World Rugby has announced the initial five locations and dates for the HSBC SVNS 2025 series. The series will take place in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, and Hong Kong, with additional locations expected to be announced soon.
The tournament will commence at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai from November 30 to December 1, 2024. Following this, the event moves to the DHL Stadium in Cape Town for the second round on December 7-8. Perth, after a successful season, will host the third round at HBF Park from January 24-26, 2025. Vancouver will then welcome teams for the fourth round at BC Place on February 21-23, and the prestigious Hong Kong 7s is set for March 28-30.
Further details regarding the remaining events for 2025, including the grand finale, will be revealed soon. The HSBC SVNS aims to promote gender equality by featuring combined men’s and women’s events at all rounds, ensuring women athletes have equal opportunities to showcase their skills on major platforms worldwide. Men’s and women’s teams will also receive equal participation fees.
In a notable addition, three new teams will join the competition in 2025. Kenya and Uruguay’s men’s teams, along with the China women’s team, earned their spots by winning the 2024 promotion and relegation playoff in Madrid.
The women’s competing teams will include New Zealand, Australia, France, USA, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, Great Britain, Japan, Brazil, Spain, and China. Meanwhile, the men’s lineup features Argentina, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, France, Fiji, South Africa, Great Britain, USA, Spain, Uruguay, and Kenya.