World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson applauded the start of the 2025\/26 HSBC SVNS Series after attending the season-opener in Dubai, with the new-look competition format getting off to a strong start a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n
South Africa\u2019s Blitzboks and New Zealand\u2019s Black Ferns Sevens took out their respective overall SVNS Series titles at the winner-takes-all World Championship in May, before the sport ushered in its new era about seven months later.<\/p>\n
World Rugby had unveiled a three-tier model to fuel sevens\u2019 growth earlier this year, which included only eight women\u2019s and eight men\u2019s in the top flight. The sport\u2019s governing body have since announced the host cities and dates for the division two and three tournaments.<\/p>\n
The 2025\/26 competition format has given each match a knockout feel, with only the top two sides from each pool remaining in the race for Cup Final glory. There are higher stakes than ever before in pool play at every tournament, and it\u2019s already delivered some entertaining results.<\/p>\n
Robinson was in Dubai for the first stop of the SVNS 1 season on November 29-30, with New Zealand<\/a> winning the men\u2019s and women\u2019s Cup Finals. In pool play, there were some tense matches that lived up to the hype \u2013 including a historic 59-7 win for France<\/a> over Argentina.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was fabulous. From the players perspective, from the fans perspective, eight of the best men (teams), eight of the best women (teams) playing back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday,\u201d Robinson told RugbyPass at the Rugby World Cup<\/a> Draw in Sydney.<\/p>\n \u201cNo match, no match is a gimmie. If you drop your head for a moment, you\u2019re out.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Argentinian team, who have been world-beaters, got 50 points put on them by France. The Australian men were exceptional to beat France in that semi-final. The women had a cracking start to the game and it just wasn\u2019t their night, the Australian women.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were really excited about it.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you talk to the players and you talk to fans and the broadcasters about it, it was a quality weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n Japan<\/a> qualified for the women\u2019s semi-finals after overcoming Great Britain and Paris Olympics silver medallists Canada<\/a> in must-win scenarios. The Japanese had lost their opening match against Australia<\/a> but rallied with two inspirational performances.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s men\u2019s side made the Cup Final against arch-rivals New Zealand before securing a seventh-place finish a week later at SVNS Cape Town. The Blitzboks fell short of the semi-finals in Dubai but went on to lift the trophy at their home event the following weekend.<\/p>\n