Fiji complete comeback against GB to keep SVNS 1 title hopes alive

Nacani Boginsoko scored one of the most important tries of the 2025/26 season for Fiji, as the HSBC SVNS Series men’s leaders kept their hopes of taking out the regular season title alive with a comeback 24-19 win over Great Britain.

Fiji went into the final event of the regular season level with South Africa on the overall standings. But the Fijians had a slightly better points differential (+2) across the other five tournaments, putting them in top spot ahead of SVNS New York.

New Zealand claimed the opening title of the season at Dubai’s The Sevens Stadium, but South Africa and Fiji have otherwise dominated. Fiji emerged victorious in Singapore, while the Blitzboks have won titles in Cape Town, Perth and most recently in Vancouver.

The Fijians played in the first match at SVNS New York on Saturday, suffering a surprise 31-12 defeat to Argentina. With the top two teams progressing out of each pool, that made Fiji’s second Pool B fixture effectively a must-win.

Charlton Kerr struck first for Great Britain in the third minute, with the successful shot at goal by Roan Frostwick proving important during the first half. Fiji hit back through George Bose just before the break, but the conversion attempt from out wide missed the mark.

Marcus Kershw and Finley Lloyd-Gilmour scored a try each in a two-minute span as Great Britain raced out to a 19-5 advantage during the second term. Viwa Naduvalo brought Fiji back into the contest with two quick tries, before Boginisoko flew downfield for the go-ahead points.

Boginisoko crossed for what ended up being the match-winning try in the 13^th minute, as Fiji completed a remarkable comeback at Sports Illustrated Stadium. That keeps Fiji’s hopes of semi-final qualification alive, but they still need to face Vancouver finalists Spain.

“We just went and looked at what we did wrong against Argentina,” Fiji coach Osea Kolinisau said on the RugbyPass TV broadcast.

“A quality side like Argentina… three kick-offs, three tries to Argentina, and we just didn’t get any ball in the second half.

“We made a lot of mistakes… the Series is on the line, we’ve got to find it somewhere, let’s try and control the game.

“We wanted to win that game and they know to come back against a good GB side and then to finish off the game, they know a win is a win.”

Meanwhile, SVNS 1 title contenders South Africa began their quest for the regular season crown with a dominant 22-7 win over New Zealand. Sebastiaan Jobb completed a double, while Selvyn Davids and Grant de Jager also made their mark on the scoreboard.

Ill-discipline was a talking point of the second half, with three All Blacks Sevens players receiving yellow cards. Rob Rush and Akuila Rokolisoa were both sitting on the sidelines at the same time, as the All Blacks Sevens went down to five men for a brief period.

Riley Williams was shown a yellow in the dying stages but the New Zealanders still had the final point-scoring say, with Brady Rush touching down for a try in the final play. Australia and France are also vying for semi-final spots in Pool A.