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A weekend full of sporting action saw some of the world’s best sevens players strutting their stuff at the National Stadium in the HSBC SVNS which was previously known as the World Rugby Sevens Series.
12 men and women’s teams arrived in Singapore looking to claim victory in this leg of the series to clinch the regular-season titles of the HSBC SVNS.
New Zealand emerged as the biggest victors of the weekend as they secured victory in both the men’s and women’s cup finals.
In the first-ever women’s HSBC Singapore SVNS finals, New Zealand’s women’s team beat Australia 31-21 in the cup final to maintain their unbeaten streak over the weekend.
There was more than the goal medal at stake in the finals as both New Zealand and Australia came into the match tied on 106 points in the standings for the League Winners title.
In an exciting end to the tightest women’s series in history, New Zealand were crowned champions with their victory. France secured third place with a convincing 29-7 victory over Fiji.
The Kiwis’ men’s team which also won the 2023 Singapore series, came into this year’s series in good form having won the Hong Kong SVNS in April. They defended their title by clinching the cup in a tightly contested tie with the Irish.
New Zealand started the final strongly with two first-half tries but the Irish managed to pull one back of their own to head into halftime trailing 12-7. The second half was a tense and cagey affair with the Kiwis holding on to win the series with a 17-14 victory.
Great Britain secured the last Grand Final spot by finishing in third after they beat Australia 26-7 in the third-place playoff.
New Zealand’s men’s team’s victory was not enough for them to clinch the regular-season title as the Argentinians managed to secure it edging Ireland by two points despite only finishing in fifth place in Singapore.
Argentina claim the HSBC SVNS league title. Photo credit: World Rugby Sevens Facebook.
The Singapore leg is the last leg before the May 31-June 2 Grand Finals in Madrid where the top 8 teams based on cumulative series points will battle it out to be crowned as the SVNS champions.
The weekend however started with the Southeast Asia Sevens finals on Friday (May 3). It was a promising start to the afternoon with both the Singapore men and women’s teams qualifying for the finals. However, both teams fell at the final hurdle.
Singapore men and women’s teams emerged as runners-up in SEA 7s. Photo credit: Singapore Rugby
The men’s team was involved in a causeway battle in the final against neighbours Malaysia. It was a close affair between both sides with Malaysia eventually emerging victors with a 14-10 victory over Singapore. The result was an improvement for the Singapore men’s team who in the previous edition in 2023 secured third place after they beat Thailand.
Thailand beat Chinese Taipei 21-12 to secure the bronze medal.
In the women’s finals, Singapore fell to Thailand in a repeat of the 2023 edition final. The Thai cruised to a comfortable 42-0 victory. The Malaysian women’s team secured third place after they beat Indonesia 38-5.
