Van Wyk and Naduvalo share MVP lead ahead of World Championship Series

RugbyPass SVNS Series writers will review each tournament this season with their MVP votes. Finn Morton, Joe Harvey and Nick Wasiliev weigh in with 3-2-1 votes towards the RugbyPass Men’s and Women’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard.

Blitzboks flyer Shilton van Wyk is no longer the outright leader in the race to become the inaugural RugbyPass Men’s SVNS Series MVP, with Fiji’s try-scoring phenomenon Viwa Naduvalo earning a couple of votes at the recent event in New York.

Naduvalo was considered the form player in men’s rugby sevens after last month’s stop at Perth’s HBF Park, before van Wyk inspired the Blitzboks to yet another title. South Africa stormed home to win SVNS Vancouver, which was their third trophy this season.

South Africa’s title-winning heroics in the Great White North set up a grandstand finish ahead of the last event of the regular season. The Men’s SVNS 1 champion would be determined at Sports Illustrated Stadium, with South Africa and Fiji the only teams in realistic contention.

Fiji dropped the first match of SVNS New York to a much-improved Argentina outfit, with Marcos Moneta setting the tone with an early runaway try. Meanwhile, South Africa started their campaign with an emphatic win over traditional rivals New Zealand.

The Blitzboks would go on to start their campaign 2-0, which saw them secure a place in the semi-finals despite a defeat to Australia late on day one. For Fiji to remain in the SVNS 1 title fight, they needed to win their final two matches in pool play.

Naduvalo inspired a remarkable comeback win over Great Britain, before Douglas Deveta scored a hat-trick in a 43-12 demolition of Spain. That was enough to see the Fijians through to the final four, where they proved too good for a confident Australia side 28-7.

With South Africa beating Argentina 14-5 to secure a place in the big dance, both the SVNS New York and SVNS 1 titles would come down to the final match of the regular season. Gino Cupido and Tristan Leyds struck for South Africa, but Fiji mounted a late fightback.

Terio Veilawa hit back for the Fijians, who needed another score to take the lead. Fiji had the ball inside the red zone with less than one minute to play, but replacement Kavekini Tanivanuakula knocked the ball on with mere seconds left.

South Africa held on for the New York title, which saw them become the SNVS Series Winners for the 2025/26 season. The Blitzboks are the reigning overall SVNS Series champions and will take plenty of confidence into the upcoming World Championship Series.

Selvyn Davids was named the Player of the Final, and the playmaker was recognised with six votes from a maximum of nine from RugbyPass SVNS Series writers. Fellow Blitzbok Leyds also scored well, clocking in with a vote each from Finn Morton and Joe Harvey.

Van Wyk and Naduvalo share top spot with 21 votes, while Veilawa (13) and Leyds (11) round out the top four. Argentina’s Luciano Gonzalez stole the show in Cape Town last December, holding equal-fifth along with Blitzboks veteran Ryan Oosthuizen.

There’s more SVNS Series action to look forward to this season, with the new-look three-leg World Championship Series getting underway in Hong Kong China on April 17-19. Valladolid on May 29-31 and Bordeaux on 5-7 will host the other legs to determine the champion.

RugbyPass SVNS Series MVP 3-2-1 votes – New York

Finn Morton

Men: Selvyn Davids (South Africa), Terio Veilawa (Fiji), Tristan Leyds (South Africa)

Women: Kelsey Teneti (New Zealand), Teagan Levi (Australia), Jorja Miller (New Zealand)

Joe Harvey

Men: Selvyn Davids (South Africa), Viwa Naduvalo (Fiji), Tristan Leyds (South Africa)

Women: Kelsey Teneti (New Zealand), Teagan Levi (Australia), Risi Pouri-Lane (New Zealand)

Nick Wasiliev

Men: Tristan Leyds (South Africa), Terio Veilawa (Fiji), Wallace Charlie (Australia)

Women: Kelsey Teneti (New Zealand), Teagan Levi (Australia), Kaylen Thomas (USA)

RugbyPass Men’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard

Shilton van Wyk (South Africa), Viwa Naduvalo (Fiji) – 21 votes

Terio Veilawa (Fiji) – 13 votes

Tristan Leyds (South Africa) – 11 votes

Luciano Gonzalez (Argentina), Ryan Oosthuizen (South Africa) – 9 votes

Akuila Rokolisoa (New Zealand) – 8 votes

Brady Rush (New Zealand), Selvyn Davids (South Africa) – 6 votes

Dietrich Roache (Australia), Paulin Riva (France), Ricardo Duarttee (South Africa), Eduardo Lopez (Spain), Wallace Charlie (Australia) – 4 votes

Donovan Don (South Africa) – 3 votes

Nacani Boginisoko (Fiji), Kele Lasaqa (New Zealand) – 2 votes

Pilipo Bukayaro (Fiji), Marcos Moneta (Argentina), Andy Timo (France), Rob Rush (New Zealand), Ben Dowling (Australia), Henry Hutchison (Australia), Jeremy Trevithick (Spain) – 1 vote

RugbyPass Women’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard

Jorja Miller (New Zealand) – 43 votes

Kelsey Teneti (New Zealand) – 26 votes

Maddison Levi (Australia) – 22 votes

Isabella Nasser (Australia) – 11 votes

Teagan Levi (Australia) – 9 votes

Risi Pouri-Lane (New Zealand) – 5 votes

Jazmin Felix-Hotham (New Zealand), Olivia Apps (Canada)  – 4 votes

Madison Ashby (Australia), Kaylen Thomas (USA) – 3 votes

Mahina Paul (New Zealand) – 2 votes

Hanako Utsumi (Japan), Reapi Ulunisau (Fiji), Maya Stewart (Australia), Tia Hinds (Australia), Jaymie Kolose (New Zealand), Su Adegoke (USA)  – 1 vote