The pools and schedule for the opening round of the reimagined HSBC SVNS 2024 have been announced ahead of the highly anticipated Emirates Dubai 7s as rugby sevens returns to the world stage.
The biggest sports and entertainment festival in the middle east, Emirates Dubai 7s has been a mainstay on HSBC SVNS since its inception in 1999, and will feature the best 12 men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams competing on two fields across two days and 64 matches.
VIEW EMIRATES DUBAI 7S MATCH SCHEDULE >>
The men’s competition sees 2023 champions New Zealand, who were winners in Sydney, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore and Toulouse last year, headline Pool A alongside Canada, last year’s Cape Town winners Samoa and the defending Emirates Dubai 7s champions South Africa, in a repeat showdown of the of the recent Rugby World Cup final in Paris in the 15-a-side game.
Hamilton, Vancouver and London winners from last season, Argentina, are in Pool B and will face Spain, Australia and Ireland in Dubai, while double Olympic gold medal winners Fiji will face France, USA and Great Britain in Pool C.
In the women’s competition, the New Zealand Black Ferns, who won six of seven tournaments to claim their seventh series title, headline Pool A alongside Fiji, Great Britian and the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2023 champions South Africa who join the series this season.
Defending Emirates Dubai 7s champions Australia will face Brazil, Ireland and Japan in Pool B, while last season’s overall bronze medal winners USA take on France, Spain and their north American rivals Canada in Pool C.
VIEW HSBC SVNS 2024 CALENDAR >>
With the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on the horizon, the HSBC SVNS action will be intense from start to finish with World Rugby’s revamped competition formula set to provide rugby sevens fans with more excitement and entertainment than ever before.
Under the new model, HSBC SVNS 2024 features seven regular season events plus a Grand Final. The top eight placed teams based on cumulative series points at the conclusion of the seventh round in Singapore will secure their opportunity to compete in the new ‘winner takes all’ Grand Final in Madrid, where the women’s and men’s HSBC SVNS 2024 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 Sevens Challenger, with the top four placed teams securing their place on HSBC SVNS 2025.
World Rugby Chief Competitions and Performance Officer, Nigel Cass said: “We are excited to kick off what will be a thrilling year for rugby sevens at the Emirates Dubai 7s in December front of a packed house of knowledgeable, enthusiastic and passionate rugby fans.
“With a new and exciting format featuring promotion and relegation plus a ‘winner takes all’ competition at the Grand Final in Madrid, we know the action will be fierce at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai from the opening match on Saturday morning to the final whistle on Sunday evening to get the season underway in style.”
The weekend kicks off with USA taking on Spain and France against Canada in the women’s competition on 2 December at 09:00 local time (GMT XX) in Pool C action across the two competition fields. Day one concludes with a titanic clash between New Zealand versus South Africa at 20:44 in the men’s competition.
In an international celebration of sport, music and entertainment, the 2023 edition of Emirates Dubai 7s will feature its biggest line-up to date with world-class international athletes, global artists and award-winning hospitality experiences heading to Dubai this December for the premier weekend festival.
Let's get this party started! 🏉
The pools have been announced for the first stop on the brand new #HSBCSVNS🔥
#HSBCSVNSDXB | @Dubai7s pic.twitter.com/h7w69C0RsG
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) November 7, 2023
