Ultimate Sevens Announces Franchise Head Coaches & Player Pool For Inaugural 2026 Draft

With under a month to go until the inaugural Ultimate Sevens gets underway in Europe, the franchise Head Coaches were confirmed, as well as the star-studded player pool for the draft, which takes place this week.

The format, venues and franchises have all been previously announced, as well as the marquee players who are drawn from the current HSBC SVNS Series.

Several of the marquee players and coaches will have had busy seasons. Following the completion of the HSBC SVNS Series 2026, some have competed in the RPL Season 2 in India, and some of the female athletes have also been competing in the Japanese Taiyo Sevens Series, which wraps up on the 9th August 2026.

Of the 120+ players in the player draft, only two are from Asia – Yuna Saigo & Chiharu Nakamura, both from Japan and both from the same team – Nanairo Prism Fukuoka.

Chiharu Nakamura is a Japanese Women’s rugby legend and former Sakura 7s captain who is a 7s Olympian, started the new Asian Barbarians Rugby touring team, and won the Women’s Cup at the HKFC 10s this year when they defeated a stacked NZ Legends team on the way to the final.

The timing of the new series this year means it overlaps with the regional Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series and Asian Games.

Ultimate Sevens 2026 Coaches

Shannon Fraser – Albion Athletic

Two decades of experience with Rugby Australia, including the Men’s Sevens programme and the national men’s sevens pathways. He has also been with the NSW Waratahs and Australia Under 18s and 20s. Sahnnon Fraser was also the Fiji assistant coach at the Rugby World Cups in 2007 and 2011.

Kelly Brazier – Atlantic Novas

The New Zealand legend has won 2x Rugby World Cups XVs and 2x RWC 7s, six World Series titles, Commonwealth Games 7s gold, and Olympic 7s silver and gold. She has been part of the Black Ferns XV coaching group for the past two seasons.

Philip Snyman – Clan Tarzan

With 276 matches across 62 World Series tournaments as a Blitzbok player (as well as three World Series titles, Commonwealth Games 7s gold and Olympic 7s bronze at Rio 2016).

He has now won back-to-back HSBC SVNS titles as Head Coach of the SA men’s 7s team and won bronze at Paris 2024 as Head Coach. He was the Mumbai Dreamers Head Coach in the RPL Season 2 – 2026.

María Ribera – Foudre Bleue

The Spaniard earned 176 caps for Spain’s women’s sevens team competing in 20 World Series events, five Rugby Europe Championships and two Rugby World Cup Sevens. She also won 27 caps and played in two Rugby World Cups in the XVs format.

As a coach, she has led Spain’s U18s & U20s before joining the Las Leonas 7s coaching team for the 2024 SVNS season – she became head coach in August 2024.

Crystal Kaua – Pacific Current

The Kiwi represented New Zealand Māori Sevens and played in Auckland, the Cook Islands, and for four years led Mie Pearls in Japan.

As a coach, she has been involved with Black Ferns Sevens, Chiefs Manawa (winning three titles as Head Coach), and has led Brazil’s women’s sevens team since 2024, when she became the first woman to lead the Yaras.

Paco Hernández – Sol Feroz

With 295 appearances for Spain and an Olympian, he became Los Leones 7s Head Coach in January 2023. They won the 2026 HSBC SVNS World Series bronze medal. He was the Head Coach of the Bengaluru Bravehearts in the RPL 2026.

Ultimate Sevens 2026 Player Pool & Draft – How Does it Work?

The new Sevens franchise series, much like in the Indian Rugby Premier League, will see each franchise feature marquee players – with each Women’s and Men’s team in each franchise allocated 2 players per team.

The remaining pool of players will be selected at the inaugural Ultimate Sevens Draft taking place in July 2026. The six clubs will also include Ultimate Rugby Sevens Academy graduates.

The draft pool has a minimum of 120 players, and each of the six franchises will have a squad of 12 players. There will be 5 rounds of drafts for the coaches to make their selections.

Each Ultimate Sevens team will consist of:

• 2 marquee players per team
• 9 elite players per team
• 1 academy player per team

Where the Draft Playing Pool Comes From – Ultimate Sevens 2026

• Argentina – 2
• Australia – 17
• Brazil – 5
• Canada – 7
• Fiji – 15
• France – 8
• GB – 17
• Germany – 2
• Ireland – 2
• Japan – 2 (Yuna Saigo & Chiharu Nakamura)
• Kenya – 14
• New Zealand – 5
• Poland – 4
• South Africa – 8
• Uruguay – 1
• USA – 6

Sevens Rugby Rule Adaptations – Ultimate Sevens

• 10-minute non-stop games
• Dynamic try conversions (earn extra points by kicking conversions from wider out)
• Tactical timeouts per team (each side can call for one timeout per game, as there is no traditional half-time break)

The 2026 Ultimate Sevens Championship Schedule

UPDATE – Madrid Event Cancelled

Ultimate Sevens announced on 20 August that they cancelled the Madrid event.

“Ultimate Sevens has confirmed that its planned event in Madrid, scheduled for 5th September 2026, will no longer take place as part of the inaugural championship season.

Following a review of the championship’s operational and commercial priorities, Ultimate Sevens has taken the difficult decision to cancel the event, with the championship now beginning in Cardiff on Saturday 12th September, before continuing the season in Biarritz on Friday 18th September, with the grand finale in London on Thursday 24th September.”

Tickets for the Ultimate Sevens were made available in July 2026. There are family, accessible and premium experience options available at selected events.

Saturday 5 September 2026 (Cancelled)

• Venue: Estadio Ontime Butarque
• City: Leganés, Madrid, Spain

Saturday 12 September 2026

• Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
• City: Cardiff, Wales

Friday 18 September 2026

• Venue: Parc des Sports Aguilera
• City: Biarritz, France

Thursday 24 September 2026

• Venue: Gtech Community Stadium
• City: Brentford, London, UK

Ultimate Sevens 2026 News

• Ultimate Sevens Confirms 2026 Venues and Dates.
• Ultimate Sevens Confirms Teams and World Rugby Sanctioning.
• Ultimate Sevens Digital Platform & Production Partners for Inaugural Season Announced.