How ‘ambition and joy’ drove Las Leonas 7s back to the SVNS Series

2025 was the year that a new format was bestowed upon the world of HSBC SVNS. The top eight teams from each side of the aisle earning a spot in the SVNS Series, while the remaining teams fell into the second and third divisions.

Amongst those who had to fight their way back to the top tier was Spain’s. While for some it might have signalled the end of the road, for Las Leonas 7s it marked the beginning of something entirely different.

Under the careful eye of head coach María Ribera, Spain slowly began their ascent, qualifying for the HSBC SVNS World Championship as one of the top four teams from HSBC SVNS 2.

In Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux, the team amassed enough points to claw their way back to the shining lights of the SVNS Series. Brazil, Argentina, Great Britain and South Africa did not make the cut.

Looking back at how they turned around from a tricky and disappointing situation, Ribera reveals the first steps that the staff took upon her appointment as head coach in 2024.

“The first thing for us was to engage the players with the prospect of qualifying for the next Summer Olympics [LA28]. We wanted them to feel joy again and, at the same time, have the ambition to reach the top level. That combo of ambition and joy was our way to unlock our path forward.”

While 2025 ended in disappointment with relegation from the SVNS Series, Ribera believes it was an important step for the programme.

“In 2025, we competed in the SVNS with eight new players who had never experienced that level of competition before. We had to manage the absence of some of our key players who were also featuring for the XVs.”

For the former sevens and XVs international, it was crucial to reforge the team’s identity in order to steer the team towards success.

“Our approach and philosophy are that nothing is above the team. However, we can’t forget about the individual, as it is that individual who will help the team unlock its full potential. So, for one to do well, the other must be at the same level. One doesn’t exist without the other.”

With the foundations laid out, Ribera and her staff went in search of a playing style better suited to the team’s physical and technical abilities.

“You can notice by the way we play that we are a very determined side that is relentless in its pursuit to elevate the team. We ask the players to inject speed into every single action they take with the ball, while scanning what is happening around them. We need to make every opportunity pay off and, if possible, score from the first phase.”

But the road to the SVNS Series wasn’t without a few bumps and bruises, as the team had to survive intensely competitive SVNS 2 before having a chance to share the same field as the likes of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and France.

With an average squad age of 23 years old, Ribera didn’t fear what the competition would throw in their way, as the head coach explains.

“We worked hard and long hours to earn back our place in SVNS 1 without knowing what our max ceiling was, as we had one of the youngest squads in the competition. We understood how vital the Hong Kong leg was going to be, so we devoted ourselves to being better than we had been in Nairobi or Montevideo.”

Even though they had the youngest roster amongst the sixteen teams that competed in the women’s SVNS season, Ribera never second-guessed the team’s potential and ability to achieve greatness.

“Our squad had eight players under the age of 21, with five having made their debuts in the SVNS: Carlota Caicoya, Arancha Leotte Montero, Ametsa Ulibarri, Martina Serrano and Ana Cortés. We also have several players who won the U18 Rugby Europe Championship in 2025, which tells you how young our squad is. But they are insanely ambitious, skilled and hard-working.”

From defeating Argentina in the Hong Kong Sevens to confirm their promotion following a superb victory against Great Britain, Spain’s SVNS season was packed with great moments, as highlighted by the head coach.

“It is challenging for me to pick a single moment of our 2026 campaign when the whole campaign was packed with several memorable episodes,” the 38-year-old said.

“We pushed Canada, USA and Australia hard; landed big wins against Argentina and Great Britain; and managed always to be competing to be amongst the elite. Every time we landed on the side of the Cup, we celebrated hard, as that is the level that we were aiming for.”

For her, the mere fact that Spain competed to be among the top eight teams in each leg is a sign of where the project is headed.

“I don’t need to remind you how hard it is to consecutively qualify for the Cup in the SVNS, especially when you are at the Championship level. But we did, and that, for me, was the first stone laid in the promising structure that we are building. We know the road ahead is hard, but we want to make history.”

With two months still to go until Spain play again on the SVNS circuit, Ribera explains the two concepts that have been key throughout the programme: commitment and consolidation.

“Consolidation is paramount. With a stable, consolidated programme, we can achieve greatness and compete for the top. Next year we will find out if we are edging closer to what we had envisioned in 2024.”

A sign of the team’s consolidation is that every player performed at a high level, showcasing the success of the whole system and mindset introduced by Ribera’s staff, with the head coach herself unable to pick the most valuable player of the team’s season.

“It is impossible to pick the best player of the season, because every single one of them has been massive in their contribution to Las Leonas 7s. Between two invitational tournaments and the SVNS 2 and 1 legs, players voted for a different MVP. Each time it shows how good our squad is.”

For someone who represented Spain for nearly two decades and who had the chance to play in sevens World Cups, the Summer Olympics and the World Series, Ribera acknowledges how impactful her team has been for her.

“I have a wonderful team. They’ve grown so much and matured in ways that surprised us. For me, coaching a team that keeps overcoming challenges and has potential is better than working with a side that has already achieved excellence. I prefer a gritty Fiat Punto, that will shock everyone, to a Ferrari that has already peaked.”

And it was because of the joint effort of everyone that, for Ribera, they earned their place amongst the very best of the sevens scene.

“The players trusted in themselves and in us and poured their souls into this. We may be the leaders, but they are the ones who steered this venture to successful tides. My staff were tireless throughout this entire process, from the manager to the physiotherapist. That’s why we are in SVNS 1.”

Yet, while others might have been content with Spain’s 2026 achievements, Ribera sees promotion to next season’s SVNS Series as only the beginning of a greater journey.

“If I thought this was the best we could achieve, then I would have already handed in my resignation letter,” the head coach staunchly affirmed.

“Our goal was and will always be to get to the top. That was mine and my teammates’ mindset when we represented Spain a few years ago, and it is what I try to pass on to my players.

“Yes, I am beyond happy with what we have achieved in 2026, but that is now in the past. We have ambition, and we will continue to push the ceiling.”