Australia Paints Valladolid in Gold – HSBC SVNS World Championship Series 2026

Both the Australian Women and Men won gold at the second HSBC SVNS World Championship Series Valladolid 2026. This sets up the final leg next week in Bordeaux, with the overall winners and teams vying for the top 8 to stay on the core SVNS 1 will be determined. It was the first joint Australian win since 2018.

Photo Credit – World Rugby

SVNS World Championship 2026 Women’s Series

The Australian women overcame their pool phase loss to USA and the loss of Maddi Levi to injury to defeat New Zealand in the semifinals and then the USA in the Cup final, which means they now sit at the top of the HSBC SVNS World Championship table.

Faith Nathan and player of the final, Heidi Dennis, both scored twice in the final to win 27-14 in the showpiece match. Dennis also made two outstanding try-saving tackles. They have now won the past three tournaments in Spain – in 2022, 2024 and 2026.

It was also the first Women’s Cup final that didn’t feature New Zealand and Australia all season and in ten tournaments in total.

Captain Isabella Nasser said, “Obviously, the job’s not done.. We’ve got next week in Bordeaux to do, so [we have to] recover hard, train hard in the week and then hopefully put on a good performance next week.”

The Black Ferns Sevens finished third, as Kelsey Teneti scored five of their eight tries in a dominant 50-14 win over Canada. The results in Spain mean that Australia, USA and New Zealand will retain their places on the main HSBC SVNS Series next season.

Japan finished 6th overall and again showed little progress this year, defeating the teams ranked below them (Brazil and Argentina) but losing to NZ, Canada, and France.

Brazil, Argentina, GB, and South Africa currently sit in the bottom four – only the top 8 sides will secure core-level status next season.

Springbok Women’s Sevens coach Cecil Afrika said of their 9th place finish, “It was pleasing to finish with wins over Argentina and Brazil and coming so close against Fiji. We want to be in playing amongst the top eight sides, and there is no reason why we cannot keep improving next weekend.”

SVNS World Championship 2026 Men’s Series

In the men’s final, Australia came back from being 14-0 down against the Series leaders, South Africa,, and ran out 26-19 winners. The Blitzboks thought they had done enough to square the game, but TMO intervention, rightfully, ruled out the final try for the final move.

James Turner was excellent all weekend, as was Henry Hutchison, and both scored in the final win. They also beat South Africa in pool play.

Player of the final, Hutchison said, “I feel like the group is in a really good place. We know we’re not consistently the best in the world, but we’re knocking at the door, and that’s where we want to be at the moment. It’s a huge amount of growth from last season and during this season – the challenge for us is to now continue that growth northwards.”

Springbok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman was adamant that the Blitzboks were their own worst enemies in the HSBC SVNS Valladolid final. Uncharacteristically, they missed 12 tackles in the opening half. They also only scored 12 tries in total, which was the least they had scored to reach a final.

“Australia were deserved winners. They used their opportunities better in the final and deserved the win – they played very good rugby all tournament long…..Playing in six consecutive finals is great, but this one was not our best, so we need to come back stronger.”

Argentina (runners-up in Hong Kong) beat Fiji 28-17 in the third-place play-off.

Australia, South Africa and Argentina have all confirmed to be among the top eight available places on the main HSBC SVNS Series next season. Uruguay, Germany, USA and GB are in the bottom four.

All of the results can be seen here.

Both finals had national anthems cut short (for the USA women and SA men), forcing the players to complete the anthems on their own – let’s hope that does not happen in France next weekend.

Japan Sakura 7s – 6th Place Finish and Little Progress

Japan’s Head Coach, Yuka Kanematsu, said via the JRFU, “In the heat that far exceeded our imagination, I am proud of the dedicated support from our backup members and staff, and of the 13 players who ran until the very end of every match.

From the second day onward, we had a series of matches where we couldn’t fully execute what we had prepared for the full 14 minutes, but regardless of the opponent or our ranking, we want to carry our attitude of fighting to the very end in each and every match into the Bordeaux tournament.”

Captain Suda added, “On the first day of the tournament, we were able to control the pace of the game and secure a victory. However, in the matches from the quarterfinals onward, we struggled to regain possession of the ball, and I felt we didn’t have enough time to play our own style of rugby.”

Sakura 7s Results:

• Japan 24-7 Brazil
• Japan 33-10 Argentina
• Japan 14-47 NZ
• Cup QF Japan 5-40 Canada
• 5th Place SF Japan 12-29 France

Photo Credit – World Rugby

Sevens Rugby News 2026

• HSBC SVNS World Championship Series Valladolid 2026 Preview.
• South African Men Secure First Ever Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong 7s Title.
• HSBC Rugby Premier League Season 2 Adds Four Women’s Franchises: Squad Previews.
• Ultimate Sevens Confirms Teams.