SVNS Vancouver: All Blacks Sevens draw Great Britain after Perth upset

Great Britain will have a chance to repeat some headline-grabbing heroics when the HSBC SVNS Series heads to Vancouver on March 7 to 8, drawn alongside the All Blacks Sevens in Pool A for the event at BC Place.

Finley Lloyd-Gilmour stole the show with a hat-trick of tries in Great Britain’s shock 26-19 upset over the All Blacks Sevens in Perth, giving the team a real chance to qualify for the semi-finals at HBF Park.

Great Britain were through to the final four on the live ladder with less than one minute remaining in their last pool-stage match against Australia on day one, but a spectacular Hadley Tonga try saw Australia claim a remarkable 24-21 comeback win.

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Tonga’s try saw the Australians go through the opening day with an unbeaten 3-0 record at their home event, and it was also enough for the All Blacks Sevens to progress. Those two sides met in the third-place playoff, with the Aussies winning a thriller 12-10.

South Africa claimed their second title of the season with a two-point triumph over Fiji, with a Ricardo Duarttee conversion ultimately proving the difference. They will look to secure back-to-back titles when the circuit heads to Vancouver.

“Very happy with that performance,” South Africa’s Ryan Oosthuizen said after being named the Player of the Final in Perth.

“Playing against Fiji, it’s always a battle. We always expect a war against them and today they definitely delivered.

“I’m super proud of my team. I think we fought for one another and that’s the Blitzboks standard we set for each other.”

The Blitzboks will renew their fierce rivalry with the All Blacks Sevens in Pool A, as well as Spain and Great Britain. New Zealand beat South Africa in a tense third-place playoff at SVNS Singapore earlier this month.

This pool draw presents the All Blacks Sevens with an opportunity to bounce back against Great Britain, in what will be one of the must-watch games of the weekend. Spain are not to be taken lightly either, with Jeremy Trevithick the second-top try-scorer this season.

In the other group, Fiji are joined by an improving Australia outfit, two-time reigning League Winners Argentina, and Olympic champions France. Australia went through day one in Perth with a perfect 3-0 record before falling to South Africa in the semi-finals.

Argentina made the Cup Final at SVNS Cape Town last December but have otherwise failed to make the final four at the other events. Marcos Moneta and Luciano Gonzalez were among the standouts when Los Pumas Sevens made the big dance at DHL Stadium.

Then there’s France, who have been one of the most consistent sides on the SVNS Series this season. Les Blues Sevens made the semi-finals at the first three stops of the season, including the Cup Final in Singapore, before that streak came to an end in Perth.

In women’s sevens, SVNS Series leaders New Zealand will take on France, Japan and Great Britain in Pool A. The Black Ferns Sevens have secured titles in Dubai, Singapore and Perth this season, and are the defending champions at Vancouver’s BC Place.

After losing the Cup Final on home soil, Australia turn their focus to the penultimate round of the SNVS 1 campaign. They are in Pool B with recent semi-finalists the USA and Canada, while Fiji rounds out a highly competitive group.