The eyes of the sporting world were fixed upon rugby sevens, as the stars of the sport took centre stage in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. France men and New Zealand women claimed the gold medals from the French capital, with the likes of Antoine Dupont and Stacey Waaka lighting up the tournament at the Stade de France.
Following the celebrated ‘coming of age’ for rugby sevens, World Rugby has today confirmed the first five destinations and dates of the highly anticipated HSBC SVNS 2025, with further events to be added in the coming weeks.
The announcement means that fans around the world can already mark their calendars, and prepare to see the superstars from the best 12 men’s and women’s teams in the world, in some of the most iconic destinations around the globe.
The HSBC SVNS 2025 Series will kick-off at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai, which hosts the first round on November 30th – December 1st, 2024. As in previous editions, the 24 teams then move on to the DHL Stadium in Cape Town the following weekend, for the second round on December 7th and 8th at the home of the Stormers, to close out 2024.
Following Perth’s highly successful debut as SVNS hosts in 2024, which saw a sell-out crowd for finals day, the event will return to Australia’s west coast for the third round of HSBC SVNS 2025, on January 24th to 26th at HBF Park. Vancouver, Canada then welcomes the SVNS for the fourth round on February 21st to 23rd, as the BC Place will once again be the setting, after hosting the upcoming WXV1 tournament in September 2024.
Meanwhile the fan favourite HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is confirmed to take place on March 28th to 30th. Details on the remaining HSBC SVNS 2025 events, including the Grand Final, will be confirmed in due course.
There will be three new teams competing in 2025 as Kenya and Uruguay men, and China women secured promotion from the HSBC Sevens Challenger with their victories at the 2024 promotion and relegation play-off in Madrid.
The men’s teams roster includes: Argentina, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, France, Fiji, South Africa, Great Britain, USA, Spain, Uruguay and Kenya.
The women’s participating teams are: New Zealand, Australia, France, USA, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, Great Britain, Japan, Brazil, Spain and China.
World Rugby Sevens General Manager Sam Pinder said: “Following the spectacular, record-breaking success of rugby sevens at the Paris Olympics we are delighted to announce five rounds of the highly anticipated HSBC SVNS 2025 today.
“We are announcing the first destinations now to allow fans to mark their calendars and get prepared to see the stars of the Olympics shine again in some of the world’s most iconic stadiums and destinations, with the dates for the remaining exciting destinations to be confirmed soon.
“The inaugural year of HSBC SVNS, with the introduction of a Grand Final, was undoubtedly the most high quality and hotly contested Series in history with more excitement, jeopardy and entertainment than ever before and fans can expect more thrills in HSBC SVNS 2025.
“Our deep thanks and gratitude to our title partner HSBC for their continued unwavering support and to our host partners as we prepare for sevens to kick on from the incredible success of the Paris Olympics and attract and inspire more new fans and participants around the globe.”
Rugby sevens was a record breaking triumph at Paris 2024 with more than 530,000 fans filling Stade de France and tens of millions watching around the globe, including 11.6 million in France alone for the men’s final, which the host nation beat Fiji to win, while South Africa secured bronze.
New Zealand retained the women’s Olympic title with victory over Canada, while the USA claimed an impressive bronze in a competition that recorded the highest attendance ever for a women’s rugby event with 66,000 fans enjoying the spectacular show across each session.
Fans around the globe can watch the HSBC SVNS action live on www.rugbypass.tv or via their domestic broadcaster.