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SVNS World Championship: How things stand after Hong Kong Sevens
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Spain are well and truly in the race for the HSBC SVNS World Championship title ahead of their home event in Valladolid from May 29 to 31, but regular season front-runners South Africa remain the team to beat after a historic effort at the Hong Kong Sevens.
Following the six-event regular season, the ladder effectively reset for the new-look three-stop World Championship Series. Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux will all host the best 12 teams in men’s and women’s sevens, with more than just the overall title on the line.
With the four best teams out of the second division qualifying for the World Championship, these three tournaments will determine who competes in SVNS 1. Whoever places in the top eight will play in the first division, while the other four sides will need to work their way back up.
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Now, there are exceptions. South Africa were crowned SVNS 1 champions are taking out four of the six regular season events. They are exempt from a potential relegation battle, although that seems unlikely anyway after their title-winning heroics in Hong Kong China.
As things stand after the Hong Kong Sevens, Kenya would earn promotion to the top flight, if the standings didn’t change at all. Kenya currently occupy seventh place, while Olympic champions France round out the top eight.
Uruguay, Germany and the USA are currently ranked in the bottom four, along with SVNS 1 outfit Great Britain. GB claimed wins over the All Blacks Sevens and Fiji earlier this season but are now ranked 10th on the ladder, after a 26-14 defeat to Urugay at Kai Tak Sprts Park.
Australia went through pool play with an unbeaten 3-0 record at the Hong Kong Sevens, but were knocked out of the title race by Spain in the quarter-finals. The men in gold are sixth, while Fiji and New Zealand are ranked above them, but still not on the podium.
SVNS Valladolid hosts Spain secured their second-best finish of 2025/26 at the Hong Kong Sevens, having made one Cup Final during the regular season. Spain overcame the All Blacks Sevens in the battle for third-place on Sunday evening.
Spain fell to South Africa in last season’s World Championship decider, which was a one-off winner-takes-all event at Los Angeles’s Dignity Health Sports Park. They had finished the 2024/25 regular season in third-place on the ladder as well.
But South Africa and Argentina are the top two sides on the standings, ahead of the final two stops of the season. The Blitzboks were a force to be reckoned with during SVNS 1 and it seems that has carried into the World Championship Series as well.
The Blitzboks suffered a shock loss to Spain on the first day of the Hong Kong Sevens, but booked their place in the quarter-finals with a statement 38-0 win over a six-man Argentina. That was a sign of things to come.
South Africa beat traditional rivals New Zealand to make the big dance, as they searched for their first-ever title at the Hong Kong Sevens. Tristan Leyds was involved in everything, while Selvyn Davids was also prolific in the emphatic 35-7 victory.
The Blitzboks have taken a step towards the World Championship title, but there’s still plenty of rugby to be played in Valladolid and Bordeaux over the next six weeks. Argentina and Spain are other notable contenders, but it’s still very much anyone’s race to be won.
Men’s HSBC SVNS World Championship standings
After Hong Kong Sevens
South Africa – 20 (points)
Argentina – 18
Spain – 16
New Zealand – 14
Fiji – 12
Australia – 10
Kenya – 8
France – 6
Uruguay – 4
Great Britain – 3
Germany – 2
USA – 1
