The captains of the 12 men’s and women’s teams left their mark on LA by creating a piece of street art ahead of the fifth round of the HSBC SVNS on 1-3 March
Los Angeles is set to welcome the world’s best 12 men’s and – for the first time ever – the 12 women’s rugby sevens teams to Dignity Health Sports Park on 1-3 March for the fifth round of HSBC SVNS 2024.
Fans attending the revamped HSBC SVNS, which sees men’s and women’s teams compete equally across eight iconic destinations, will be treated to a festival of world class sport, music, entertainment, culture and cuisine as the global celebration of rugby sevens lands in La La Land.
The 2028 Olympic host city will witness the speed, strength and incredible skill of many of the players and teams who will showcase the all action drama of rugby sevens at the 2024 Games in Paris in July.
Following last weekend’s fourth round in Vancouver the race to be crowned SVNS league champions at the seventh event in Singapore is hotting up.
Argentina are the men’s team to beat, holding a 24 point lead having claimed three gold and one silver medals from the opening four rounds. Argentina have 78 points, ahead of Ireland and Fiji on 54 points.
Australia maintain their position at the top of the women’s standings with 72 points but see their lead cut to six points by New Zealand in second on 66 points and France a further four points behind on 62 points.
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 new ‘winner takes all’ Grand Final, where the women’s and men’s SVNS champions will be crowned.
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 men’s relegation play-off positions are currently occupied by Canada, Spain, Great Britain and Samoa while the women’s teams currently in the bottom four are South Africa, Japan, Spain and Brazil.
The pools for LA have created some exciting match-ups. The men’s draw sees current SVNS leaders Argentina together with Ireland, South Africa and Spain in Pool A. Hosts USA are in Pool B together with reigning series champions New Zealand, Australia and Samoa. Vancouver bronze medallists France are in Pool C with double Olympic champions Fiji, Great Britain and Canada.
Meanwhile New Zealand, winners in Vancouver last weekend, are in women’s Pool A alongside Fiji, Brazil and South Africa. Current SVNS leaders Australia are drawn with France, Perth winners Ireland and Japan. Pool C sees hosts USA together with rivals Canada, Spain and Great Britain.
Argentina men’s captain Santiago Alvarez said: “I am very proud of my team and we are very happy of this moment that we are passing but we are trying not to think too much about it and focus on what is coming. Now we are thinking about LA and the big tournament that is coming.
“The pools are very tough, every match we play is very tough and that’s why we’re focused on what’s coming, on our system and not thinking about what we’ve won.
USA women’s captain Naya Tapper said: “I cannot imagine how great this is going to be. This is the reason – the why – that we sacrifice so much to play this amazing sport it’s going to be an amazing experience to look in to the crowd and see our families, friends and the fans that support us. I just cannot wait.
“This event is going to be huge. You can expect a lot of great energy, fans in costumes, lots of tries. You’ll have a huge amount of Olympic athletes playing here in LA so this is an event you will not want to miss. Our hope for this weekend is the bring the gold medal home and to improve on our performance from last weekend.”
France men’s captain Paulin Riva said :“Last weekend in Vancouver was a good tournament for us with third place and we are happy but now it is time to work for LA. LA is always a good place for us and we are training well.
“It is very good for us to play with Antoine (Dupont). He’s a big player with a lot of skills and works hard on the pitch. It was a good start for him with three tries last weekend. We hope to win in LA this weekend and for Antoine to bring us extra confidence on the pitch, which is very important for us.
The new-look SVNS competition format means there will be more excitement, jeopardy and drama on the pitch than ever before and fans can look forward to a wealth of entertainment and fun around the venue too with next level experiences and Sophie Lloyd headlining the music line-up.
The action gets under way at 16:30 local time (GMT-8) on Friday, 09:30 on Saturday and 09:30 on Sunday, with the women’s and men’s finals at 17:43 and 18:32 on Sunday.
Fans can watch the HSBC SVNS action wherever you are in the world, either via broadcaster partners or online on RugbyPass TV.
Tickets are available from U$25 at www.svns.com.
In keeping with rugby sevens tradition, fans are encouraged to wear their best and brightest fancy dress costumes and enter into the festival spirit that is the DNA of SVNS.