BlitzBoks rise to the top in LA

DAY ONE WRAP: The battle to become HSBC SVNS 2025 champions began in exciting fashion on Day One of the World Championship in Los Angeles.

At the end of a thrilling opening day of Sevens action, four teams are left in the fight to take the titles as the semifinals were decided.

It was tight at the top of men’s Pool B as Spain, New Zealand and Australia tied on seven points each and it was Australia who narrowly missed out on the semifinals due to an inferior points difference.

South Africa overcame Argentina 29-21 in the last match of the day to secure top spot in Pool A as both teams reached the semifinals.

Spain will face Argentina, while New Zealand’s All Blacks Sevens will take on South Africa in what promises to be hotly contested semifinals.

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— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) May 4, 2025

New Zealand’s women and Argentina’s men aim to back up the SVNS 2025 League Winners titles they claimed in Singapore at the sixth and final regular season round in April.

Alongside the World Championship, the SVNS qualifying competition involves the teams ranked ninth to twelfth in SVNS 2025, together with the top four ranked teams from the World Rugby Sevens Challenger.

Four successful teams will qualify from the qualifying competition for the SVNS Division Two in 2026.

The pool winners secure their SVNS Division Two status automatically, and China women and Uruguay men achieved this feat on Day One in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, the teams who finish second and third in their pools will face a winner-takes-all qualifying final match on Sunday for a place in SVNS Division Two, while the bottom-placed teams in the pools miss out.

The United States’ Lucas Lacamp was the top men’s try scorer on Day One with four tries, helping the hosts to a pair of wins over Portugal and Samoa. If the United States overcome Kenya, recent finalists in Singapore, in their last pool match on Sunday, they will secure their spot in SVNS Division Two.

In women’s pool A, there will be a straight shoot-out between Brazil and Spain for a place in SVNS Division Two as both countries claimed a pair of victories over Colombia and Kenya on Day One.

The unsuccessful qualifying teams will begin the 2026 season in their respective regional competitions from which they have the opportunity to qualify for a standalone SVNS Division Three event,  where they can reach SVNS Division Two by finishing in the top two.

Results

Men

Championship
Spain 10-15 Australia
Fiji 12-17 New Zealand
Argentina 33-26 Great Britain
South Africa 19-10 France
Spain 7-5 New Zealand
Fiji 14-15 Australia
South Africa 12-7 Great Britain
Argentina 17-12 France
Australia 19-21 New Zealand
France 24-10 Great Britain
Argentina 21-29 South Africa

Second-tier tournament
Ireland 0-15 Germany
Uruguay 24-7 Canada
Kenya 12-19 Samoa
United States 26-15 Portugal
Ireland 12-19 Canada
Uruguay 36-14 Germany
United States 25-19 Samoa
Kenya 26-14 Portugal

Women

Championship
Canada 26-0 Japan
New Zealand 41-12 Great Britain
France 5-21 United States
Australia 26-5 Fiji
Canada 26-17 Great Britain
New Zealand 50-7 Japan
France 22-26 Fiji
Australia 33-12 United States
Japan 7-34 Great Britain
New Zealand 41-5 Canada
Australia 33-17 France
United States 31-19 Fiji

Second-tier tournament
Ireland 7-12 South Africa
China 25-0 Argentina
Spain 33-14 Kenya
Brazil 45-12 Colombia
Ireland 12-20 Argentina
China 26-12 South Africa
Spain 17-12 Colombia
Brazil 28-10 Kenya