The action was heating up on and off the pitch as fans were treated to an action-packed day of rugby sevens entertainment against the stunning backdrop of the city from Singapore’s National Stadium on the opening day of HSBC SVNS Singapore.
Two rounds of pool matches were completed as the seventh and final regular season event of HSBC SVNS 2024 got under way with the league titles to be decided here in Singapore ahead of the HSBC SVNS Grand Final in Madrid.
Women’s leaders New Zealand and Australia - on equal points at the top of the SVNS standings going in to Singapore - both went two from two to secure their places in Saturday’s quarter-finals
The eighth and final spot in the Grand Final is set to be decided when Great Britain and Brazil meet tomorrow. Great Britain, who sit two points above ninth-place Brazil in the final Madrid spot, lost both their games against Fiji and Australia but Brazil could not capitalise as they also went winless against the same opposition.
New Zealand’s unstoppable form continued in Singapore as they cruised to a 38-7 win against Spain in their opening game, before beating Ireland 31-10 with Portia Woodman-Wickliffe scoring her 250th try in the process.
In the men’s competition Series leaders Argentina lost to Australia but beat New Zealand convincingly on the opening day in Singapore to take a step closer to clinching the league title.
Los Pumas Sevens, who finished ninth last time out in Hong Kong, will be sure of the trophy if they reach at least the Cup semi-finals at Singapore National Stadium and their 33-5 win over the All Blacks Sevens showed them back at their best.
Eighth-place USA took the upper hand in the battle for the final spot in the Grand Final, winning both their pool games against Fiji and Ireland, while ninth-place Great Britain managed just one vital victory over Fiji to keep their hopes alive.
USA have qualified for the Cup quarter-finals but only qualify for Madrid if Great Britain fail to join them, setting up a decisive final pool clash between the two sides on Saturday.
Australian legend Michael Hooper scored his first international rugby sevens try by opening the account for Australia in their 21-14 win over Canada, which secured their place in the quarter-finals.
There was a shock early on day one when 11th-placed South Africa women beat Hong Kong finalists the USA with an impressive display.
After kicking the winning conversation to take, South Africa’s Nadine Roos said: “After Hong Kong we’ve gone back to the drawing board. We saw the opportunities that were missed and we’ve worked really hard, set goals specifically on that tournament. We’ve looked at some stats and set out specific goals on specific numbers.
“Still with this game, we got a win but there’s still a lot of work out there. The growth that this team shows - that’s the reward that we get when we work hard for each other. I think that’s just a massive effort out there from the ladies.”
Australia had a strong start to the weekend with two consecutive wins, most notably with another upset of the day, taking the win against Argentina who have been on top form having won three of the six rounds of the tournament so far.
In the men’s competition Great Britain kept their top eight hopes alive coming out victorious against Fiji. After the match, Captain Robbie Fergusson said: “It’s big for us. We spoke about it a bit in the changing room that if we didn’t win that game, that was bottom four for us in Madrid.
“We’ve won that game, we live to fight another game tomorrow against USA. Every game is a final for us at the moment to try and keep the eight alive which would be huge for us. Beating Fiji was an obstacle so it just shows we can do it against anyone.”
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