SVNS Watch: The sevens stars making their mark in Currie Cup, NPC and more

With all eyes in Sevens starting to turn towards the forthcoming inaugural season of Ultimate Sevens, it is easy to forget that stars are already in action worldwide this weekend.

With sevens stars in abundance in the National Provincial Championship in New Zealand and the Currie Cup in South Africa, there are also several regional competitions getting into action this weekend, with a final taking place in Japan.

RugbyPass dives into the weekend’s rugby action, and where you can catch the biggest stars of the SVNS Series.

Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens

Starting off in Japan, the 2026 Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens reaches it’s conclusion this weekend as the final will play out at at the Daiwa House Premist Dome in Sapporo.

Defending champions Nagato Blue Angels are favourites to win the tournament after topping the ladder, with Aussie 7s star Mackenzie Davis winning the 2026 Taiyo Seimei Women’s Sevens Most Valuable Player award.

Complemented in the side by the likes of fellow Australians Amahlia Hala and Kahli Henwood, Fiji’s Ana Naimasi, Chinese Olympian Chen Keyi, and Brazil’s star Bianca Silva, the Blue Angels will be hard to stop, even despite the abundance of talent also present in the other national sides.

Mie Pearls, Nippon Sport Science University and Nanairo Prism Fukuoka loom as the biggest challengers to the Blue Angels, with the Pearls alone featuring Aussie Heidi Dennis, GB 7s star Ellie Boatman, and Canada’s Monique Coffey among other stars from Brazil and Japan.

With a promotion and relegation tournament also taking place for the bottom four sides in the tournament, Sapporo will likely enjoy plenty of excellent sevens action to bring the curtain down on the Japanese sevens season.

Kenya National Sevens Circuit

Meanwhile in Kenya, the National Sevens Circuit, featuring an abundance of Kenyan sevens stats including George Ooro and Patrick Odongo is heating up following several surprise results in the second weekend at the Dala 7s.

Defending champions KCB, who won the first leg at the end of July, endured a difficult weekend, going down to Kenya Harlequins 14-12 in the quarterfinals, sustaining two red cards and finishing the match with five players.

The result saw the side drop down to second place on the overall table, with eventual Dala 7s champions Kabras Sugar climbing to the top.

The competition will recommence this weekend for the third round at the Kabeberi 7s, with KCB and Kabras Sugar drawn in the same pool and set to battle it out for the top of the table.

National Provincial Championship

After an exhilarating opening weekend of the Hilux NPC, several key sevens players are set to back up promising starts to the tournament this year as the competition settles into the weekly grind.

Sam Clarke has retained his position at flyhalf for Taranaki, following their 20-5 win over Counties Manukau, which saw him score a try and serve as kicker. He will once again former All Blacks Sevens star Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens after a successful combination last week.

Their opponents in Waikato will utilise Sevens alumni Oli Mathis off the bench, the loose forward picking up a try in last week’s 38-26 win over Bay of Plenty.

Auckland will face Wellington in a North Island heavyweight contest, with Che Clark retaining his starting position and being joined by Payton Spencer, who has been elevated to the starting side.

The Steamers, meanwhile, will also retain Olympic and Commonwealth Games medalist Joe Webber for their match against Northland, the visitors utilising veteran Brady Rush on the wing as they look to back up their big win over Manawatu.

Tongan sevens alumni Kyren Taumoefolau will start on the wing for Tasman as they look to go two-from-two against Hawke’s Bay.

The South Island derby, marking the first Ranfurly Shield clash of the year, will feature an abundance to sevens talent, with Olympic and Commonwealth Games medalist Andrew Knewstubb moving back to the bench for the clash at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

They will face sevens alumni Jona Nareki, as Otago will look to back up their impressive win over Southland.

Lastly, Michael Manson and Scott Gregory will also retain their starting positions on the right wing and inside centre respectively for Southland, as the side looks to bounce back against the Turbos in the final match of the weekend.

Currie Cup

Finishing up, domestic rugby in South Africa is about to be shaken up significantly, with the arrival of the All Blacks for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour starting against the Stormers on Friday.

The third week of action in the Currie Cup will continue in the background, with a top of the table clash between the Lions and Griquas taking place in Kimberley, with the hosts featuring sevens alumni Gurshwin Wehr on the wing, while Commonwealth Games gold medalist Sako Marata will be injected off the bench.

The Pumas will also make use of sevens talent when they travel to Loftus Versfeld to take on the Blue Bulls, with utility Darren Adonis who has been in and out of the sevens format since his 2022 debut, likely to feature after being named on the bench last week in their win over Boland Cavaliers.

Lastly, the Sharks will look to claim their second win of the season when they welcome the Cavaliers, with current Blitzbok and Springbok U20 champion Luan Giliomee named to start at fullback.

He’ll be well supported in the back three by Olympic medalist Christie Grobbelaar, who will start on the wing and complete an imposing line up.