All to play for as HSBC SVNS Series reaches Vancouver

HSBC SVNS fever arrives in Vancouver for the opening round of back-to-back North American legs, with anticipation high for both the men’s and women’s tournaments leading into the end-of-season Championship series.

BC Place is set to host decisive matches as the race for vital league points goes to the wire in both tournaments, with last year’s winners Argentina and New Zealand defending their titles.

Singapore champions Fiji, who have finished in the top three of every event on the HSBC SVNS Series so far this season, head the table in the men’s competition heading to BC Place, chased hard by Cape Town and Perth winners South Africa and Dubai champions New Zealand.

Paris Olympic gold-medallists France sit just outside the top three, level on points with Australia, while two-time league winners Argentina are recovering from a slow start this season, and will be keen to make their mark on the last two legs of the campaign.

In the men’s competition, Fiji are in a tough Pool B in Vancouver, and will face Australia, Argentina and France. South Africa, meanwhile, will play New Zealand, Spain and Great Britain in Pool A.

“We’re trying to get used to this weather,” Argentina’s Santiago Alvarez joked when players gathered at the Pier next to the Convention Centre for the pre-tournament captains' photograph event.

“We’ve come from Argentina, it’s hot there now, so we're trying to get comfortable here. But we’re looking forward to the weekend. Vancouver has been a good place for us. We’ve won some championships here but we're a new team, we’re trying to be better each day.”

In the women’s competition, New Zealand have opened up a four-point gap over great rivals Australia heading into Vancouver and will renew a fierce battle that has seen them contest each of the four finals to date on the tour. USA, France, Canada and Japan, meanwhile, are vying for third in the table as the Series enters its closing stages.

After their heroics in Perth, three-time 2026 Series champions New Zealand have been drawn against France, Japan and Great Britain in Pool A in Canada. Cape Town winners Australia, meanwhile, face a stiff first-day challenge against USA, Canada and Fiji in Pool B.

Canada’s Carissa Norsten said: “We’re feeling really good. We’ve a couple of older girls who are back into the squad for this tournament who weren’t here for the last one, so we’re really excited to see them on the field again.”

There was, she added no place like home for the Canada team “It’s a feeling like no other. You can just feel the support coming from all around you in the stadium. It’s so exciting and so fun.”

But, despite the excitement of playing in front of a home crowd at BC Place, she said the squad were serious about their goals. “We’re definitely looking for a podium finish. We want to be in those top three spots. We’re just doing what we always do: sticking to our processes and our systems and preparing how we normally do.”

Fans can look forward to a vibrant festival atmosphere, complete with family-friendly activities and fan zones across both days of the event, while they can also see Canada's men's side, HSBC SVNS 3 Champions in Dubai, in action against Japan and Chile in the Teck Tri-Nations Challenge.

Blitzbok pool schedule (SA times, live on SuperSport)

Saturday

10.03pm v Great Britain

Sunday

1.51am v Spain

5.40am v New Zealand

Springbok Sevens squad for Vancouver and New York

#1 Christie Grobbelaar – 26 tournaments, 215 points (43 tries)

#2 Ryan Oosthuizen – 60 tournaments, 260 points (52 tries)

#3 Impi Visser (captain) – 48 tournaments, 230 points (46 tries)

#7 Ronald Brown – 22 tournaments, 453 points (47 tries, 109 conversions)

#8 Selvyn Davids – 44 tournaments, 739 points (97 tries, 127 conversions, 1 penalty)

#10 Dewald Human – 31 tournaments, 320 points (30 tries, 85 conversions)

#11 Siviwe Soyizwapi – 62 tournaments, 795 points (159 tries)

#12 Shilton van Wyk – 31 tournaments, 330 points (66 tries)

#15 Donavan Don – 13 tournaments, 113 points (21 tries, 4 conversions)

#16 Sebastiaan Jobb – 6 tournaments, 45 points (9 tries)

#19 David Brits – 13 tournaments, 55 points (11 tries)

#24 Tristan Leyds – 15 tournaments, 170 points (22 tries, 30 conversions)

#28 Grant de Jager – uncapped

#35 Gino Cupido – 1 tournament, 20 points (4 tries)

2026 HSBC SVNS schedule

29-30 November: Dubai - NZL/NZL

6-7 December: Cape Town - SA/AUS

31 January-1 February: Singapore - FIJI/NZL

7-8 February: Perth - SA/NZL

7-8 March: Vancouver

14-15 March: New York

17-19 April: Hong Kong (World Championship Series, Round 1)

29-31 May: Valladolid (World Championship Series, Round 2)

5-7 June: Bordeaux (World Championship Series, Round 3)