All roads lead to Nairobi: Inaugural leg of SVNS 2 set for blockbuster opener

While the HSBC SVNS Series prepares for its final fortnight of action in March ahead of the three-leg finals series, the question of who will join the top teams in that series is set to be answered this weekend.

As part of the new look calendar of SVNS, the second tier of the tournament, SVNS 2, will kick off in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, with six teams each in the men’s and women’s competitions set for a busy two months.

Division three of the tournament, SVNS 3, played out in January across an action-filled weekend in Dubai, with Belgium and Canada progressing to SVNS 2 for the men, while South Africa and Argentina progressed in the women’s tournament.

SVNS 2 will see three legs played in Nairobi, Montevideo and Sao Paolo, with the top four sides set to join the finals of the SVNS circuit in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux and compete for the opportunity to move up to the world’s top league.

“Impressively, it’s sold out. You can’t get a ticket,” said Herbert Mensah, World Rugby Board Member and Rugby Africa Region President, after the tournament’s 11,000 capacity stadium sold out across multiple days. “What do you expect? HSBC on African soil with the incredible Kenyans… The guys at World Rugby have done a great job.”

“Africa has a place in world rugby and a role to play. We are 1.4 billion, yes we’re the double World Champions aswell, but it’s not only about South Africa. This weekend, come watch the Lionesses and the Springbok ladies come together to defeat the world.”

With action set to unfold from across 14th-15th February, RugbyPass breaks down each competition and who could progress through to the higher leagues.

*denotes relegated from 2024-2025 SVNS circuit. **denotes promoted from SVNS 3

Women’s competition:

Teams: Brazil*, China*, Spain*, Kenya, South Africa**, Argentina**

With Ireland no longer competing in the SVNS tournament, the women’s tournament will see stiff competition from teams established in the circuit in previous years combined with up-and-coming sides.

Having just missed out in the 2024-25 series, Brazil and China will be heavy favourites to top the competition, with hosts Kenya in the best possible position to spring an upset in front of their home fans.

Spain has the opportunity to also push their claim for finals with a favourable start to the draw against their newly promoted sides, while South Africa and Argentina loom as the wildcard outfits for the tournament.

South Africa prevailed over Argentina 12-5 in Dubai SVNS 3 final in January, but Argentina proved more than a tough nut to crack, a 45-0 demolition of Samoa showing that they are hard to stop when on form.

Men’s competition:

Teams: Kenya*, Uruguay*, USA*, Germany, Belgium**, Canada**

With the Irish men’s side also no longer competing, Germany will fill the final space after qualifying through the Men’s Challenger Series in 2025.

Having been regular features in the SVNS core circuit, Kenya and Uruguay will likely be heavy favourites across all three legs of the tournament, having competed in over five World Cup tournaments across their history, with Kenya finishing third in 2009, while also competing in the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games.

The USA finished in last in the 2024-25 series, and will need to keep a close eye on recently promoted sides Belgium and Canada, both of whom had to defeat the likes of Samoa, Tonga and Hong Kong to qualify in SVNS 3.

Canada overcame Belgium 28-10 in the SVNS 3 final, with plenty of potential firepower in their attack, which is set to cause all sorts of problems across the three legs of the tournament.