Plenty of green, gold: Five things we learnt from the 2026 HSBC SVNS Series

The 2026 HSBC SVNS climax was a bombastic one in southern France, with the table turned on its head as teams fought for the Championship and for SVNS Series status.

The results came in surprises galore as host nations France delivered on home soil to win the men’s title, with Australia and Argentina collapsing to allow South Africa to win back-to-back championships.

The bigger drama came in the women’s competition, as a resurgent Australia defeated arch rivals New Zealand to win the women’s Championship, denying the Kiwis back-to-back titles.

RugbyPass breaks down the key talking points as the teams break away for the next few months, before eyes inevitably turn to the 2026-27 season.

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Finals surprises return

France has a long established history of being one of the most unpredictable locations on the circuit in terms of results, a fact that has proven true yet again after last weekend.

For the second time in three years of the finals format, the leading side at the end of the regular season was unseated from the top in the women’s competition.

The big mover and shaker in the men’s competition was the United States, the Eagles cleansweeping Pool B, which included Valladolid winners Australia, to make quarter finals.

Their defeat of Fiji for the fifth place playoff arguably was a contender for match of the weekend.

However, the ultimate surprise was delivered by the hosts, as France, bolstered by the home support, completed a sweep of Australia and South Africa, before defeating New Zealand in the final to win their first SVNS leg since their famous win at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Plenty of green…

The big surprises continued, with several notable sides falling away in the final weekend of action – most notably, Argentina and Australia’s men’s sides.

The only two teams who had a realistic chance to catching the Blitzboks, Argentina went down to losses against France and New Zealand, ultimately finishing in a disappointing ninth place.

The Aussies didn’t fare much better, making the quarter finals before being held scoreless by the French, ultimately finishing in seventh with a 31-0 win over Great Britain.

The result saw South Africa, who successfully made the semi finals, eventually pull clear by eight points of runners up New Zealand to top the Championship table, becoming the first team ever to win back-to-back doubles of regular season and finals champions.

Plenty of gold…

While the French have proven they can lift for the occasion at home, SVNS 2 teams were looking likely to challenge for the World Series, and the Blitzboks looked the team to beat in the men’s competition, there had been a question asked coming into the finals series:

After such a dominant regular season, could anyone stop the Black Ferns 7s?

Not only has the last fortnight proven that true, but emphatically so, as rivals Australia, who had copped a five-match losing streak against the women in black, produced their best rugby all year in Spain and France.

Cruising through the Bordeaux pool stages, the Aussies kicked into overdrive to see off Spain and the United States, setting up a winner-take-all final against their old rivals.

A critical try scored by Maddi Levi on halftime proved the moment momentum swung, the Aussies never losing the lead again with two tries in the second half to stun the Kiwis and deny them back-to-back championships, truly getting the last laugh.

Spain, USA seeing double

While it was a great weekend for the French, South Africans and Australians, it arguably was an even better weekend for two more nations.

After qualifying for the World Championship through the new SVNS 2 format, the Spain women’s side and the United States men’s side became the first teams ever to qualify for the SVNS Series, both sides moving up at the expense of Great Britain.

The result will see both rugby nations represented in both the men’s and women’s competition, the USA having to see off an impressive Kenyan side, who collapsed in Bordeaux to finish in eleventh.

It also proved a just reward for the Spanish, the only side who finished in the top three in every SVNS 2 leg, their consistency shone through come the World Championship, seeing off the likes of Brazil, South Africa and SVNS 2 champions Argentina to make the quarter finals on all three occasions.

New world calendar passes major test

The weekend also marked the conclusion of the first full season of the new look calendar in Sevens rugby, which also saw the inaugural seasons of SVNS 3 and SVNS 2.

With the World Championship culminating in an all-to-play-for scenario heading into the final weekend, it is fair to call its first iteration a success, with promising signs ahead.

With one team apiece also making it into the men’s and women’s SVNS Series from SVNS 2, the season has shown that a tiered system of promotion and relegation can work, with Argentina and South Africa’s women’s sides also notable successes from SVNS 3.

While inevitable reviews of the new format will arise, all signs point to an encouraging format to build on for future seasons of the HSBC SVNS Series.