World Championship contenders stay perfect ahead of Bordeaux day two

HSBC SVNS World Championship leaders Australia are a little bit closer to claiming the circuit’s top prize, going through day one without a loss in Bordeaux. But there’s still plenty of sevens to be played in northwestern France, with four other contenders yet to drop a game. 

Australia defeated the USA 27-14 in the SVNS Valladolid Cup Final last weekend, seeing them take top spot on the overall standings. The Aussies enter the season finale on 38 competition points, while New Zealand are in second with 36. 

With 20 competition points awarded to the winner at each World Championship stop, it’s all on the line over the next few days. Both teams have flown through the first day with a flawless 2-0 record, which sets the scene for a seismic day of SVNS on Saturday. 

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New Zealand holds top spot in Pool A after powering to big wins over Argentina 49-5 and South Africa 42-0. Manaia Nuku crossed for three tries across the two matches, while Paris Olympics gold medalists Jazmin Felix-Hotham and Jorja Miller also made an impact. 

“It’s just going back to our basics. I think we overplayed our game last week,” Nuku told RugbyPass in Bordeaux. 

“Big focus for us is just getting our core role and then also just reconnecting with everyone… after that loss, obviously it hurts. But after a week of reconnecting, I think we’re going into this tournament a lot stronger and with a lot more cohesion. 

“Obviously we always want to win and that’s always going to be in the back of our minds but we’re just trying to take it one game at a time and really make sure we’re putting our best foot forward for each game. 

“Every team out there deserves our best and that’s all we’re going to focus on.” 

The Black Ferns Sevens take on home side France in their final pool match of the season, with that game set to get underway at 2:38 pm local time on Saturday. France are vying for top spot in Pool A after beating South Africa 22-7 and Argentina by 17. 

World Championship front-runners Australia worked hard for their unbeaten record, including a tense victory against Fiji. Fiji had plenty of ball in Australia’s half during the second term, but failed to make those opportunities count as they went down swinging 19-7. 

Australia started their campaign at Stade Atlantique with a relentless 45-7 blitz against Brazil, with six try-scorers crossing the line. Brazil actually touched down for the opener inside the first 30 second before the Aussies went on a 45-0 run. 

“Any team here can win. The boys always say it, every team’s unreal, they’re elite,” Australia co-captain Madison Ashby told RugbyPass in Bordeaux, following the title win in Valladolid last weekend. 

“To go back-to-back, that’s our goal. Obviously no team likes to lose, we like winning and I hope that’s what we’re going to do this weekend.” 

The battle for top spot in Pool C will come down to the final round of the group stage, with the USA and Canada set to renew their sevens rivalry at 1:10 pm local time. Canada are currently second on the pool standings, with a slightly worse points differential compared to their rival. 

Charity Williams ran in a hat-trick of tries as Canada defeated Great Britain 35-14, building on a 21-point lead at the break. That Canadians had kicked things off earlier on day one with a 14-12 win against Spain, with Williams scoring one in that match as well.

Women’s HSBC SVNS Bordeaux results: Day One

Pool A

France 22–7 South Africa

New Zealand 49–5 Argentina

New Zealand 42–0 South Africa

France 27–10 Argentina

Pool B

Fiji 24–12 Japan

Australia 45–7 Brazil

Japan 29–14 Brazil

Australia 19–7 Fiji

Pool C

Canada 14–12 Spain

USA 31–7 Great Britain

Canada 35–14 Great Britain

USA 19–15 Spain