The New Zealand women and South African men were crowned HSBC SVNS 2025 world champions after taking the titles at the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles. The Japanese women finished 7th overall, and the Chinese women secured Division 2 status in the new format for the Series next season.
Feature Photo by Zach Franzen / World Rugby
The Black Ferns backed up their League title they won in Singapore and avenged being knocked out in the semifinal last year to claim the HSBC SVNS 2025 world champion title – with captain Sarah Hirini showing her emotions as she in one of the winning tries in the 31-7 win over rivals Australia.
Michaela Brake, who will be playing rugby league in NZ next season, finished tied with retired Tyla King on the Women’s all-time points list after scoring in the final.
Hirini said, “Man, that feels good. After the Olympic gold medal, we wanted to show we are a great team, and to us, that was winning the League and winning the [World Championship] Series, and we did it.”
Hirini, along with two teammates in the Black Ferns winning side, will head to Japan to take part in the domestic Sevens Series from June to August.
Sunny Lee from HKCR was the AR for the women’s final in LA.
New Zealand beat Australia 31–7 in the women’s Cup Final at the 2025 HSBC SVNS Los Angeles at Dignity Health Sports Park on May 4, 2025 in Carson, California. (Photo by Alex Ho / World Rugby)
South Africa claimed their fifth men’s Series title, and first since 2021, in beating a fantastic Spanish side 19-5. The Spanish had beaten NZ, Fiji and Argentina on the road to the final. Selvyn Davids was named HSBC Player of the Match and was one of three try scorers for the Blitzboks along with Mfundo Ndhlovu and Ricardo Duarte, but it was their defence which laid the foundation for the victory
South Africa Head Coach Philip Snyman commented: “The team never stopped believing. They played five phenomenal games and were unstoppable. This team can go places. I am very proud of them.”
South Africa men stand for the national anthem prior to the Cup Final at the 2025 HSBC SVNS Los Angeles at Dignity Health Sports Park on May 4, 2025 in Carson, California. (Photo by Alex Ho / World Rugby)
Canada beat hosts USA 27-7 for women’s bronze, and New Zealand beat SVNS league winners Argentina 38-17 to take men’s bronze
The Japanese Sakura 7s lost their pool games on the opening day but bounced back to beat France to claim 7th overall. The team were also awarded the Women’s Fair Play award, Minako Taniyama won the Women’s Try of the Year award, and Marin Kajiki was included in the Women’s Dream Team for the season!
- Japan 0-26 Canada
- Japan 7-50 NZ
- Japan 7-34 GB
- Japan 29-17 France – 7th place playoff
HSBC SVNS Play Off competition – HSBC SVNS 2026 Division 2
For the women, Brazil, China, Kenya and Spain, and for the men, Uruguay, USA, Kenya and Germany all secured places in HSBC SVNS 2026 Division two based on results in the LA 2025 Playoffs.
The new HSBC SVNS format has received wide condemnation when it was released on the eve of the tournament in LA.
The HSBC SVNS Play Off competition saw the teams ranked ninth to twelfth in HSBC SVNS 2025 vying with the top four ranked teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger for four qualification spots to HSBC SVNS Division Two in 2026.
The pool winners secured their SVNS division two status automatically, and Brazil and China women and USA and Uruguay men secured their spots thanks to a hat-trick of pool wins.
Teams who finished second and third in their pools faced a winner-takes-all Play Off final match on Sunday for a place in the SVNS division two, and both Kenya’s teams were successful. The men beat Canada 24-5, and the women overcame South Africa 17-14.
Germany thrashed Samoa 31-0 to claim the last remaining men’s spot, while Spain’s women saw off Argentina 28-0 to secure their place.
- China 25-0 Argentina
- China 26-12 South Africa
- China 19-15 Ireland
Photo by Alex Ho / World Rugby
2025 HSBC SVNS Award Winners
Argentina’s Luciano Gonzalez and New Zealand’s Jorja Miller named men’s and women’s HSBC SVNS Player of the Year.
France’s Enahemo Artaud and the USA’s Nia Toliver claimed the Rookie of the Year awards.
Australia’s Maddison Levi finished as women’s top try scorer with 54 tries in HSBC SVNS 2025, becoming the first woman to be top try-scorer in three consecutive seasons and the fastest woman to 200 career SVNS tries. She is third on the all-time leading try-scorer list behind New Zealand’s Michaela Brake on 287 and Portia Woodman-Wickcliffe with 256.
Argentina’s Marcos Moneta and Fiji’s Joji Nasova were joint top try scorers in the men’s series with 26 tries each. Nasova also finished as the top points scorer with 158 points over the season.
Luciano González of Argentina and Jorja Miller of New Zealand are awarded the HSBC SVNS Players of the Year in partnership with HSBC at the 2025 HSBC SVNS Los Angeles at Dignity Health Sports Park on May 4, 2025, in Carson, California. (Photo by Alex Ho / World Rugby)
You can see more about all the winners here.
Sevens Rugby News 2025
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