The famous Hong Kong Stadium atmosphere is set to welcome the world’s best men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams to the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens as the sixth and penultimate round of HSBC SVNS 2024 takes place on 5-7 April.
A sell-out crowd of 120,000 fans is expected across the three-day spectacle and captains of the 12 men’s and women’s teams got into the festival spirit on Wednesday by wearing fancy dress items for the traditional captain’s photo in front of the stadium’s iconic South stand.
There is sure to be drama and fireworks on the pitch as well as Argentina have the chance to become men’s SVNS 2024 League Winners if they maintain their 20-point lead at the top of the standings, while Australia and New Zealand are locked in a thrilling battle for the women’s title ahead of the last regular season round in Singapore on 3-5 May.
While French superstar Antoine Dupont is not in the French squad this time, fans will witness the highly anticipated sevens debut of one of Australia’s most capped men’s test players Michael Hooper.
The pools for Hong Kong were drawn by Fijian sevens legend Waisale Serevi at the conclusion of the previous round in Los Angeles and produced 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 sees second and third-placed New Zealand and France together in Pool A along 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.
VIEW HONG KONG FIXTURES & POOLS >>
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 points after seven rounds will claim the title of SVNS 2024 League Winners, while the top eight placed teams will earn their place in the new ‘winner takes all’ Grand Final, where the men’s and women’s SVNS Champions will be crowned in Madrid on 31 May to 2 June.
FUTURE HSBC SVNS EVENTS TICKETS >>
Four teams – Argentina men, and Australia, New Zealand and France women – have already secured their spots in the SVNS Grand Final in Madrid and further teams are likely to confirm their places this weekend.
VIEW CURRENT SVNS 2024 STANDINGS >>
Following the fifth round in Los Angeles Argentina hold a 20-point lead in the men’s standings, having claimed three gold and one silver medals from the opening four rounds.
Argentina have 90 points, ahead of Ireland on 70 and Fiji, who have enjoyed great success in Hong Kong over the years, in third on 64 points.
Australia are top of the women’s standings with 90 points ahead of New Zealand in second on 86 points and France in third on 74 points.
Australia got off to a flying start by winning the opening two rounds in Dubai and Cape Town, but New Zealand have come roaring back with victories at the last two rounds in Vancouver and Los Angeles to set up a thrilling climax to the women’s competition.
HSBC SVNS 2024 has raised the bar with greater levels of excitement, jeopardy and competitiveness than ever before alongside a truly equal platform for both women’s and men’s competitions.
With the added incentive of players competing for their places at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in July, the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is set to be an exhilarating event.
In addition to the HSBC SVNS event, hosts Hong Kong China will play in an all-Asian ‘Melrose Claymores’ triangular tournament which sees them take on China and Japan in the men’s event and China and Thailand in the women’s competition.
VIEW HSBC SVNS 2024 CALENDAR >>
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.
WORLD RUGBY HSBC SEVENS CHALLENGER STANDINGS >>
Argentina men’s player Matias Osadczuk said: “The team has a big expectation for this tournament because we lost last time in Los Angeles so it is very important to come back this weekend and we have been training hard for this.
Hong Kong is very special due to all the history and the great atmosphere so we hope to do our best.
“We are not thinking about being champions, we are taking it match by match, focusing on the process. Our hope for this weekend is to be better than Los Angeles and to improve as a team.”
New Zealand women’s captain Risi Pouri-Lane said: “We’ve been focusing on consistency and keeping building towards the Olympics at the end of the season.
Obviously there’s a lot of history behind Hong Kong and for us coming off the back of two victories we just want to make sure we keep to our game plan, keep composed and just play our game.
“It will be an awesome atmosphere this weekend and for the women’s game in general it’s becoming more competitive across the board which is awesome for the women’s game. We’re really looking forward to the weekend, it’s going to be a party here!”
Australia men’s player Matt Gonzales said: “I’d say Hong Kong is the Mecca of the sevens circuit so it’s always awesome coming and playing here and great that we’re expecting a sell-out. The boys are pumped and this is a really crucial round for us so we’re excited to get out and put on a show for the fans.
On Michael Hooper joining the squad he added: “I don’t think you can put in to words what he brings. His experience in rugby is something not many others have and having him come in is great, he’s very calm and very knowledgeable.
But he’s also saying he’s a rookie and he’s having to learn how to play sevens. But for us it’s really exciting to have someone of his calibre in our team and just learn from him about how he goes about his processes.”
The action gets underway at 10:30 local time (GMT+8) on Friday, 09:30 on Saturday and 09:40 on Sunday, with the women’s and men’s finals at 18:13 and 18:53 respectively on Sunday.
Fans can watch the HSBC SVNS action wherever you are in the world, either via broadcaster partners or online on RugbyPass TV.
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 rugby sevens.