New Zealand women and Argentina men claimed the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens titles to back up their victories in Vancouver last month and extend their leads in the HSBC SVNS 2025 standings after five rounds.
New Zealand beat rivals Australia 26-19 in another epic encounter as Jorja Miller produced two moments of magic to make it three Hong Kong titles in a row for the Black Ferns Sevens. Although she had her team-mates to thank for not only surviving but scoring during her time in the sin bin for a tip tackle.
HSBC Player of the Final Miller said: “We knew we had to come out for finals footie and I’m so proud of the group. We love Hong Kong and the history of it. The crowd and the atmosphere here, it gets us going, it brings out the best rugby.”
Argentina added a third successive title win of the SVNS season with a 12-7 victory over France. Los Pumas Sevens made it 16 games unbeaten as they edged out Olympic champions France to win their maiden Hong Kong Sevens crown and extend their lead at the top of the series table to 12 points, ahead of Fiji.
HSBC Player of the final Marcos Moneta scored the crucial second try in the final and said: ‘It’s amazing to win here, it means so much to us as Hong Kong is a really historic tournament. I got my debut here and last year I broke my fibula here before the Olympic Games, so it was a mixture of emotions. My parents decided to be here with me. These are the things I was thinking about at the anthem. It is the perfect day.”
Canada claimed the women’s bronze with a 21-17 win over France while Australia beat Fiji 22-21 with a last gasp try from 19-year-old Sidney Harvey to take the men’s bronze.
New Zealand’s route to the final saw them comprehensively beat Canada 41-0 in a repeat of the Paris 2024 Olympic final, while Australia were made to work hard in a 28-5 defeat of France.
In the men’s semi-finals Argentina proved too strong for Australia with a 31-7 win and France scored with the clock in the red to break Fijian hearts and secure their place in the final by a 24-17 scoreline.
More than 110,000 fans were treated to exceptional entertainment on and off the pitch at the impressive new Kai Tak Stadium, where the Kaiser Chiefs were Sunday’s headline act.
World Rugby Chairman Brett Robinson was in attendance and said: “This is one of the great sevens events of the global calendar, and it has been for 50 years. So for me, personally, to be here for the first time is a great privilege. It’s also fantastic to be here at this incredible new stadium, uniquely designed for rugby sevens. We’ve had over 110,000 fans in attendance and seen some great rugby played over the last three days, showcasing the best of sevens.”
Alongside Hong Kong glory, teams were also playing for vital ranking points in the race to finish in the top eight positions at the end of the sixth round of HSBC SVNS 2025 in Singapore next weekend in order to qualify for the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Los Angeles on 3-4, May.
The results in Hong Kong mean that all eight of the men’s teams and six of the women’s teams have already secured their places in the World Championship. The men’s teams are Argentina, Fiji, Spain, South Africa, France, New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain. The six confirmed women’s teams are New Zealand, Australia, France, USA, Canada and Japan.
New Zealand women and Argentina men continue to lead the current SVNS standings after five rounds, going in to the final regular season round in Singapore on 5-6 April. New Zealand head to the Singapore tournament with an eight-point lead over Australia while Argentina are 12 points ahead of Fiji and in pole position to become HSBC SVNS 2025 league winners.
The pools for HSBC SVNS Singapore were allocated following the Hong Kong final and produced some mouthwatering match-ups. The competition format involves four pools of three teams each, replicating the format used in Cape Town during the second round of HSBC SVNS 2025.
Olympic champions and SVNS leaders New Zealand are in women’s Pool A with Brazil and China. Reigning SVNS champions Australia will face Japan and Spain in Pool B. Pool C sees Olympic medallists Canada and the USA together with Great Britain. France, Fiji and Ireland compete in Pool D.
Men’s SVNS title favourites Argentina are in Pool A with Great Britain and South Africa. Olympic champions France will play Ireland and Kenya in Pool B. Australia, Spain and Uruguay will battle it out in Pool C. While Fiji, New Zealand and the USA are in Pool D.
Roadblock
Sport Trivia: At the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona, Ghana took a bronze medal in which team event? Answer: Soccer. Ghana topped their group (D) during the preliminary rounds, when they beat Australia 3-1, and drew 0-0 with Denmark and 1-1 with Mexico. They then beat Australia again 1-0 in the playoff to win the bronze medal.
Red Pepper
Cricket was originally a children’s game played in England during the 16th century, specifically in the southeastern counties. When the British expanded overseas, they brought the game with them.