Australia and Fiji win titles at season opener in Dubai

International rugby sevens returned to thrill the huge crowds at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai as Australia women and Fiji men ran out winners to take an early lead in the HSBC SVNS standings.

Fiji beat Spain 19-5 to lift the men’s trophy and claim their first SVNS tournament victory since Toulouse in 2022, and their first in Dubai since 2016. Argentina claimed the men’s bronze medals with a convincing 14-0 win over New Zealand.

Australia secured an incredible fifth successive women’s tournament victory in Dubai but they had to work hard for it in an epic final against Olympic champions New Zealand which finished 28-24. France overcame Great Britain 15-12 to take home the women’s bronze medals.

Olympic silver medallists Fiji looked back to their scintillating best and turned on the style to thrash Argentina 43-21 in the semi-final, having earlier overcome reigning Olympic champions France 19-17 in a tense quarter-final.

Fiji coach Osea Kolinisau was delighted his side had broken their long run without a title: “It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “ I’m so happy for the boys. I’m so happy that we’ve got the monkey off our back now.

Spain were impressive throughout the weekend and made history by reaching their first ever cup final thanks to a superb 19-14 victory over New Zealand in the semi-final, following a quarter-final win against Great Britain by the same scoreline earlier in the day.

Australia reached the women’s final courtesy of convincing wins over Great Britain 35-7 in the semi-final and 39-0 against Olympic silver medallists Canada in the quarter-final.

Australia’s new captain Isabella Nasser said: “I’m sort of lost for words,” she said. “I’m proud of the girls. We have such a tight-knit group - the young ones really showed up today and I’m sure they will for the rest of the season. The best is yet to come.

“The Black Ferns are always such a hard team [to play]. They always show up and we have such a good rivalry.”

New Zealand progressed to the final thanks to a 28-14 semi-final victory over France and seeing off Ireland 33-12 in the quarter-final.

Following a ground-breaking Olympic Games in Paris that saw more than 530,000 fans witness rugby sevens, the eagerly anticipated new season of HSBC SVNS began in great fashion with two days of non-stop dynamic action on the pitch and spectacular entertainment off it.

With 91 debutant players selected across the 12 men’s and 12 women’s squads there was an array of fresh talent on show alongside some of the biggest stars of the sport including Australia’s Maddison Levi who was awarded HSBC World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year last Sunday and broke the record for tries in a single SVNS tournament this weekend, crossing the line 15 times in six matches.

The event also saw Ireland’s Aimee Leigh Murphy Crowe joined an elite club by scoring her 200th SVNS Series try while Australia’s own try machine Faith Nathan claimed her 100th try on day one in Dubai.

Earlier, thousands of sports fans and families were treated to a spectacular low-level flypast over the Sevens Stadium on Sunday, in celebration of the 53rd UAE Eid Al Etihad.

The flypast took place on the final day of the biggest and longest-running sports and entertainment festival in the Middle East - Emirates Dubai 7s.

As the iconic Emirates A380 took to the skies to salute the crowd below, fans snapped videos and selfies from the stands.

After a take-off from Dubai International Airport, the Emirates A380 made its approach above the stadium, and back over again after cruising by at a gentle speed and an altitude of just 500 feet.

Commanding the Emirates A380 was UAE National Captain Khalid Binsultan and Captain Mubarak Al Mheiri, supported by Captain Abdalla Al Hammadi.

Emirates memorable flypast with the signature aircraft underscores the airline's commitment to the long-standing Emirates Dubai 7s. Taking place during the UAE National Day weekend in December and hosted at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, Emirates Dubai 7s builds on a 54-year history of the unique Rugby Sevens tournament, welcoming the very best international teams each year.

All 24 teams move directly on to Cape Town for the second round of HSBC SVNS 2025 on December 7-8.

A new competition format will see the 12 teams in four pools of three teams with the pool winners advancing directly to semi-finals and a chance to reach the medal podium in Cape Town.