James Turner embracing SVNS Bordeaux challenge after historic sweep

Across the entire history of the HSBC SVNS circuit, only two nations have ever accomplished an unprecedented sweep of both the men’s and women’s sevens series in a single year: New Zealand and Australia.

Even then, for the Aussies it has only been a one-off, with both the men’s and women’s sides topping the table in the 2021/2022 series – but should the sides replicate their Valladolid heroics this weekend, that one historic sweep could become two.

The Spain SVNS had a gold and green tinge to it in 2026, the women’s sevens side finally snapping a five-match losing streak to their arch rivals New Zealand in the semi-final, before going on to defeat the USA 27-14 to jump up to the top of the women’s Championship table.

The men’s side also roared back into contention after a disappointing sixth-place finish in Hong Kong in May, putting their recent solid form against defending champions the Blitzboks to good use, defeating them 26-19 in the final to climb up to third on the men’s Championship table.

It marked the first time an all-Aussie sweep has occurred at a single sevens tournament since the 2018 Sydney SVNS, with the men’s result all the more impressive given they came back from two tries down.

“We weren’t really that worried when we were 14-0 down,” James Turner said in an interview with ABC Sport on Thursday.

“We knew we just needed to get the ball.

“Twenty-six unanswered points showed that when we have the ball, we are pretty hard to stop.

“We just needed to keep positive and get the ball back, and that’s what we did.”

The Aussies’ success in Spain has given them a shot at a second Championship sweep, with the women holding a slender two-point lead over New Zealand.

The men, meanwhile, sit just eight points behind table leaders South Africa, with another Championship win needing to come in tandem with the Blitzboks likely finishing fourth or lower.

Adding to the calculations for the Aussies will be that both sides will be without several key stars due to injuries sustained in Valladolid.

For the women, key playmaker Tia Hinds has been ruled out of Bordeaux with a calf injury, meaning Amahli Hala – who was scheduled to play for Australia A this weekend in Japan – will come into the side to replace her.

Maddison Levi is also set to be included, despite suffering a knee injury last weekend.

The men’s side, meanwhile, will start in Bordeaux without Dietrich Roache, who suffered an ankle injury on day one in Spain, with Jayden Blake called in as a replacement.

Turner will also be unavailable until the finals, having picked up a red card in the grand final against the Blitzboks.

With Argentina also in the mix, Turner expects the even contest and the quality on display across the tournament to step up, despite backing Australia to finish the job and produce a come-from-behind performance to win the Championship.

“Everyone in our competition can win it, and that is sort of what makes it a bit more exciting,” Turner said to ABC Sport.

“Back in the day, you used to be able to go into a game and put your feet up a little bit.

“But every game is a grand final, so you’ve got to prep well and have trust in the boys.

“It’s high stress, but I think we love the stress.”

The Aussie women’s side will take on Brazil, Fiji and Japan in Pool B in Bordeaux, while the men will face Spain, the United States and Uruguay, also in Pool B.