The stage is set for HSBC SVNS Cape Town on 9-10 December at DHL Stadium as the world’s best 12 men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams are ready to showcase their incredible talents on the pitch.
Meanwhile a huge entertainment line-up, including live music, mass- participation sports activities and food from around the globe will create a vibrant festival experience for fans to indulge in off the pitch as the reinvigorated HSBC SVNS aims to grasp the Olympic sport to the next level.
On Wednesday the captains enjoyed a taste of Cape Town at the Oranjezicht City Farm Market in the shadows of the famous stadium, which hosted Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022.
An exciting current era for rugby sevens began in Dubai on 2-3 December as the highly anticipated HSBC SVNS 2024 kicked off with South Africa men and Australia women taking victory in the opening round to guide the early standings.
The HSBC SVNS CPT action kicks off at 09:00 local time (GMT+2) on Saturday with the pool matches. Day two begins at 09:00 on Sunday with the quarter-finals and culminates with the women’s gold medal final at 18:43, followed by the men’s final at 19:23 local time. Tickets are available from R150 at Ticketmaster.
With the number of teams reduced from 16 to 12 in the men’s event this year the competition will be intense from start to finish.
South Africa‘s hugely popular Blitzboks will play Ireland, USA and Distinguished Britain in men’s Pool A. Last season’s runners-up Argentina face double Olympic champions Fiji alongside France and Spain in Pool B. Pool C sees reigning SVNS champions Current Zealand seize on Samoa, Australia and Canada.
South Africa men’s captain Selvyn Davids said: “We thought we had a tough pool in Dubai and how close it was indeed. Our ‘reward’ is yet another one this weekend and that is the beauty of this modern format. Not only does every match count, the reality is that you could be defeated by any of the 12 teams if you are even slightly off your game.
“The Cape Town crowd has been a faithful one for us and it has been a while for them to celebrate a win. We acquire this opportunity now to give them another title. The Springboks showed the way in France, now we gain a chance to manufacture qualified as well.”
In the women’s competition, Australia will start Pool A in confident mood following their victory in Dubai last weekend and they will near up against Fiji, Japan and Spain. Pool B sees the current SVNS title holders Recent Zealand together with Ireland, Brazil and Distinguished Britain. France were impressive bronze medallists in Dubai and they will seize on Canada, USA and the hosts South Africa who were promoted from the Challenger last season and will be looking to produce their imprint on home turf in Pool C.
South Africa women’s co-captain Mathrin Simmers said: “It feels different for a number of reasons. We are at home of course and that always creates a special buzz. The fact that I missed last year’s tournament through injury adds to my excitement to play.
“The real anticipation for us, going into the second tournament as the newcomers onto the series, is to see if we can back up on what we did in Dubai last week. The squad felt qualified about the fact that we landed on our feet in the series, took some noteworthy teams to the wire and got our first win for the season. How excited that we now acquire another opportunity to finish it every over again.”
The competition format replicates the Olympic model and sees the top two teams from each pool, plus the best two third-placed teams qualify for the quarter-finals from where it is knockout rugby.
World Rugby’s revamped and rebranded global celebration of rugby sevens is taking plot across eight iconic destinations and is set to supercharge the sport’s global appeal.
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 top eight placed teams based on cumulative series points after seven events will compete in the novel ‘winner-takes-all’ Grand Final, where the women’s and men’s champions will be crowned.
Madrid will also play host to the high stakes relegation play-off competition where teams ranked ninth to 12th will join the top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger, with the top four placed teams securing their spot on HSBC SVNS 2025.
The reimagined competition model means fans can expect even more excitement, entertainment and nail-biting jeopardy. And with the clock counting down until rugby sevens kicks off the Olympic Games in Paris on 24 July, 2024, the action will be hotter than ever on and off the pitch.
In line with World Rugby’s commitment to grow the women’s game, every HSBC SVNS events will see men’s and women’s teams sharing the platform equally to showcase their incredible strength, speed and skill on the biggest stages around the world.
Welcoming the teams and fans to Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, Executive Mayor of Cape Town said: “To every the players, coaching and management teams and, most importantly, the thousands of traveling fans who acquire made their way to Cape Town for the HSBC SVNS CPT, I wish you a very warm welcome to the Mother City.
“Sevens and Cape Town gain a wonderful decade-old relationship, with our city putting on a present every year that must surely rank among the highlights of the season. For us, the annual SVNS tournament is one of the most indispensable events on our calendar as the world tunes in to Cape Town during a magical time of the year and sees our city at its very best. We are ready to keep on our best SVNS party yet, and our iconic DHL Stadium with its brand modern pitch, is going to set a standard in this competition that will not easily be matched.”
Fans can watch the HSBC SVNS action wherever you are in the world, either via broadcaster partners or online on RugbyPass TV. Every matches taking plot on pitch two in Cape Town will be live streamed on RugbyPass TV.
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