Aussie stars rocket up RugbyPass SVNS MVP leaderboards after Valladolid

Blitzboks stars Shilton van Wyk and Tristan Leyds are the two front-runners in the race for the 2026 RugbyPass Men’s SVNS Series title. But Henry Hutchison is the big winner out of SVNS Valladolid, with Australia claiming their first men’s SVNS trophy in more than 1,300 days. 

Van Wyk and Leyds both received at least one vote each after World Championship leaders South Africa made yet another Cup Final. The Blitzboks had won the last four events and were looking to keep that streak alive but fell just short 26-19 in the big dance at Estadio Jose-Zorilla. 

Hutchison received Player of the Final honours after leading Australia’s remarkable comeback. Van Wyk and Sebastiaan Jobb ran in an early try each as the Blitzboks took a 14-0 lead inside the first three minutes. 

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But the Aussies hit back late in the half through James Turner and Ethan McFarland, with Maurice Longbottom slotting two clutch conversions to level the score. Ben Dowling and ‘Hutch’ both got on the scoresheet during the second half, as the Aussies completed their comeback. 

James Turner was shown a red card with a couple of minutes left, and South Africa made the most of their one-man advantage immediately. Gino Cupido made it a one-score game, but the Aussies did enough to hold on for the drought-breaking triumph. 

South Africa’s Ryan Oosthuizen had described Australia as their “bogey team” in an interview with RugbyPass on Sunday. Australia had beaten the ladder-leaders during the pool stage, which highlights the efforts of Hutchison and others even more. 

Hutchison, who has officially been nominated for World Rugby’s Sevens Player of the Year ahead of the HSBC SVNS Awards 2026 on Sunday, polled maximum votes from RugbyPass writers. Longbottom and Turner were also rewarded for their efforts over the three-day event. 

Australia’s captain has moved up from one votes to 13, now equal fourth with Fiji’s Terio Veilawa. But those two have less than double the tally of van Wyk, who continues to lead the way for the RugbyPass MVP accolade. 

In women’s sevens, Jorja Miller did enough to mathematically lock up the RugbyPass SVNS MVP title after the World Championship opener in Hong Kong China. But Miller didn’t receive any votes after Valladolid, with Australia’s Heidi Dennis standing out. 

Dennis was outstanding throughout the entire tournament, which included some game-changing efforts against New Zealand in a semi-final thriller. The rising star got on the scoresheet and made some important stops in defence during the Cup Final victory as well.

The Australian received maximum votes from three writers, with Nick Wasiliev instead recognising Teagan Levi as the Player of the Tournament. Levi stepped up on day three, with sister Maddison Levi and playmaker Tia Hinds out injured. 

Black Ferns Sevens representative Kelsey Teneti received two votes, not holding a three-vote gap ahead of Maddison Levi in third. Australia’s Teagan Levi and Isabella Nasser were other big winners, as was Ariana Ramsey from the USA. 

Ramsey has already made history this week, having become the first woman from the USA to be shortlisted for World Rugby’s Sevens Player of the Year. The USA representative didn’t know that fact before speaking with RugbyPass on Thursday. 

“That’s absolutely amazing. I feel like in this sport I have been breaking barriers, even being the first woman at Dartmouth [College] to go to the Olympics in rugby and then we’re the first team to win a bronze medal… I’m the first women’s rugby athlete in the USA to be signed by Nike,” Ramsey said.  

“I just feel like I’m breaking down barriers and it’s just really paying off in terms of the career I want to have and how I want to finish as a player. I’m just doing it piece by piece, every day I’m working towards what I want to achieve, whether it be on the rugby field, whether it be building my brand and getting sponsorships. I’m always working and it shows.  

“It fuels me even more and I do feel myself getting satisfied… but I’m still playing my best because I want to be consistent.   

“Off the field I think it’s motivating me a lot in regular life. Eventually I want to build a major business and I’m just going to apply what I’m doing now to that.” 

SVNS Bordeaux on June 5 to 7 is the final event of the World Championship. The Blitzboks are the number one seed in the men’s competition, while Australia’s are first on the women’s standings ahead of the season finale. 

If teams are level on competition points at the end of the event, match points differential will be used to determine a champion. There are a series of other tiebreaks which will be used if needed, depending on what happens this weekend. 

The top eight teams on the standings will earn core status for the 2026/27 SVNS 1 campaign, while the other four sides will left to fight their way back up from the second division. It’s all on the line this weekend at Bordeaux’s Stade Atlantique. 

RugbyPass SVNS Series MVP 3-2-1 votes – Valladolid 

Finn Morton 

Men: Henry Hutchison (Australia), Sebastiaan Jobb (South Africa), Maurice Longbottom (Australia) 

Women: Heidi Dennis (Australia), Ariana Ramsey (USA), Teagan Levi (Australia) 

Joe Harvey 

Men: Henry Hutchison (Australia), Ricardo Duartte (South Africa), Maurice Longbottom (Australia) 

Women: Heidi Dennis (Australia), Tia Hinds (Australia), Ariana Ramsey (USA) 

Nick Wasiliev 

Men: Henry Hutchison (Australia), Tristan Leyds (South Africa), Marcos Moneta (Argentina) 

Women: Teagan Levi (Australia), Kelsey Teneti (New Zealand), Heidi Dennis (Australia) 

Ben Smith 

Men: Henry Hutchison (Australia), James Turner (Australia), Shilton van Wyk (South Africa) 

Women: Heidi Dennis (Australia), Isabella Nasser (Australia), Teagan Levi (Australia) 

RugbyPass Women’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard 

Jorja Miller (New Zealand) – 51 votes 

Kelsey Teneti (New Zealand) – 28 votes 

Maddison Levi (Australia) – 25 votes 

Risi Pouri-Lane (New Zealand), Teagan Levi (Australia) – 14 votes 

Isabella Nasser (Australia) – 13 votes 

Heidi Dennis (Australia) – 10 votes 

Tia Hinds (Australia) – 6 votes 

Jazmin Felix-Hotham (New Zealand), Olivia Apps (Canada) – 4 votes 

Madison Ashby (Australia), Ariana Ramsey (USA), Kaylen Thomas (USA) – 3 votes 

Mahina Paul (New Zealand) – 2 votes 

Hanako Utsumi (Japan), Reapi Ulunisau (Fiji), Maya Stewart (Australia), Jaymie Kolose (New Zealand), Su Adegoke (USA), Lili Dezou (France) 

RugbyPass Men’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard 

Shilton van Wyk (South Africa) – 27 votes 

Tristan Leyds (South Africa) – 22 votes 

Viwa Naduvalo (Fiji) – 21 votes 

Terio Veilawa (Fiji), Henry Hutchison (Australia) – 13 votes 

Ryan Oosthuizen (South Africa) – 12 votes 

Luciano Gonzalez (Argentina) – 9 votes 

Akuila Rokolisoa (New Zealand), Selvyn Davids (South Africa) – 8 votes 

Ricardo Duarttee (South Africa), Brady Rush (New Zealand) – 6 votes 

Dietrich Roache (Australia), Paulin Riva (France), Eduardo Lopez (Spain), Wallace Charlie (Australia), Marcos Moneta (Argentina) – 4 votes 

Donovan Don (South Africa) – 3 votes 

Nacani Boginisoko (Fiji), Kele Lasaqa (New Zealand), Jeremy Trevithick (Spain), Sebastiaan Jobb (South Africa), Maurice Longbottom (Australia), James Turner (Australia) – 2 votes 

Pilipo Bukayaro (Fiji), Andy Timo (France), Rob Rush (New Zealand), Ben Dowling (Australia), Santiago Vera Feld (Argentina), Tobias Sainz-Trapaga (Spain) – 1 vote