19 Years for the Win

Antoine Dupont inspired France win first men’s HSBC SVNS title in 19 years with 21-0 victory in final over Great Britain in Los Angeles, while New Zealand beat Australia 29-14 with a Michaela Blyde hattrick to claim women’s title

Fans in the proposed venue for the Olympic Games LA 2028 rugby sevens competition enjoyed three days of non-stop action as France men and New Zealand women ultimately claimed the HSBC SVNS Los Angeles titles at Dignity Health Sports Park.

France secured the men’s gold medals with three unanswered tries in a 21-0 victory over Great Britain to end a 19 year wait for a title, with their only previous victory coming on home soil in Paris back in 2005 and having lost all six finals they have contested since then.

Antoine Dupont was the headline act as he joined the squad in Vancouver last week, and since his arrival the French have won bronze and gold to move up to fourth in the SVNS standings.

New Zealand’s women backed-up their victory in Vancouver last weekend as Michaela Blyde’s hat-trick powered the Black Ferns Sevens to a 29-14 victory over rivals Australia to take their second gold medal of HSBC SVNS 2024 in as many weeks.

In the men’s s third place match, Ireland comfortably beat Spain by 24-7 after leading 19-0 at the break. Meanwhile the USA secured the women’s bronze on home turf with victory by 21-7 against Canada, their best finish of HSBC SVNS 2024 so far.

Three of the four men’s semi-finalists had never won a SVNS event previously, demonstrating the increasing competitiveness of international rugby sevens and giving fans around the globe excitement that come July the Olympic rugby sevens medals could be claimed by any team in the line-up.

France just held on to win 26-24 over Ireland in their semi-final after Dupont had showed great pace to race away from three Irish opponents and open the scoring with his third try of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Great Britain won a last-minute penalty to hold on for a 10-7 win against Spain to advance to the final.

Elsewhere, fourth seed New Zealand lost 12-5 to Samoa in the ninth-place playoff to finish tenth, their worst of the season.

Both sides went into the women’s final unbeaten but brilliance from Blyde, plus scores from Risi Pouri-Lane and Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, proved the difference for New Zealand as they closed the gap with leaders Australia in the SVNS table to just four points.

It capped off a bumper day of women’s action at HSBC SVNS Los Angeles with three knockout games all taking place on one day, Australia edging hosts USA to make the final while New Zealand beat Canada convincingly in their semi-final.

Elsewhere South Africa and Brazil finished sixth and seventh respectively to earn valuable rankings points in the fight to avoid the end of season relegation play-offs and showcase the growing strength in depth in women’s sevens as both teams overcame Olympic bronze medallists Fiji and Brazil finished on a high with a win over Perth champions Ireland.

France’s William Iraguha said: “I’m so proud of the group. We worked so hard for this and we’ve been waiting for it for such a long time. Last year we lost in the final, it was my first final personally, but I think we all had this feeling that it must be today.

“I don’t think I have really realised yet. When I get back home and spend time with my family I’ll get to realise what has happened. I don’t think I have much more words to explain how I feel.”

“Everybody played their part and we won. It’s a wonderful feeling… I’m so, so happy, I finally won a tournament.”

New Zealand’s hattrick hero Blyde said: “I’m so proud of the girls. We’ve been looking for that kind of consistency the whole season, so to do that over the last two weeks feels really good.

“Obviously we’re building for the big picture of the Olympic Games but this is one of the stepping stones towards it and the big goal now is to continue this consistency.

“It’s tough at the top but we love having the target on our back and the Aussies have been incredible this whole season so to chase them has been quite fun and we’re just really stoked to get the win today.”

VIEW CURRENT SVNS 2024 STANDINGS >>

Australia maintain their position at the top of the HSBC SVNS 2024 standings on 90 points but see their lead cut to four points over New Zealand on 86 points, with France in third on 74 points. Brazil, South Africa, Japan and Spain currently occupy the bottom four places however Brazil are only one point behind Great Britain following their recent strong form.

Argentina still have a healthy 20 point lead in the men’s standings despite failing to reach the medal podium for the first time this season in Vancouver. Argentina have 90 points ahead of Ireland on 70 points and Fiji in third place with 64 points. France’s victory in LA moves them up to fourth on 56 points. The bottom four places in the men’s standings are held by Great Britain, Spain, Samoa and Canada, although Great Britain are only a point away from the USA following their cup final appearance in LA.

The new look HSBC SVNS 2024 features seven regular season events – in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Singapore – before the Grand Final in Madrid.

The men’s and women’s team with the most cumulative series points after seven events will become league winners in Singapore, while the top eight placed teams at the end of the Singapore event will earn their place in the new ‘winner takes all’ Grand Final, where the women’s and men’s SVNS champions will be crowned in Madrid.

The four lowest ranked men’s and women’s teams after the seventh round in Singapore will join the top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 in a high stakes promotion and relegation tournament in Madrid, meaning every match and every point counts throughout the HSBC SVNS, which is proving to be more competitive than ever in 2024.

The best 12 men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams in the world now move on to Hong Kong for the sixth round of HSBC SVNS 2024 on 3-5 April as the race to become league winners in Singapore gathers pace.

The pools for the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens were drawn by Fijian sevens legend Waisale Serevi at the conclusion of the LA event and the famous stadium can look forward to some mouthwatering clashes.

France face double Olympic champions Fiji in men’s Pool A, alongside Australia and Canada. Pool B sees current SVNS leaders Argentina together with LA finallists Great Britain, USA and reigning SVNS champions New Zealand. Ireland, Spain, Samoa and South Africa are in Pool C.

The women’s draw pits Vancouver finallists New Zealand and France against each other in Pool A with Brazil and Great Britain. Current SVNS leaders Australia are in Pool B with South Africa, Ireland and Fiji. USA and Canada will renew their rivalry in Pool C alongside Japan and Spain.

Before that the second round of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger will take place in Montevideo, Uruguay next weekend on 8-10 March as 12 men’s and women’s teams will continue the battle to secure a top-four position and a place at the all important promotion-relegation play-off competition in Madrid for a chance to reach the HSBC SVNS 2025.