South Africa claim SVNS Series title with thrilling win over Fiji

South Africa are the 2025/26 Men’s HSBC SVNS Series Winners, with the team’s defensive efforts seeing them hang on for a dramatic 10-7 win against Fiji in a tense SVNS New York Cup Final at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

Fiji and South Africa were level on the standings going into the final event of the SVNS 1 campaign, with the team that placed higher in New York set to wrap up the overall league prize. The SVNS 1 champions will be exempt from relegation during the upcoming World Championships.

The Fijians lost their opening match of the weekend to Argentina, but rallied with a comeback win over Great Britain and a statement against Spain. Meanwhile, South Africa were 2-0 in pool play before falling to Australia late on day one.

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Following two classic semi-finals, the stage was set for a winner-takes-all Cup Final between the two form sides in men’s sevens. In the end, it all came down to the final 10 seconds, as Fiji searched for a last-gasp match-winner.

South Africa had the first turn with the ball before Joseva Talacolo won a turnover at the breakdown inside the first minute. Fiji began to throw the ball around in trademark fashion, but the strength of Blitzboks captain Impi Visser was a difference-maker in this moment.

Visser powered through a breakdown before wrestling possession from Terio Veilawa’s grasp. The skipper then got a pass off to Gino Cupido, with the No. 35 racing away for his first try of the tournament at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

While the conversion missed the mark, the Blitzboks continued to play with the confidence of a side that knows how to win Cup Finals on the Series. Most the opening half was played in Fiji’s side of the field, with South Africa’s defensive pressure paying off.

Fiji had their best attacking opportunity with two minutes remaining in the half, as they built up multiple phases. They passed the ball significantly more than there opponents during the first half but were unable to reap the rewards of those efforts.

George Bose knocked the ball on, which saw the Blitzboks set up for a scrum in the dying stages before the break. Referee Peter Martin called a scrum penalty, but a knock-on at a breakdown would eventually bring a tense opening half to a close.

It was more of the same to start the second term, with the Blitzboks defending well to focus errors before executing in attack. Tristan Leyds crossed for a try in the ninth minute, but again the Boks couldn’t turn five into seven with the wayward conversion attempt.

But Fiji didn’t panic. The team coached by Olympic gold medallist Osea Kolinisau stuck to what has worked for them all season, let alone this weekend in New York, as they looked to create space with a flurry of passes and offloads.

Veilawa raced away for an important try in the 11^th minute, with the playmaker converting that effort to make it a one-score game. Fiji trailed by three points with about two minutes to play, eyeing another memorable on the SVNS Series in 2025/26.

Not only did the race for SVNS 1 glory come down to the Cup Final at the last regular season event of the campaign, it all came down to the last 10 seconds. Fiji were attacking inside South Africa’s 22, but a knock-on from replacement Kavekini Tanivanuakula was ultimately the defining play.

South Africa set up for one more scrum before an infringement against Fiji brought an end to the contest. Ronald Brown kicked the ball into the stands, bringing an epic Cup Final to an end, and so too the 2025/26 Men’s SVNS 1 season.

In the third-place playoff, Marcos Moneta and Sebastian Dubuc were among the try-scorers as Argentina claimed a 26-10 win over an in-form Australia side. Wallace Charlie and Pedro De Haro traded tries during the first half, before Los Pumas Sevens took control during the second term.

Moneta, Matteo Graziano and Dubuc all crossed for five-pointers before Australia had the final point-scoring say through Jayden Blake. France defeated the All Blacks Sevens 21-14 in the fifth-place play-off, and Spain defeated Great Britain 24-12 in the battle for seventh.