Preview: SVNS World Series - Dubai
With interest and excitement in the abbreviated version of the game 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.
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 Dubai Sevens feature the top 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams in the world competing over two action-packed days as the 24 captains gathered by Old Dubai Creek on Wednesday where rivalries were reignited and new friendships forged.
The event has been featured on the global Sevens calendar since its inception in 1999, and includes an all-star music and entertainment line-up alongside mass participation in sports activities to complement the world-class Sevens played out in an electric festival atmosphere.
The HSBC SVNS action kicks off on Saturday with pool matches as reigning women’s Olympic champions New Zealand take on Brazil on Pitch Two, while silver medallists Canada open their campaign against Japan on Pitch One to get the action started.
Sunday the quarterfinals kick off the action and the day culminates with the gold medal finals.
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 United States are in pool B with France, Great Britain and Spain.
SVNS Champions Australia will take on Ireland, Fiji and newcomers China in pool A.
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Kenya faces a tough assignment on their reintroduction to the top level of international Sevens as they face Olympic champions France, serial Dubai winners South Africa and Australia in men’s pool A.
Argentina was the most consistently outstanding performer 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.
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 Sports Park in Los Angeles, which will host the 2028 Olympic Games 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.
Day One Schedule
(Kick-off is Dubai time - GMT + four hours)
Men:
New Zealand v United States (10.06)
Fiji v Spain (10.06)
Ireland v Great Britain (10.28)
Argentina v Uruguay (10.28)
South Africa v Australia (10:50)
France v Kenya (10.50)
New Zealand v Spain (13.30)
Fiji v United States (13.52)
Ireland v Uruguay (14.14)
Argentina v Great Britain (14.36)
South Africa v Kenya (14.58)
France v Australia (15.20)
United States v Spain (18.54)
Fiji v New Zealand (19.16)
Great Britain v Uruguay (19.38)
Argentina v Ireland (20.00)
Australia v Kenya (20:22)
France v South Africa (20:44)
Women:
Canada v Japan (09.00)
New Zealand v Brazil (09.00)
United States v Great Britain (09.22)
France v Spain (09.22)
Ireland v Fiji (09.44)
Australia v China (09.44)
Canada v Brazil (11.15)
New Zealand v Japan (11.37)
United States v Spain (11.59)
France v Great Britain (12.21)
Ireland v China (12.43)
Australia v Fiji (13.05)
Japan v Brazil (15.45)
New Zealand v Canada (16.07)
Great Britain v Spain (16.29)
France v United States (16.51)
Fiji v China (17.13)
Australia v Ireland (17.35)