{"id":441873,"date":"2026-01-28T01:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T01:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/441873\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T01:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T01:30:10","slug":"tough-pools-set-up-must-watch-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/441873\/","title":{"rendered":"Tough pools set up must-watch weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The All Blacks<\/a> Sevens have been drawn in an unpredictable pool ahead of the third HSBC SVNS Series stop of the season, with the reigning Olympic champions and two proven title contenders standing in their way of a semi-final berth in Singapore.<\/p>\n

New Zealand<\/a> are looking to reclaim their throne as SVNS Singapore<\/a> Men\u2019s champions on February 7 to 8, having last won the tournament at the National Stadium in 2024. Fiji<\/a> secured the Singapore title about 10 months ago, defeating Kenya<\/a> 21-12 in a thrilling decider.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t be easy for the New Zealanders, who have been placed in Pool B along with Olympic gold medallists France, two-time reigning League Winners Argentina, and rivals Australia. Argentina<\/a> and Australia<\/a> both already qualified for Cup Finals during the first two events of 2025\/26.<\/p>\n

Catch up on HSBC SVNS Series action on RugbyPass TV. You can create an account HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n

France<\/a> stunned Argentina 59-7 at Dubai\u2019s The Sevens Stadium, but Los Pumas<\/a> Sevens bounced back in Cape Town the following weekend, with Luciano Gonzalez<\/a> and Marcos Moneta<\/a> starring during their run to the title decider against the Blitzboks.<\/p>\n

Australia came within millimetres of beating New Zealand during pool play in Dubai, but an incredible try-saving tackle from debutant Kele Lasaqa<\/a> saw the All Blacks Sevens hang on for the win. Those two sides would meet again in the Final, with the New Zealanders emerging victorious<\/p>\n

These rivalries have captured headlines already this season, setting the stage for a must-watch SVNS Singapore weekend.<\/p>\n

The All Blacks Sevens start their quest for SVNS Singapore glory against France at 11:48 am (local time) on Saturday. Los Pumas Sevens will take on Australia next at the National Stadium, with that match set to kick off at 12:10 pm.<\/p>\n

New Zealand face Argentina at 3:36 pm and Australia at 6:40 pm. In the other Pool B matches in the men\u2019s draw, France play Australia at 3:14 pm and Argentina at 7:02 pm, with these fixtures determining which two sides qualify directly for the semi-finals.<\/p>\n

Fiji kick off their title defence against Great Britain at 12:32 pm, before South Africa<\/a> look to start their campaign off on a winning note against Spain (12:54 pm). Cape Town winners South Africa take on reigning Singapore champions Fiji in the last match of the day at 7:46 pm.<\/p>\n

New Zealand are the defending champions in the women\u2019s competition, having overcome a star-studded Australia side in the Cup Final on April 6, 2025. The Black Ferns Sevens will face Great Britain (10:42 am), before a rematch of the Paris Olympics gold medal match against Canada<\/a> at 2:08 pm.<\/p>\n

Risi Pouri-Lane will lead the Black Ferns Sevens, while 2024\/25 SVNS Series Player of the Year Jorja Miller<\/a> serves as vice-captain. Stacey Waaka<\/a>, Kelsey Teneti<\/a> and Jazmin Felix-Hotham are among the experienced players named in the travelling squad.<\/p>\n

Australia will take plenty of confidence out of SVNS Cape Town into Singapore, after a dominant display in that decider at DHL Stadium. The Aussies led New Zealand 26-0 before a late fightback reduced the deficit to 14 points by full-time.<\/p>\n

Fiji are the first team to face Australia (11:26 am), before the women in gold play Japan<\/a> at 2:52 pm. Japan have impressed already in 2025\/26, with a win over Canada helping them qualify for the semi-finals at the season opener in Dubai.<\/p>\n

With the new SVNS 1 format sending the top two teams directly through to the semi-finals, every moment of each match matters. World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson applauded the start of the season in an interview with RugbyPass\u00a0last year.<\/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\u00a0RugbyPass\u00a0at the\u00a0Rugby World Cup<\/a>\u00a0Draw 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

SVNS Singapore Match Schedule<\/p>\n

Saturday 31 January <\/p>\n

Women
France 7s vs Canada 7s \u2014 10:20
New Zealand 7s vs Great Britain 7s \u2014 10:42
USA<\/a> 7s vs Japan 7s \u2014 11:04
Australia 7s vs Fiji 7s \u2014 11:26<\/p>\n

France 7s vs Great Britain 7s \u2014 13:46
New Zealand 7s vs Canada 7s \u2014 14:08
USA 7s vs Fiji 7s \u2014 14:30
Australia 7s vs Japan 7s \u2014 14:52<\/p>\n

Canada 7s vs Great Britain 7s \u2014 17:12
New Zealand 7s vs France 7s \u2014 17:34
Japan 7s vs Fiji 7s \u2014 17:56
Australia 7s vs USA 7s \u2014 18:18<\/p>\n

Men
France 7s vs New Zealand 7s \u2014 11:48
Argentina 7s vs Australia 7s \u2014 12:10
Fiji 7s vs Great Britain 7s \u2014 12:32
South Africa 7s vs Spain<\/a> 7s \u2014 12:54<\/p>\n

France 7s vs Australia 7s \u2014 15:14
Argentina 7s vs New Zealand 7s \u2014 15:36
Fiji 7s vs Spain 7s \u2014 15:58
South Africa 7s vs Great Britain 7s \u2014 16:20<\/p>\n

New Zealand 7s vs Australia 7s \u2014 18:40
Argentina 7s vs France 7s \u2014 19:02
Great Britain 7s vs Spain 7s \u2014 19:24
South Africa 7s vs Fiji 7s \u2014 19:46<\/p>\n

Sunday 1 February<\/p>\n

Women \u2014 5th Place Semi-Final
Third Place Pool A vs Fourth Place Pool B \u2014 12:00
Third Place Pool B vs Fourth Place Pool A \u2014 12:22<\/p>\n

Men \u2014 5th Place Semi-Final
Third Place Pool A vs Fourth Place Pool B \u2014 12:44
Third Place Pool B vs Fourth Place Pool A \u2014 13:06<\/p>\n

Women \u2014 Cup Semi-Final
Winner Pool A vs Runner Up Pool B \u2014 14:08
Winner Pool B vs Runner Up Pool A \u2014 14:30<\/p>\n

Men \u2014 Cup Semi-Final
Winner Pool A vs Runner Up Pool B \u2014 14:52
Winner Pool B vs Runner Up Pool B \u2014 15:14<\/p>\n

Women \u2014 7th Place Play-Off
Runner Up Match 13 vs Runner Up Match 14 \u2014 15:36<\/p>\n

Men \u2014 7th Place Play-Off
Runner Up Match 13 vs Runner Up Match 14 \u2014 15:58<\/p>\n

Women \u2014 5th Place Play-Off
Winner Match 13 vs Winner Match 14 \u2014 16:20<\/p>\n

Men \u2014 5th Place Play-Off
Winner Match 13 vs Winner Match 14 \u2014 16:42<\/p>\n

Women \u2014 3rd Place Play-Off
Runner Up Match 15 vs Runner Up Match 16 \u2014 18:05<\/p>\n

Men \u2014 3rd Place Play-Off
Runner Up Match 15 vs Runner Up Match 16 \u2014 18:33<\/p>\n

Women \u2014 Cup Final
Winner Match 15 vs Winner Match 16 \u2014 19:05<\/p>\n

Men \u2014 Cup Final
Winner Match 15 vs Winner Match 16 \u2014 19:41<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The All Blacks Sevens have been drawn in an unpredictable pool ahead of the third HSBC SVNS Series…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441874,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-441873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}