Black Ferns Sevens Claim 4th Straight Title and BlitzBoks Win the Vancouver SVNS 2026

The NZ Black Ferns Sevens maintained their unbeaten record at BC Place by winning for the 4th year in a row on a weekend in which Jorja Miller won Player of the Final and scored her 100th HSBC SVNS Series try, while the Blitzboks followed up their win in Perth to claim the title at the Vancouver SVNS.

New Zealand extended their lead over Australia in the HSBC SVNS Series standings to eight points, after beating them 24-17 in the final, and captain Risi Pouri-Lane said, “The biggest thing for us is that you can never get complacent and there are always things you can work on and get better at. They make a big difference in the long run.”

USA beat France in the third-place play-off 35-21 to end a nine-tournament wait for a podium finish. Canada finished fifth after beating the Sakura 7s after the hooter in the 5th place sefminal and went on to beat Fiji 26-19. Japan ended seventh after defeating Great Britain.

Photo Credit – World Rugby – HSBC Vancouver SVNS 2026 Players of the Final (Jorja Miller – NZ & Tristan Leyds – SA)

The South African men are now joint-top of the men’s standings, level on points with Fiji after they went unbeaten across the weekend to claim their first win in Canada since it was held in Edmonton in 2021. Fiji were third in Vancouver after beating Australia 29-10 to bronze.

Tristan Leyds was the Player of the Vancouver SVNS Final as South Africa beat Spain 38-12, and Blitzboks captain Impi Visser said, “It’s an amazing feeling. Sometimes we take it for granted, but it’s an amazing feeling, and we’re really grateful for it. We’ve had a lot of changes, six from Perth to now, and the thing we said we want to build is consistency. I think we’ve shown that through and through. We just need to keep up this momentum going into New York.”

Springbok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman added, “Our search for consistency is very important in our vision to become the best sevens system in the world and that starts at home. We aim to bring consistency into our training sessions as well, because that will flow over to tournaments and I am happy to see that happened here in Vancouver.”

The Fiji men have been consistent and made it five podium finishes in five HSBC SVNS Series tournaments this season and are level with the Blitzboks on 86 points, with NZ and Australia in third and fourth.

The sides that finishes top of the standings heading into the three-tournament World Championship series will be exempt from relegation to HSBC SVNS 2. The final leg of the regular HSBC SVNS Series takes place in New Jersey next weekend.

Sakura 7s 2026 Struggles Continue

The Sakura 7s started the season on a high note in Dubai and in Cape Town, but they have struggled against the top sides since then. 

Japan 0-22 France

Japan has faced the French 21 times and only won twice before this loss, the most recent of which was in LA last year. France were the favourites and had won on average 31-10 against the Sakura 7s and ran out comfortable winners.

Japan 5-43 NZ 

Japan are still yet to beat the Black Ferns, who have now won all 23 encounters, and they had an average winning score of 37-6 before this victory. 

The Black Ferns were 24-0 ahead at halftime. Hazuki Ouchida scored late in the game for Japan.

Japan 31-7 GB 

The Sakura 7s had the edge over GB and had won 9 of the previous 14 matches, and this win made it 5 in a row over GB. 

There were 5 tries scored by the Sakura 7s as they comfortably won, while GB player (one of four debutants for them this weekend), Amy Williams, scored her first try.

Japan 12-19 Canada 5th Place SF

The Sakura 7s pushed the hosts all the way, and the match was tied up at 12-12 after the hooter, but a late try for Charity Williams (who played last season in Japan’s domestic 7s with Tokyo Sankyu Phoenix) scored the winner in the 16th minute.

Japan Try Scorers: Honoka Tsutsumi (4′), Michiyo Suda (13′)

Japan 34-19 GB 7th Place Final

Japan has already beaten GB in pool play 31-7 to extend their consecutive wins over the team to 5, and beat them again to 7th place after leading 17-5 at halftime.

There were 6 tries scored in total for the Sakura 7s, and all by different players.

Japan Try Scorers: Haruna Konishi (3′), Minako Taniyama (5′), Himawari Matsuda (8′), Mayu Yoshino (8′), Hazuki Ouchida (11′), Shiori Okyudo (15′)

You can see all of the results from the HSBC Vancouver SVNS here.

What The Sakura 7s Said – Vancouver SVNS 2026

Yuka Kanematsu, Japan’s Head Coach, said after the tournament: “Although we did not achieve our goals of making it to the top four and breaking through in this tournament, we were able to demonstrate the results of our efforts during our domestic training camps in many areas. On the other hand, we were once again made painfully aware of the challenges we face.”

Shiori Okudo made her debut in Vancouver and said, “Personally, I am very happy to have earned my first cap on such a big stage as the World Series. In the end, it was a disappointing tournament. There were many times when I was unable to play as I wanted in a world-class match, but it was a valuable experience that allowed me to become aware of and face my own challenges.”

Teck Tri-Nations Challenge 2026 Results

The Japanese men also played the Teck Tri-Nations Challenge 2026, and these were the results:

Day#1

• Japan vs Chile (Try scorers: Tsuoka x2, Shirakuni, Nakano)
  Canada 28-26 Japan (Try scorers: Tokito, Koga, Tsuoka, Yamato)
• Canada 7-0 Chile

Day#2

• Japan 10-12 Chile (Try scorers: Koga)
• Canada 10-12 Chile
• Canada 31-7 Japan (Try scorers: Tokito)

Rugby Sevens News 2026

• 2026 Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens – Fan’s Guide On What You Need To Know.
• Melrose Claymores Teams for Cathay / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2026 Confirmed.
• Emirates 7’s Asia Rugby Clubs Cup Launched – How Did it Come About and Will it Succeed?
• Kyushu Women’s Sevens – Nanairo Cup Kitakyushu 2026 Teams Confirmed.