World-class Nasser chasing breakthrough Singapore title, hints at RWC 2029 tilt

With their New Zealand hoodoo busted, Australian co-captain Bella Nasser has her eyes firmly fixed on breaking another duck when the SVNS Series resumes this week.

The Aussie women bounced back from a Cup Final loss to the Black Fern Sevens in Dubai – ending a six-year reign in the desert – to clinch an emphatic title in Cape Town and their first victory over the Kiwis since winning the 2025 Perth title.

Nasser’s golden girls now head to Singapore full of confidence and primed to lift their maiden title at the National Stadium after finishing runners up to New Zealand in 2024 and 2025.

“I think we’ve taken a lot of learnings from those first two tournaments. The new set-up of the series with eight teams is really competitive, it’s exciting and challenging for us and we can’t switch off at all, especially in the pools,” Nasser told RugbyPass.

“It really hurt when we went down to New Zealand in Dubai but I think we learned from that final and that tournament and it’s put us in good stead going forward.

“Cape Town was big for us – looking back at 2025, we won the first and last tournaments there – so winning there was a nice way to end that New Zealand streak.

“Singapore is probably one of my favourite stops on the Series too, it’s hot and humid, the atmosphere is lovely and we’re really looking forward to it.”

Nasser has been one of the stars of Australia’s opening two tournaments and sits equal second with Maddi Levi (11 votes) behind Jorja Miller (14 votes) on the RugbyPass SVNS MVP leaderboard after polling 11 of a possible 12 votes in Cape Town.

Nasser’s best-on-ground performance in their 26-12 Cup Final win included a try and two turnovers however the Aussie skipper was quick to credit success to her squad’s growing depth and returning stars.

“I’m constantly so impressed with our squad. It’s so competitive, we’ve been training really and we hold our standards high,” Nasser said.

“We all get along really well but it’s always business time on the field and we know whichever 13 are responsible will do their job.

“I’m really proud of the way Maddi Ashby has come back from her injury so well – she’s playing with heaps of confidence in her role as co-captain – and really impressed with the way our young guns have gone too.

“Amahli Hala made her debut in Hong Kong last year and she’s already making her way through in the halves so we’re pretty excited about this group.”

Nasser also left the door open for a return to 15-a-side rugby after making her Super Rugby Women’s debut in 2025 but told RugbyPass her immediate focus was on the SVNS Series.

“I’m a Queensland girl – I loved playing for the Reds, I would love going back and playing for them down the track, and I would absolutely love to potentially play for Australia in 2029 at a home Rugby World Cup.

“It’s definitely on the cards later on but right now my focus is here in sevens.”