Captain’s photo call prior to the HSBC SVNS at Dignity Health Sports Park on 28 February, 2024 in Los Angeles, United States

PREVIEW | HSBC SVNS 2024 in Los Angeles

February 29, 2024
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HSBC SVNS

Text & Image via World Rugby

Los Angeles is set to welcome the world’s best 12 men’s and – for the first time ever – the 12 women’s rugby sevens teams to Dignity Health Sports Park on 1-3 March for the fifth round of HSBC SVNS 2024.

Fans attending the revamped HSBC SVNS, which sees men’s and women’s teams compete equally across eight iconic destinations, will be treated to a festival of world-class sport, music, entertainment, culture and cuisine as the global celebration of rugby sevens lands in La La Land.

The 2028 Olympic host city will witness the speed, strength and incredible skill of many of the players and teams who will showcase the all-action drama of rugby sevens at the 2024 Games in Paris in July.

Following last weekend’s fourth round in Vancouver, the race to be crowned SVNS league champions at the seventh event in Singapore is hotting up.

Argentina are the men’s team to beat, holding a 24-point lead having claimed three gold and one silver medals from the opening four rounds. Argentina have 78 points, ahead of Ireland and Fiji on 54 points.

Australia maintains their position at the top of the women’s standings with 72 points but see their lead cut to six points by New Zealand in second on 66 points and France a further four points behind on 62 points.

The new look HSBC SVNS 2024 features seven regular-season events – in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and Singapore – before the Grand Final in Madrid.

The top eight placed teams based on cumulative series points after seven events will compete in the new ‘winner takes all’ Grand Final, where the women’s and men’s SVNS champions will be crowned.

Bringing the colour to #HSBCSVNSLAX 🎨🔥#HSBCSVNS pic.twitter.com/SSqp7pSiTE
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) February 29, 2024

The four lowest-ranked men’s and women’s teams after the seventh round in Singapore will join the top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 in a high-stakes promotion and relegation tournament in Madrid, meaning every match and every point counts throughout the HSBC SVNS, which is proving to be more competitive than ever in 2024.

The men’s relegation play-off positions are currently occupied by Canada, Spain, Great Britain and Samoa while the women’s teams currently in the bottom four are South Africa, Japan, Spain and Brazil.

The pools for LA have created some exciting match-ups. The men’s draw sees current SVNS leaders Argentina together with Ireland, South Africa and Spain in Pool A. Hosts USA are in Pool B together with reigning series champions New Zealand, Australia and Samoa. Vancouver bronze medallists France are in Pool C with double Olympic champions Fiji, Great Britain and Canada.

Meanwhile, New Zealand, winners in Vancouver last weekend, are in women’s Pool A alongside Fiji, Brazil and South Africa. Current SVNS leaders Australia are drawn with France, Perth winners Ireland and Japan. Pool C sees hosts USA together with rivals Canada, Spain and Great Britain.

The new-look SVNS competition format means there will be more excitement, jeopardy and drama on the pitch than ever before and fans can look forward to a wealth of entertainment and fun around the venue too with next-level experiences and Sophie Lloyd headlining the music line-up.

The action gets underway at 16:30 local time (GMT-8) on Friday, 09:30 on Saturday and 09:30 on Sunday, with the women’s and men’s finals at 17:43 and 18:32.

Fans can watch the HSBC SVNS action wherever they are in the world, either via broadcaster partners or online on RugbyPass TV.

Tickets are available from U$25 at www.svns.com.

In keeping with rugby sevens tradition, fans are encouraged to wear their best and brightest fancy dress costumes and enter into the festival spirit that is the DNA of SVNS.