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What to watch in women’s rugby: SVNS set for lift-off
It is another busy weekend on RugbyPass TV as HSBC SVNS 2025 gets underway and Premiership Women’s Rugby continues in Sale.
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Olympic champions New Zealand, defending SVNS Championship winners Australia and Paris 2024 medallists Canada and USA are among the 12 teams lining up on the SVNS start line in Dubai. Try machine Maddison Levi will hope to continue where she left off last season but there will also be a number of new faces looking to impress in the desert.
Something will have to give on Sunday, meanwhile, as the two remaining winless teams in the PWR meet at Salford Community Stadium with vital points up for grabs. Will it be Sale Sharks or Leicester Tigers celebrating a first victory of the season?
You can watch all the action from Dubai and Salford live and for free via RugbyPass TV.
Dubai hosts SVNS opener
A little over four months after New Zealand stormed to their second Olympic gold medal on a memorable night in Paris, the international sevens circuit starts up again in Dubai this weekend.
Some of the names and faces may have changed in the meantime but HSBC SVNS 2025 promises to be as thrilling as ever.
The new season will get underway at The Sevens Stadium at 09:00 local time on Saturday with the Black Ferns Sevens, reigning SVNS League Winners as well as Olympic champions, again among the teams to beat.
Cory Sweeney will be without Michaela Blyde, Jorja Miller, Shiray Kaka and Stacey Waaka in Dubai but his squad has been boosted by the inclusion of 15s star Katelyn Vahaakolo.
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Winger Vahaakolo, who has scored 19 tries in only 14 Tests for the Black Ferns, is one of three New Zealanders set to make their series debut this weekend, along with Justine McGregor and Oliver Watherston.
The Black Ferns Sevens face Brazil in the first match on pitch 2 and will also play Canada – who they pipped to gold at Paris 2024 – and Japan in Pool C.
Defending Dubai champions Australia, meanwhile, won the Championship in Madrid in June having finished second in the regular season and will want to put their Olympic disappointment firmly behind them.
World Rugby Women’s Sevens Player of the Year Maddison Levi is part of a stacked squad in Dubai that will be led by a new captain in Isabella Nasser, while Demi Hayes is back from injury.
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They open up against China on Saturday and will then take on Ireland and Fiji at The Sevens Stadium.
Ireland also have a settled squad, with World Rugby Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year Erin King and Aimee Leigh Murphy Crowe back in the sevens mix.
Pool B looks like it could be the toughest to call as France and USA, without the likes of Ilona Maher and Alev Kelter, look to qualify at the expense of Great Britain and Spain.
Great Britain will be playing their first tournament under new head coach Giselle Mather, and their cause has been boosted by the inclusion of a couple of PWR flyers, Vicky Laflin and Reneeqa Bonner.
You can find out how they get on live and for free via RugbyPass TV, except in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South America and the Middle East.
Saturday, November 30
04:55 GMT – HSBC SVNS Dubai, The Sevens Stadium, Pitch 1 – WATCH LIVE HERE
04:55 GMT – HSBC SVNS Dubai, The Sevens Stadium, Pitch 2 – WATCH LIVE HERE
Sunday, December 1
05:15 GMT – HSBC SVNS Dubai, The Sevens Stadium, Pitch 1 – WATCH LIVE HERE
08:58 GMT – HSBC SVNS Dubai, The Sevens Stadium, Pitch 2 – WATCH LIVE HERE
Hungry Sharks host Tigers
The PWR’s bottom two meet at Salford Community Stadium this Sunday, and both Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers will be determined to pick up their first win of the season in front of the cameras.
It has been a trying start to the season for the two teams, who have just one point combined to show from their six matches so far.
That bonus point is what separates Leicester in eighth from basement club Sale, but both sides will be keen to bare their teeth in what is the first match of a double header with their male counterparts.
Certainly, there have been signs of late to excite both head coaches and Sale boss Rachel Taylor took heart from her side’s 29-14 defeat to league leaders Exeter Chiefs last weekend.
She has spent this week attempting to help her players “ride the emotional roller coaster” of preparing to play at Salford Community Stadium in a match they could realistically win.
“For us, it’s as normal a week as we can make it. Obviously, Friday we will go to the stadium so there will be an energy spike there,” Taylor said.
“Of course they’ll be excited, to be there is brilliant. We’re constantly trying to champion to be on a televised game.
“So, to have that opportunity now, it’s one we just don’t want to let get past us.”
Despite the teams’ lowly position in the PWR table ahead of kick off, there is plenty of stardust sprinkled throughout the respective sides.
Not least in the centres, where Sale’s Italian international Beatrice Rigoni looks set to go up against England star Meg Jones.
“They’ve got a few superstars, as have we, who raise their game in the big games. So, I think that’s really exciting on both sides,” Taylor added.
“To see some of those guys get to go head-to-head is pretty exciting and for them to be doing it on the big stage in a big stadium, it’s what we all want.”
Find out who comes out on top in Salford live and for free via RugbyPass TV, except in the UK, Ireland, USA and Canada.
Sunday, December 1
12:00 GMT – Sale Sharks v Leicester Tigers, Salford Community Stadium – WATCH LIVE HERE
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