Lloyd-Gilmour scores three as Great Britain shock All Blacks Sevens

Great Britain had won three matches on the HSBC SVNS Series during the 2025/26 season before facing the All Blacks Sevens in Perth. New Zealand have been one of the form sides on the Series this season, which makes GB’s 26-19 upset win particularly memorable.

Finley Lloyd-Gilmour stood out as a hat-trick hero this Great Britain side secured their first win on the Series since beating Spain 29-10 at SVNS Cape Town in December. GB beat Spain in the fifth-place semi-final that day, before losing to New Zealand by 15 in the play-off.

With GB and New Zealand falling in opening-round defeats at HBF Park, this Pool B fixture during the second session shaped up as a must-win for both sides. Kele Lasaqa and Frank Vaenuku combined to give the All Blacks Sevens an early lead, taking control during the first half.

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GB coughed the ball up in attack and the New Zealanders made the most of that opportunity, as Sofai Notoa-Tipo scored out wide with an acrobatic finish. With the successful conversion attempt from the right sideline, the All Blacks Sevens led 12-nil after three and a half minutes.

Lloyd-Gilmour raced away for his first-ever SVNS Series try soon after, before Joshua Radcliffe added to GB’s score with less than 90 seconds remaining. Almost suddenly, the two teams were level at 12-all with 30 seconds left in the half.

In the final play before the break, Lloyd-Gilmour gave GB the lead for the first time. With some quick hands and an impressive offload off the deck, the ball found its way to the try-scorer, who ran in for the go-ahead points.

Vaenuku helped make the score 19-all with his second of the contest, but Lloyd-Gilmour stole the show with a hat-trick moment of magic. Lloyd-Gilmour out-raced Michael Manson, who spoke with RugbyPass earlier this week, during an impressive run along the right sideline.

While there was still time on the clock, Great Britain held on for a confidence-building win at SVNS Perth. Their final pool match is against home side Australia, in the final match on the opening day of play at HBF Park.

In the other Pool B fixture during the second session, Australia made a statement with a clinical 29-14 win over France. Les Blues Sevens made the SVNS Singapore Cup Final last weekend, losing to Fiji in a classic decider.

Ben Dowling continued to stand out with a double, while Wallace Charlie also got on the scoresheet during the first term. Den Dalton and Hadley Tonga also made their mark, as the Aussies continue their quest for a title on home soil.

Josselin Bouhier and Hoani Bosmorin were the try-scorers for France, while Jordan Sepho was shown a yellow card late in the piece. France take on New Zealand in the final round of pool play, with that match kicking off at about 7:14 pm local time.

“How good is it being in Perth? Awesome. So good to be here. We’re going game by game so, that was a great win but we go again into our next game,” Australia’s Josh Turner said on the broadcast post-game.