from two tries down to beat the USA 26-12 in an end-to-end women’s final to bounce back from their final disappointment in Dubai and take an early lead in the HSBC SVNS standings ahead of the break before Perth hosts the third round in January.

READ WOMEN’S REPORT >>

France beat Dubai champions Australia 17-14 for women’s bronze, while Fiji claimed the men’s bronze with a convincing 47-10 win over Spain in a repeat of last weekend’s Dubai final.

With Springboks captain Siya Kolisi cheering on enthusiastically from the sidelines, a breathless first-half of the men’s final ended even at 14-14, as the two sides traded tries. Celian Pouzelgues, in just his second tournament, opened the scoring for Les Bleus.

To the vociferous delight of the home crowd, Donavan Don and Zain Davids hit back before Varian Pasquet went over in the corner on the stroke of halftime. Nerveless Paulin Riva landed the conversion from out wide.

HSBC Player of the Final Shilton van Wyk then won a foot race to the line, despite the attentions of the French defence – and he then released David Brits to extend the home side’s lead and secure their first HSBC SVNS title on home soil since 2015.

South Africa reached the final thanks to a hard-fought 19-12 win over impressive Spain, while France overcame Fiji 19-17 in a nail-biting repeat of the Olympic gold medal match.

South Africa men’s co-captain Zain Davids said: “I think you can see the guys are [already] celebrating. We really wanted this. The guys showed a lot of heart out there – we played for each other.”

South Africa men’s co-captain Impey Visser added: “It’s just incredible. It’s been nine years since we last won it so it’s great to break the curse and give the people of Cape Town something to really celebrate.”

“We knew that we have a special group of players, but we came up a bit short last week in Dubai. Some new guys came in and really stepped up this week. We’re building something really special and once we have that self-belief we can really go to that number one spot.”

The Eagles gave the Black Ferns Sevens an early scare in an exciting women’s final, but experience told, as they pulled away in the second half.

Nia Tolliver raced clear to score her seventh Cape Town try as USA sprinted into a 12-0 lead in the opening three minutes of a dramatic, end-to-end showpiece match.

New Zealand fired back before the break, taking a two-point lead courtesy of scores from HSBC Player of the Final Jorja Miller and Jazmin Felix-Hotham.

Kelsey Teneti added a third midway through the second half to extend the Black Ferns’ Sevens lead and Dhys Faleafaga then finished off a patient edge-to-edge attacking move to take the Olympic champions out of sight with a 26-12 victory.

The women’s semi-finals saw the USA again get the better of Australia, as they did in the Olympic bronze medal match, coming out 24-19 winners to reach today’s final. New Zealand’s Black Ferns Sevens were in unstoppable form, cruising past France 43-0 to reach the final in style.

New Zealand women’s captain Sarah Hirini said “I’m so happy! We were pretty disappointed with last weekend but I’m absolutely stoked here. We’re going home with goodies for Christmas! I’m very proud of our group, with three debutants in there.”

“Look at all the All Black jerseys, all the Black Ferns Sevens jerseys in the stadium. We love Cape Town, we love South Africa and they always turn out for us.”

Crowds of more than 75,000 enjoyed the sun-soaked festival atmosphere and enthralling rugby sevens action across two days at DHL Stadium, and they also witnessed the setting of a new world record for the biggest collective Ampiano dance performed on the pitch prior to Sunday’s finals.

A new player welfare focused competition format was debuted in Cape Town and there was no shortage of excitement as every match counted from start to finish for those all important ranking points.

Following the results in Cape Town, New Zealand and Fiji lead the women’s and men’s HSBC SVNS 2025 standings respectively after two rounds. New Zealand have opened a four point gap over rivals Australia ahead of their home event in Perth, with France a further two points behind. Meanwhile Fiji are four points ahead of an impressively consistent Spain outfit in second, with France and South Africa a further two points adrift.

VIEW HSBC SVNS RANKINGS >>

The worlds best 12 men’s and women’s teams now take a short festive break before returning for the third round of HSBC SVNS 2025 in Perth on 24-26 January for what promises to a bumper three-day event at HBF Park.

The HSBC SVNS Perth pool draw is set to take place early in the new year and following a sold-out finals day last-time out fans are encouraged to secure their tickets early to avoid disappointment. Tickets are currently available from AUD $30 at svns.com.

HSBC SVNS PERTH INFORMATION >>

HSBC SVNS 2025 features seven events across seven months in seven iconic global destinations. Six regular season rounds will be played in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Singapore to decide the HSBC SVNS League Winners, before the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles, which will see the top eight men’s and women’s teams compete at Dignity Health Sports Park which will host the LA 2028 Olympic rugby sevens.

VIEW HSBC SVNS 2025 CALENDAR >>

Fans can watch the HSBC SVNS action wherever you are in the world, either via broadcast partners or on www.RugbyPassTV.

With thanks to World Rugby

Following a historic, record breaking Olympics in Paris, rugby sevens returned with a bang as a new season of HSBC SVNS kicked off in style at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai.

There was scintillating, world class rugby sevens on the pitch and non-stop entertainment with mass participation sports and live music acts creating a vibrant festival atmosphere to match the heat of the desert.

Alongside some of the stars of the Olympic Games were many fresh faces as 91 debutant players were selected across the 12 men’s and 12 women’s squads.

Olympic Champions New Zealand and reigning HSBC SVNS Champions Australia were once again the outstanding teams in the women’s competition, both claiming a hat-trick of wins to top their pools and ease through to Sunday’s quarter-finals.

Australia are looking for a fifth successive tournament victory in Dubai but will face a tough test in the quarter-final against Olympic silver medallists Canada. New Zealand play Ireland while Olympic bronze medallists the USA take on France. Great Britain and Japan will get play under way at 09:20 local time (GMT+4) when they contest the first quarter-final following impressive performances on day one.

Ireland’s Aimee Leigh Murphy Crowe joined an elite club by scoring her 200^th SVNS Series try while Australia’s own try machine Faith Nathan claimed her 100^th try on day one in Dubai.

READ DAY ONE WOMEN’S REPORT >>

In the men’s competition previous double Olympic champions Fiji and SVNS 2024 League Winners Argentina were the pace setters, winning all three matches to top their pools and lay down a marker for the new season.

Fiji will face reigning Olympic and SVNS Champions France in the quarter-finals while Argentina’s reward is a quarter-final tie with Australia. Great Britain will take on an impressive Spain.

South Africa have won five consecutive Dubai titles and seven of the last eight tournaments here and they remain in with a chance of securing a sixth straight title after a thrilling golden-point victory over Olympic champions France in the last match of an epic first day. The Blitzboks will face old foes New Zealand to complete a mouth-watering quarter-finals line-up.

It was a positive day for Spanish rugby as both men’s and women’s teams made it to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2019. The women ended a 22 game losing streak against France while the men beat New Zealand for only the third time in Series history to reach the Dubai quarter-finals for the first time.

READ DAY ONE MEN’S REPORT >>

Day two begins at 09:20 on Sunday with the quarter-finals and culminates with the women’s gold medal final at 19:35, followed by the men’s final at 20:11 local time.

VIEW EMIRATES DUBAI 7S MATCH SCHEDULE >>

HSBC SVNS 2025 features seven events across seven months in seven iconic global destinations. Six regular season rounds will be played in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Singapore to decide the HSBC SVNS League Winners, before the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles, which will see the top eight men’s and women’s teams compete at Dignity Health Sports Park which will host the LA 2028 Olympic rugby sevens.

VIEW HSBC SVNS 2025 CALENDAR >>

Fans can watch the HSBC SVNS action wherever you are in the world, either via broadcast partners or on www.RugbyPassTV. All matches taking place on pitch two in Dubai are being live streamed on Rugby Pass TV.

WHERE TO WATCH >>

Following the sensational, record-breaking Olympic Games competitions, the wait is over for rugby sevens fans as HSBC SVNS 2025 kicks off with the Emirates Dubai 7s on 30 November – 1 December.

With interest and excitement in rugby sevens on a high following the Olympics, the many millions of fans who watched the Games can expect to see Olympic medallists on show in Dubai alongside new faces looking to make their mark at the first round of a highly anticipated new HSBC SVNS campaign.

Men’s Olympic champions France will be looking to retain their SVNS Champions crown after they defeated SVNS league winners Argentina to claim the inaugural men’s title in 2024. Meanwhile Olympic bronze medallists South Africa are looking to continue their incredible form in Dubai which has seen them win five consecutive titles and seven of the last eight tournaments.

New Zealand’s women won their second successive Olympic title in Paris and will be aiming to reclaim the SVNS Champions title they lost to Australia in 2024. They will have to break Australia’s dominance in Dubai, which has seen them win the last four women’s titles at The Sevens Stadium.

The Emirates Dubai 7s features the top 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams in the world competing over two action-packed days as the 24 captain’s gathered by Old Dubai Creek on Wednesday where rivalries were reignited and new friendships forged.

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The event has featured on the global rugby sevens calendar since its inception in 1999, and includes an all-star music and entertainment line-up alongside mass participation sports activities to complement the world class rugby sevens played out in an electric festival atmosphere.

The HSBC SVNS action kicks off at 09:00 local time (GMT+4) on Saturday with pool matches as reigning women’s Olympic champions New Zealand take on Brazil on Pitch 2, while silver medallists Canada open their campaign against Japan on Pitch 1 to get the action started.

Day two begins at 09:20 on Sunday with the quarter-finals and culminates with the women’s gold medal final at 19:35, followed by the men’s final at 20:11 local time.

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The women’s pools see New Zealand face Canada in a repeat of the 2024 Olympic final, alongside Brazil and Japan in pool C. Olympic bronze medallists the USA are in pool B with France, Great Britain and Spain. SVNS Champions Australia will take on Ireland, Fiji and newcomers China in pool A.

Kenya face a tough assignment on their reintroduction to the top level of international rugby sevens as they face Olympic champions France, serial Dubai winners South Africa and Australia in men’s pool A.

Argentina were the most consistently outstanding performers on the men’s circuit last year and they are drawn with Ireland, Great Britain and Uruguay in pool B. Current Olympic silver medallists Fiji will be sure to thrill the crowd with encounters against New Zealand, the USA and Spain in pool C.

The competition format replicates the Olympic model and sees the top two teams from each pool, plus the best two third-placed teams qualify for the quarter-finals from where it is knock-out rugby.

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Following a successful inaugural year for World Rugby’s revamped and rebranded global celebration of rugby sevens, HSBC SVNS 2025 will feature seven events across seven months in seven iconic global destinations.

Six regular season events will be played in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Singapore to decide the HSBC SVNS League Winners, before the HSBC SVNS World Championship at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles, which will host the 2028 Olympic Games rugby sevens competitions.

The top eight placed teams based on cumulative series points after six events in Singapore will compete in the ‘winner takes all’ World Championship, where the women’s and men’s SVNS Champions will be crowned.

Los Angeles will also play host to the high stakes promotion and relegation play-off competition where teams ranked ninth to 12th will join the top four teams from the World Rugby Sevens Challenger, in a battle to secure their places in the next HSBC SVNS.

The SVNS competition model means fans can expect maximum excitement, entertainment and nail-biting jeopardy on the pitch. While HSBC SVNS events will continue to deliver entertainment, music, culture and cuisine alongside the world’s best men’s and women’s athletes set against the spectacular backdrops of some of the most stunning locations around the globe.

In a huge year for women’s rugby, World Rugby’s commitment to grow the women’s game is unwavering and all HSBC SVNS events will see men’s and women’s teams receiving equal participation fees and sharing the platform equally on the biggest stages around the world. For the first time in history, there is an all-female panel of match officials for the women’s SVNS 2025.

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Fans can watch the HSBC SVNS action wherever you are in the world, either via broadcaster partners or www.RugbyPassTV. Following the blockbuster Olympic sevens competitions, an impressive roster of broadcast partners will bring the SVNS to a huge potential global audience. All matches taking place on pitch two in Dubai will be live streamed on Rugby Pass TV.

World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin said: “Following a ground-breaking Olympic Games which captivated a huge new global audience, we can’t wait for HSBC SVNS 2025 to start and for these incredible athletes to showcase their awesome skills at seven iconic destinations around the world.

“Dubai has been a mainstay on the global rugby sevens circuit since 1999 and will no doubt provide the perfect lift-off for what promises to be an exciting campaign with seasoned Olympians inspiring audiences around the globe and new stars hoping to make their mark.”

New Zealand women’s captain Sarah Hirini said: “We’re really excited to get going. Coming off a pretty successful Olympic campaign and getting back in to it with a new bunch of girls and some debutants it’s been a really cool last couple of months build up.

“Looking around there are a lot of new faces as we’re starting a new cycle and that’s really exciting. We play Canada in our last pool match which is a repeat of the Olympic gold medal match so that will be hugely exciting. I love playing in Dubai, it’s one of my favourite tournaments I’ve ever played in, it’s what sevens is all about, everyone having a good time and always pulls in a big crowd so it’s nice to be back here.”

South Africa men’s captain Impi Visser said: “Dubai feels like a second home for us, with many South African fans here. Maybe it’s the excitement of a new season starting but we always seem to jump the gun and be fast starters in Dubai. Hopefully we can do that again this weekend and continue it throughout the season. We want to build consistency and it starts this weekend in Dubai for us.

“We had a nice little break after the Olympics, a chance to celebrate the medal, but then we got back into a tough pre-season and I think our fitness level is good. We’re excited to get going, it’s always a really great atmosphere in Dubai with everyone dressed up. We have a very tough pool so we’re going to have to get stuck in and just give it everything in every game.”

Australia women’s captain Isabella Nasser said: “We’re looking forward to getting back out there and we always love playing here in Dubai in the heat. We have lots of new faces on the team and we are really looking forward to the debutants showing the world what they can do. We’re really looking forward to showing everyone what we’ve been working on.

“I feel really honoured to take on the captaincy role this year and I’m excited for the season. Obviously Charlotte (Caslick) is such an important part of the team, she’s a legend of the game with so many incredible achievements so I’m really looking forward to having her in the team and teaching me her way.”

Kenya men’s captain George Ooro said: “It is so nice to be back, it is a very good feeling to be back at the Dubai 7s. We have prepared well and we are ready for our pool opponents. We have really wished for all these moments. Our fans have always been behind us, even when we were in the Challenger Series and now we’re back in the SVNS. The fans give us that extra energy and motivation to play for them and for those who are back home watching.”

With thanks to World Rugby

At least we know the squad:

Emma Uren (captain), Isla Norman-Bell (vice captain), Ellie Boatman, Reneeqa Bonner, Abbie Brown, Shona Campbell, Heather Cowell, Grace Crompton, Meg Davies, Eloise Hayward, Vicky Laflin, Georgie Lingham, Alicia Maude, Chantelle Miell, Emma Mundy, Catherine Richards, Jade Shekells, Katie Shillaker, Lauren Torley, Charlie Woodman and Amy Wilson-Hardy.

That is 21 players, where the conventional number attending a SVNS tournament is 13 or 14. So each time Giselle Mather has the job of deciding who stays at home.

Emma Uren retains the captaincy, while Abbie Brown, for many years the captain, remains in the ranks.

The awkwardness of the GB arrangement, in place since the run-up to the Rio Olympics, remains. The idea of a team displaying the Union flag as its emblem is still unfamiliar in rugby circles. Now comes a new chance for them to display their credentials.

Of the full squad no fewer than eighteen are English: Shona Campbell is the solitary Scot; Catherine Richards and Meg Davies the two Welsh. Can the SRU or the WRU be content with surrendering their own Sevens set-up for such a limited reward? In effect it means the decision was taken to put all the eggs in the Olympic basket; other championships, which would allow the three nations to appear separately, cast aside.

Then comes the question: have the players all totally committed themselves to Sevens? Ever since the RFU pulled the rug from under the English squad’s feet by suddenly withdrawing their contracts, the structure has appeared unstable. Some on the list have been familiar names in the PWR recently, notably Charlie Woodman (Gloucester-Hartpury), Heather Cowell (Quins), Reneeqa Bonner (Bristol) and Vicky Laflin (Trailfinders).

How many of them are willing to cut themselves off from 15s for the foreseeable future? There isn’t a nation on earth where two squads flourish side by side as separate entities. In Australia the 7s squad has been all-powerful, but now a leading figure like Charlotte Caslick is suggesting she might like to have a shot at making the 15s squad in time for the 2025 World Cup. Even in New Zealand the odd player has slipped across from 7s to 15s, Ruby Tui much the most celebrated.

Canada, to my mind the most successful nations at combining both formats, has allowed players like Olivia Apps to appear in both guises.

GB’s immediate future

Since GB’s successes have been fewer, it would seem sensible for the squad to commit themselves fully to their task, but the temptation to switch back to 15s must be just as strong. Club loyalty remains a factor.

It will be fascinating to see who Mather selects for the opening trip to Dubai (starting 30 November) and how they get on. And for her the occasion will present new challenges. The half-time talk will be reduced from its comfortable 10-12 minutes to what will feel like a couple of seconds, as calm, sensible points have to be made under pressure. The timing of substitutions is totally different too.

At least she has enormous experience in player-management, and no fewer than four of her own (former) players from Trailfinders are in the ranks, including the captain.

Both the men and women’s squads now use the London Irish training centre, Hazelwood, in Sunbury by the Thames as their base. That puts them one step ahead of the Red Roses who remain a wandering side in that sense. Whether this permanent home will make a significant difference remains to be seen. At least, three nations will be joined as one in wishing them success.