A thrilling finals day awaits fans at the Singapore National Stadium and watching around the world on Sunday as both men’s and women’s HSBC SVNS league title races go to the wire.
Ireland kept their hopes of a first ever men’s title alive with a stunning quarter-final victory over current leaders Argentina, who are also chasing their first SVNS league trophy.
New Zealand and Australia continue their hunt for the HSBC SVNS League Winners title as they face Fiji and France respectively in Sunday morning’s semi-finals.
Argentina missed out on the chance to be crowned SVNS League Winners 2024 on Saturday as they lost 21-5 to Ireland in their HSBC SVNS Singapore quarter-final.
Los Pumas Sevens have been the standout men’s side this season, winning three tournaments in Cape Town, Perth and Vancouver but their form has dropped of late in Los Angeles, Hong Kong and now Singapore.
It means second-place Ireland still have a chance of clinching the League Winners title – to prise it from Argentina’s clutches, Ireland need to win the tournament and hope Argentina finish no higher than sixth.
The final spot in the Grand Final is also still to play for after the USA lost 19-14 against New Zealand in their quarter-final, while Great Britain were outstanding in their win 35-7 against France.
GB will face Ireland in the semi-finals tomorrow in a hugely consequential clash, GB needing to win the tournament to ensure their place in Madrid and Ireland needing to do the same for a chance to lift the League Winners title.
New Zealand face Australia in the other semi-final after they edged South Africa 29-24 on golden point in the last match of an exhilarating day.
Great Britain secured the final spot in the women’s Grand Final in Madrid but could not advance to the semi-finals as their Singapore cup run was ended by New Zealand, who play Fiji in the semi-finals.
Australia and France will face each other in the second women’s semi-final after winning their respective quarter-finals against Ireland and Canada.
Eighth-place Great Britain had already won 35-5 in their crucial pool game against ninth-place Brazil but needed Fiji to beat Japan in their thrilling knockout game to confirm their place at the Grand Final in Madrid.
Heading into the Singapore event Argentina held an eight point lead over Ireland in the SVNS standings after six rounds, meaning Ireland will need to finish four positions above Argentina in Singapore to stand a chance of lifting the league winners trophy.
New Zealand and Australia are on equal points at the top of the women’s standings, separated by only New Zealand’s stronger points difference, meaning the team that finishes higher in Singapore will also claim the league winners trophy on Sunday.
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