Pools for Sevens Challenger opener revealed as quest for promotion begins

World Rugby has confirmed the pools and match schedule for the HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 opening round, which will take place at Cape Town’s Athlone Stadium on March 1-2. 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams will compete in their respective tournaments, representing all six World Rugby regions.

Last season, Uruguay and Kenya both earned promotion to the men’s HSBC SVNS Series, while China’s women’s side also earned core status. Uruguay recently shocked Fiji and recorded their first-ever win over New Zealand at SVNS Perth late last month.

With a new Challenger season about to begin, other teams will look to replicate those heroics by also earning promotion from the second-tier sevens circuit. Athlone Stadium will host the season’s first two events in back-to-back weekends, and the third stop will be in Krakow on April 11-12.

Germany, who were one of four men’s sides to book their spot in the promotion playoffs last season, will face Japan and Georgia in Pool A. Chile, Tonga and Portugal will meet in Pool B, while Pool C has seen Uganda and Brazil drawn against sevens heavyweights Samoa.

 

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To round out the men’s side of the draw, Hong Kong China will take on Madagascar and recently relegated Canada in Pool D. The Canadians were beaten in the playoffs last season in Madrid, which meant they were unable to retain core SVNS Series status.

In the women’s competition, South Africa will begin their quest to return to the SVNS Series when they come up against Czechia and Hong Kong China in Pool A. Argentina, who were good enough to make the playoffs last time, will face Thailand and Mexico in Pool B.

Pool C will see Belgium face Uganda and Colombia, while the fourth group on the women’s side of the draw will see Samoa take on Kenya and Poland in Pool D. Every match is going to matter as these 12 teams look to finish in the top eight overall before the third round.

The top eight sides in both men’s and women’s Challenger Sevens after the second leg in Cape Town will book their place in the third round at Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium.

After the round three event, the top four ranked teams will progress to the HSBC SVNS Play Off at Los Angeles’ Dignity Health Sports Park on May 3-4. These teams will face the bottom four-ranked sides from the SVNS Series in a bid to earn core status for 2025/26.

Action at Athlone Stadium will begin at 10:00 am local time (GMT +2) on Saturday 1 March. The women’s final will be held at 7:23 pm on Sunday, while the men’s decider will kick off at 7:54 pm.