Olympic stars and fresh faces ready to kick off HSBC SVNS season in Dubai

Following the sensational, record-breaking Olympic Games competitions, the wait is over for rugby sevens fans as HSBC SVNS 2025 kicks off with the Emirates Dubai 7s on Nov.30-Dec.1.

With interest and excitement in rugby sevens on a high following the Olympics, the many millions of fans who watched the Games can expect to see Olympic medallists on show in Dubai alongside new faces looking to make their mark at the first round of a highly anticipated new HSBC SVNS campaign.

Men’s Olympic champions France will be looking to retain their SVNS Champions crown after they defeated SVNS league winners Argentina to claim the inaugural men’s title in 2024. Meanwhile Olympic bronze medallists South Africa are looking to continue their incredible form in Dubai which has seen them win five consecutive titles and seven of the last eight tournaments.

New Zealand’s women won their second successive Olympic title in Paris and will be aiming to reclaim the SVNS Champions title they lost to Australia in 2024. They will have to break Australia’s dominance in Dubai, which has seen them win the last four women’s titles at The Sevens Stadium.

The Emirates Dubai 7s features the top 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams in the world competing over two action-packed days as the 24 captain’s gathered by Old Dubai Creek on Wednesday where old rivalries were reignited and new friendships forged.

The event has featured on the global rugby sevens calendar since its inception in 1999, and includes an all-star music and entertainment line-up alongside mass participation sports activities to complement the world class rugby sevens played out in an electric festival atmosphere.

The HSBC SVNS action kicks off at 09:00 pm on Saturday with pool matches as reigning women’s Olympic champions New Zealand take on Brazil on Pitch 2, while silver medallists Canada open their campaign against Japan on Pitch 1 to get the action started.

Day two begins at 09:20 pm on Sunday with the quarter-finals and culminates with the women’s gold medal final at 19:35 pm, followed by the men’s final at 20:11 pm.

The women’s pools see New Zealand face Canada in a repeat of the 2024 Olympic final, alongside Brazil and Japan in pool C. Olympic bronze medallists the USA are in pool B with France, Great Britain and Spain. SVNS Champions Australia will take on Ireland, Fiji and newcomers China in pool A.

Kenya face a tough assignment on their reintroduction to the top level of international rugby sevens as they face Olympic champions France, serial Dubai winners South Africa and Australia in men’s pool A.

Argentina were the most consistently outstanding performers on the men’s circuit last year and they are drawn with Ireland, Great Britain and Uruguay in pool B. Current Olympic silver medallists Fiji will be sure to thrill the crowd with encounters against New Zealand, the USA and Spain in pool C.

The competition format replicates the Olympic model and sees the top two teams from each pool, plus the best two third-placed teams qualify for the quarter-finals from where it is knock-out rugby.

Following a successful inaugural year for World Rugby’s revamped and rebranded global celebration of rugby sevens, HSBC SVNS 2025 will feature seven events across seven months in seven iconic global destinations.

Six regular season events will be played in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Singapore to decide the HSBC SVNS League Winners, before the HSBC SVNS World Championship at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles, which will host the 2028 Olympic Games rugby sevens competitions.

The top eight placed teams based on cumulative series points after six events in Singapore will compete in the ‘winner takes all’ World Championship, where the women’s and men’s SVNS Champions will be crowned.

Los Angeles will also play host to the high stakes promotion and relegation play-off competition where teams ranked ninth to 12th will join the top four teams from the World Rugby Sevens Challenger, in a battle to secure their places in the next HSBC SVNS.