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Preview: Cape Town Sevens | HSBC SVNS 2024
Cape Town welcomes HSBC SVNS back to the Mother City
via World Rugby
Following a spectacular opening round in Dubai last weekend, Australia and Fiji lead the women’s and men’s HSBC SVNS standings respectively ahead of the second round in Cape Town on 7-8 December
Captains of the world’s best 12 men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams gathered on a rooftop in view of the iconic Table Mountain on Wednesday as Cape Town gets ready to host the second round of HSBC SVNS on 7-8 December.
Stars of the recent Olympic Games in Paris will be showcasing their incredible speed, strength and skills at DHL stadium while South African fans will have the chance to cheer the Olympic bronze medal winning Blitzboks on home turf.
With 91 players across the 24 squads making their SVNS debuts in Dubai last weekend there are also many exciting fresh faces looking to make their mark at the pinnacle level of global rugby sevens. Remaining tickets are available from only R250 and available from Ticketmaster here.
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 09:00 local time (GMT+2) on both Saturday and Sunday with pool matches throughout day one. The cup semi-finals begin at 13:12 on Sunday, and the event climaxes with the women’s gold medal final at 18:35, followed by the men’s final at 19:11 local time.
HSBC SVNS Cape Town sees the introduction of a new competition format featuring four pools or three teams with the pool winners proceeding directly to the semi-finals, while teams finishing second in their pool will compete in the fifth to eighth place play offs and teams finishing third in their pools play off for ninth to twelfth positions.
The new format is based on player welfare considerations and has been introduced following consultation with teams and other stakeholders. It will be implemented for the second rounds of ‘back-to-back’ events, in Cape Town and Singapore, which are played on the weekends immediately following the events in Dubai and Hong Kong respectively.
This competition format is optimal for a two-day event, which allows teams an extra day of recovery and preparation following the previous weekend’s event and subsequent travel. More than ever it means every match counts from the first kick off.
The pools for Cape Town were allocated based on rankings at the end of the Dubai tournament.
Men’s pool A see Dubai champions Fiji paired with Great Britain and Uruguay. Spain are in pool B following their outstanding run to the final – their first in SVNS history – in Dubai, together with Australia and recently promoted Kenya. Pool C involves Argentina, hosts South Africa and Ireland. While pool D sees New Zealand matched with Olympic champions France and the USA.
Women’s pool A see Dubai winners Australia against Olympic silver medallists Canada and Brazil. Olympic champions New Zealand are in pool B with Japan and China. Pool C is an all European affair with France, Ireland and Spain. Finally in pool D Great Britain take on the USA and Fiji.
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.
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.
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.
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