HSBC SVNS returns to Cape Town

HSBC SVNS arrives in Cape Town this weekend as the world’s top sevens teams continue their campaign following an action-packed opening round in Dubai. The event marks ten years since the city first hosted the tournament in 2015 adding an important milestone to the series calendar.

Last year saw South Africa lift the men’s trophy after defeating France, while New Zealand topped the women’s competition. Both title holders return to Cape Town aiming to defend their titles and be crowned winners once more.

The tournament was officially launched today at the Castle of Good Hope, South Africa’s oldest surviving building with a cannon ceremony in which the reigning Cape Town champions, the BlitzBoks and Black Ferns captains fired the historic cannon last used in the late 1800s.

At the launch, South Africa captain Impi Visser commented: “We are very happy to be back in Cape Town. As always, we have this one opportunity to play in front of family, friends and fans and we want to make the most of it. Winning last year was such a great feeling and we are determined to experience that again.

“The new format makes every match a must win and that adds to the pressure. Our confidence remains high that we can go out and defend our title but we are fully aware of what it will demand from us. We are ready for that.”

Cape Town serves as the second stop of the global Series, following Dubai where New Zealand completed a double victory, winning both the men’s and women’s titles. The opening round delivered 254 tries across the tournament, setting the pace for another highly competitive weekend.

Play begins at 10am local time on Saturday at DHL Stadium, when Canada and Japan meet in the opening women’s pool match.

Alongside the on-field action, Cape Town will once again host a broad programme of entertainment for fans attending the event. Music performances across the weekend will feature artists including:

DJ Alicious vs DJ Chelsea-Sloan • Youngsta CPT • Ben Rodriguez • Majozi • aKing • Jimmy Nevis • Loufi • Keanan Eksteen • Die Heuwels Fantasties • Freddy L • PHFat • 2wobunnies • Belgium’s DJ Miro.

Additional activities will include the Streetstylers Dance Crew, SA TikTok creator performances, the Red Bull Love Garden and stunt-bike demonstrations.

Cape Town ticket prices (per person per day)

Category A: R600 (west and east, lower tier, on the half-way line)

Category B: R450 (west and east, lower tier, 10m-line towards the corners)

Category C: R350 (north and south, lower tier, Party and Family stands)

Category D: R250 (levels two and three, unreserved seating)

Family special: R750 (four tickets in blocks 105 to 112)

Disabled: R450 (includes disabled person and partner)

Tickets are only available through Ticketmaster.co.za. Supporters should not buy from online ‘re-sellers’, such as Viagogo and others, as these entities do not have access to tickets and charge inflated prices without any guarantee of tickets being delivered.

HSBC SVNS Cape Town pools

Men

A: Springbok Sevens, New Zealand, Fiji, Great Britain

B: Australia, Argentina, France, Spain

Women

A: New Zealand, Fiji, Great Britain, USA

B: Australia, Canada, France, Japan

Pool fixtures – Saturday

10am: Japan v Canada (women)

10.22am: Australia v France (women)

10.44am: Fiji v USA (women)

11.06am: New Zealand v Great Britain (women)

11.38am: France v Spain (men)

12pm: Australia v Argentina (men)

12.22pm: New Zealand v Great Britain (men)

12.44pm: Fiji v South Africa (men)

1.16pm: Japan v France (women)

1.38pm: Australia v Canada (women)

2pm: Fiji v Great Britain (women)

2.22pm: New Zealand v USA (women)

2.54pm: France v Argentina (men)

3.16pm: Australia v Spain (men)

3.38pm: Fiji v Great Britain (men)

4pm: New Zealand v South Africa (men)

4.42pm: Canada v France (women)

5.04pm: Australia v Japan (women)

5.26pm: USA v Great Britain (women)

5.48pm: New Zealand v Fiji (women)

6.35pm: Spain v Argentina (men)

6.57pm: Australia v France (men)

7.19pm: New Zealand v Fiji (men)

7.41pm: South Africa v Great Britain (men)

2026 HSBC SVNS schedule

29-30 November: Dubai - NZL/NZL

6-7 December: Cape Town

31 January-1 February: Singapore

7-8 February: Perth

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)