Dubai Sets The Pace For The 2025 HSBC SVNS 2025 With Electrifying Rugby
By Phoebe Awiti
Australia worked hard to secure its fifth successive women’s tournament victory in Dubai. In a match which finished 28-24. against Olympic champions New Zealand. France overcame Great Britain 15-12 to take home the women’s bronze medals.
Australia finished first, New Zealand second, and France’s 15-12 win over Great Britain earlier on gave them third place, as the traditional bigwigs took their places on the podium at Dubai’s The Sevens Stadium.
The women’s cup final was all too familiar with Australia and New Zealand meeting in another thrilling battle. For the third time in a row the two teams met in the cup finals, but this time round Australia won.
Australia reached the women’s final following wins over Great Britain 35-7 in the semi-final and 39-0 against Canada in the quarter final. “I’m sort of lost for words,” said Australia’s captain Isabella Nasser. “I’m proud of the girls. We have such a tight-knit group - the young ones really showed up today and I’m sure they will for the rest of the season. The best is yet to come.” She said to the press post match.
Fiji beat Spain 19-5 to lift the men’s trophy and claim their first SVNS tournament victory since Toulouse in 2022, and their first in Dubai since 2016. Fiji defeated Argentina 43-21 in the semi-finals, having earlier overcome Olympic champions France 19-17 in a tense quarter final. Fiji coach Osea Kolinisau was delighted his side had broken their long run without a title: “I’m so happy for the boys. I’m so happy that we’ve got the monkey off our back now.” He said to the press in a post match conference.
Fiji claimed a first title on the international sevens circuit since finishing top in Toulouse in 2022. Spain did not give them an easy time though. Spain played very well throughout the weekend and made history by reaching their first ever cup final. Argentina fought hard for the men’s bronze medals with a 14-0 win over New Zealand.
Day two kicked off on Sunday at 09:20 local time (GMT+4) with quarter-finals action. In the men’s competition, Fiji and Argentina emerged top of their pools, with both teams having won all their pool matches. Great Britain faced Spain, South Africa took on New Zealand, Fiji went head-to-head with France, and Argentina went against Australia.
In the women’s competition, New Zealand and Australia secured pool-topping performances. Great Britain took on Japan, New Zealand faced Ireland, USA clashed with France, and Australia faced Canada. The tournament came to a climax in the women’s gold medal final at 19:35, followed by the men’s final at 20:11.
The eagerly anticipated new season of HSBC SVNS did not disappoint: It was a weekend full of fun and entertainment on and off the pitch.
The next destination is Cape Town, for the second round of HSBC SVNS 2025 on 7-8 December, where all 24 teams will be present. HSBC SVNS 2025 features seven events across seven months in seven iconic global destinations, namely: Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Singapore. Six regular season rounds will be played in 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.