Five key Ultimate Sevens takeaways as all roads lead to Brentford

The second weekend of Ultimate Sevens is done and dusted in the south of France, with Pacific Current crowned women’s champions and Albion Athletic bouncing back from a disappointing weekend in Cardiff to claim top spot in Biarritz.

All eyes will now turn to a big final night of action at Brentford Community Stadium in London, the winners set to be crowned as the inaugural champions of Ultimate Sevens.

RugbyPass breaks down the key talking points following Friday night’s action in Biarritz, and how the competition may come to its conclusion in London.

Biarritz delivers

With no rain in sight unlike last week in Cardiff, the south of France turned it on with perfect conditions for sevens rugby, and on the park it lived up to expectations.

With a week of Ultimate Sevens under their belt the strategy of each respective side took on a new dimension in the competition, with a clear focus to target tries under the sticks and land guaranteed seven pointers.

The result saw more tries scored than in Cardiff, and while five games were still decided by a margin of less than seven, the big rewards were found by the teams best able to activate their game busting talent.

It sets a strong precedent for the competition to return with a vengeance next year to France.

Blitzboks, Aussies, Fijians unleash new combos

There were a lot of stars that stood out across the action on Friday night, but if there were two nations that stood out more than most, it was Australia and South Africa.

The 2026 Men’s SVNS Player of the Year Tristan Leyds proved his worth for Albion Athletic as the side bounced back from disappointment in Cardiff, scoring a try for his efforts.

Zain Davids meanwhile was everywhere for Cardiff winners Clan Taran, his physicality ruthless as his double over Atlantic Novas saw his side through to the semi finals.

Equally of note was the Australian contingent, with Ben Dowling impressing for Albion Athletic and James Turner putting in a contender for a player of the weekend performance to get Pacific Current all the way to the men’s grand final.

He’ll have to line up behind several Australians on the women’s side, with Ruby Nicholas from Sol Feroz, as well Heidi Dennis and Mackenzie Davis for Clan Taran enjoying strong performances.

However, the big name that French fans will likely remember will be Maddison Levi, the Aussie scoring a hattrick in the final, but more notably, proving lethal when unleashed by Fijians Silika Qalo, Ilisapeci Delaiwau and Reapi Ulunisau, who played a major part in their title victory.

It proved a combination of sevens players that could see Pacific Current step up significantly this week.

From the basement to the penthouse

A key question coming into Biarritz was could the teams knocked out in Cardiff early produce a strong response, and the answer was an emphatic yes.

Only two teams in the men’s competition – Clan Taran and Pacific Current – replicated making the semi finals, with the women’s competition seeing Pacific Current and Sol Feroz also get past the first round after doing the same in Cardiff – highlighting how close the competition really is.

However, the big improvers came in the form of Albion Athletic’s men’s side, who after being knocked out in the first round in Cardiff turned their form around emphatically in seven days, winning the men’s final 13-0 over Pacific Current.

The story was also the case for Clan Taran’s women’s side, who came so close to replicating their men’s side after being knocked out early in Cardiff only to make it to the final in Biarritz, going down 25-19 to Pacific Current.

An open field – but one club looms as potential favourite

With four different winners in the opening two weeks, it’s fair to call the inaugural season of Ultimate Sevens a wide open competition as we prepare for a final weekend of action.

After Biarritz, the two respective winners of the women’s competition, Pacific Current and Atlantic Novas, sit atop the ladder, but with the Novas going out in the first round they will need to find a way to bounce back, especially with Sol Feroz having made one grand final and one semi final.

Similarly for the men, Clan Taran and Albion Athletic sit at the top of the table, but with both having mixed form there is a door wide open for the men’s Pacific Current team as well, who made the Biarritz final and came tantalisingly close to the Cardiff final.

All roads lead to Brentford

The Ultimate Sevens competition now heads into its grand final weekend of action at Brentford Community Stadium on Thursday, and with it, a new format will make its debut.

Instead of a knockout round that will see three matches, the top two sides will automatically qualify for semi finals – leaving the bottom four seeded sides to battle it out for the two remaining semi final spots.

The winners of these semi finals will go on to meet in the final, determining the inaugural Ultimate Sevens Champions.

Pacific Current and Atlantic Novas have already qualified for semi finals in the women’s competition, with Clan Taran and Albion Athletic also set for semifinal qualification in the men’s tournament.

It sets the stage for a thrilling weekend of action at Brentford, just over three months to the day since the competition final was announced.

ULTIMATE SEVENS STANDINGS AFTER ROUND TWO

WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

Pacific Current – 14 pts

Atlantic Novas – 12 pts

Sol Feroz – 10 pts

Clan Taran – 8 pts

Foudre Bleue – 6 pts

Albion Athletic – 6 pts

MEN’S TOURNAMENT

Clan Taran – 14 pts

Albion Athletic –  12 pts

Pacific Current – 10 pts

Foudre Bleue – 8 pts

Atlantic Novas – 6 pts

Sol Feroz – 6 pts