All Blacks Sevens to face Fiji in SVNS Series warm-ups at Ignite7

New Zealand Rugby have revealed the full game schedule for the 2025 Ignite7 tournament, which will see some of the world’s best sevens teams participate in warm-up matches ahead of the new HSBC SVNS Series season.

48 female and 48 male athletes have been selected to compete in the famous two-day sevens event at Tauranga’s Blake Park, with NZR fielding some of the standout “emerging provincial union talent from across the country.”

It was announced last week that Black Ferns Sevens great Kelly Brazier and All Blacks Sevens icon DJ Forbes were taking up coaching positions, while the team lists were confirmed for the women’s and men’s Inferno, Bolt, Surge and Power.

New Zealand’s national sevens sides will also take to the field on both days of play, as well as both powerhouse teams from Australia and Fiji. Japan Women will also be on show, taking on Fijiana in the second match of the weekend at 10:22 am local time.

The All Blacks Sevens kick off the weekend in a heavyweight clash with traditional rivals Fiji at 10:00 am on Saturday. 44 minutes later, the Black Ferns Sevens come up against their greatest foe Australia – historically a battle between the two best teams in women’s sevens.

There will be three men’s Ignite7 matches and one women’s game before the first break in play, including Australia versus Fiji, Fijiana against Australia, and the Black Ferns Sevens will test themselves against Japan when sevens action resumes.

The final match on day one will see Fiji’s men’s side clash with Australia at 6:20 pm. On day two, the All Blacks Sevens play Australia at 10:14 am before a match against Fiji at 12:58 pm, and then Fiji versus Australia at 3:20 pm.

 

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Australia and the Black Ferns Sevens will play three matches each on the second day, including a fixture between those two sides at 4:04 pm on Sunday, which is the final match of the two-day sevens spectacle in Tauranga.

There will also be, of course, the Ignite7 women’s and men’s knockout matches. Semi-finals start at 10:36 am in the women’s draw and the men’s at 11:20 am. The Women’s final is first at 1:52 pm before the men’s decider at 2:36 pm.

“There is a huge amount of talent across these eight squads and it’s going to be exciting to see how these players perform through the tournament and develop into the future,” New Zealand Rugby High Performance Talent Identification Manager PJ Williams said in a statement.

“Many of these players have experience in the NPC or Farah Palmer Cup, for others it’s a step up after playing at age-grade level, and for some it’s their first foray into our high-performance environment, so there is a real mix.”

2025 Ignite7 competition game schedule

Saturday, 1 November — Day One Game Schedule

Location: Blake Park, Mt Maunganui

10:00 AM – All Blacks Sevens vs Fiji Men
10:22 AM – Fijiana vs Japan Women
10:44 AM – Black Ferns Sevens vs Australia Women
11:06 AM – Power Men vs Inferno Men
11:28 AM – Bolt Women vs Surge Women
11:50 AM – Inferno Men vs Power Men
12:12 PM – Surge Men vs Bolt Men

12:34 PM – Break

1:04 PM – Australia Men vs Fiji Men
1:26 PM – Fijiana vs Australia Women
1:48 PM – Black Ferns Sevens vs Japan Women
2:10 PM – Inferno Women vs Power Women
2:32 PM – Power Men vs Surge Men
2:54 PM – Surge Men vs Inferno Men
3:16 PM – Bolt Men vs Power Men
3:38 PM – All Blacks Sevens vs Australia Men
4:00 PM – Power Women vs Surge Women
4:22 PM – Inferno Women vs Bolt Women
4:44 PM – Surge Men vs Power Men
5:06 PM – Bolt Men vs Inferno Men
5:36 PM – Australia Women vs Japan Women
5:58 PM – Black Ferns Sevens vs Fijiana
6:20 PM – Fiji Men vs Australia Men

Sunday, 2 November — Finals Day Game Schedule

Location: Blake Park, Mt Maunganui

9:30 AM – Black Ferns Sevens vs Japan Women
9:52 AM – Australia Women vs Fijiana
10:14 AM – All Blacks Sevens vs Australia Men
10:36 AM – Ignite7 Women’s Semi-Final 1
10:58 AM – Ignite7 Women’s Semi-Final 2
11:20 AM – Ignite7 Men’s Semi-Final 1
11:42 AM – Ignite7 Men’s Semi-Final 2

12:04 PM – Break

12:14 PM – Japan Women vs Australia Women
12:36 PM – Black Ferns Sevens vs Fijiana
12:58 PM – All Blacks Sevens vs Fiji Men

1:20 PM – Break

1:30 PM – Ignite7 Women’s Bronze Final
1:52 PM – Ignite7 Women’s Final
2:14 PM – Ignite7 Men’s Bronze Final
2:36 PM – Ignite7 Men’s Final
3:10 PM – Ignite7 Trophy Presentations

3:20 PM – Australia Men vs Fiji Men
3:42 PM – Fijiana vs Japan Women
4:04 PM – Black Ferns Sevens vs Australia Women