The opening day of HSBC SVNS in Cape Town witnessed the very best of rugby sevens with the top 12 menâs and womenâs teams in the world showcasing their talents and feeding off the vibrant energy emanating from the stands in the Mother City.
- South Africaâs Blitzboks through to HSBC SVNS Cape Town quarter-finals in vibrant festival atmosphere
- Australia, France and New Zealand women, and Ireland men record perfect win records to reach quarter-finals
- Menâs quarter-final line up: Argentina v Canada, Ireland v New Zealand, Australia v South Africa, Fiji v France
- Womenâs quarter-final line up: Great Britain v USA, Australia v Ireland, France v Fiji, New Zealand v Canada
- The action continues from 09:00 local time (GMT+2) on Sunday with the quarter-finals, and concludes with the womenâs and menâs finals at 18:43 and 19:23 respectively.
- Tickets for finals day on Sunday are available from R150 at Ticketmaster here
The opening day of HSBC SVNS in Cape Town witnessed the very best of rugby sevens with the top 12 menâs and womenâs teams in the world showcasing their talents and feeding off the vibrant energy emanating from the stands at the DHL Stadium.
There were fireworks on and off the pitch as the new era of rugby sevens continued to bring the feel good factor at the second round of HSBC SVNS 2024, following the season opener in Dubai last weekend, which was won by South Africa men and Australia women.
South Africaâs Blitzboks continued where they left off in the menâs competition with wins over Great Britain and USA securing their place in the quarter-finals before going down to Ireland in the last match of a thrilling day, which means the hosts face Australia in the quarter-finals on Sunday morning.
The other menâs quarter-finals see Argentina play Canada, Ireland face New Zealand and Fiji take on France.
READ MENâS DAY ONE REPORT >>
The menâs tournament has been reduced from 16 to 12 teams in the new SVNS format this season and the increased intensity was evident on day one as last seasonâs title winners New Zealand suffered a pair of defeats to Canada and Samoa.
However the All Blacks Sevens still managed to scrape through to the quarter-finals thanks to a convincing win over rivals Australia, meaning last yearâs Cape Town winners Samoa fail to reach the quarter-finals.
In pool B Fiji, Argentina and France all recorded two wins and a loss to reach the quarter-finals and Los Pumasâ veteran GastĂłn Revol is celebrating playing his 100th tournament. Revol said: âIâm really proud of everything that has happened over the years. Iâm most happy because of the win today. The present is always the most important thing so itâs very good for the 100, but we are here now in Cape Town, we want to go game by game.â
South Africa have unearthed a new talent in Quewin Nortje as they set out on their quest for a first home title since 2015. The flyer added two more tries to the four he scored on debut in Dubai last week, as they beat Great Britain 19-5 in the opener.
âItâs such a privilege to be here. A first Cape Town sevens is just an incredible experience,â Nortje said after making his first appearance in front of his home supporters.
READ WOMENâS DAY ONE REPORT >>
Earlier in the day the womenâs competition saw Australia, France and reigning Series and Cape Town champions New Zealand show their class to cruise through to the quarter-finals unbeaten.
Australiaâs try machine Maddison Levi scored her 100th sevens try as the Dubai champions won three from three on the opening day.
Levi added another five touchdowns to the 12 she scored last weekend, to reach 100 tries in just 15 tournaments as the Australians set out their stall for a first-ever sevens series win in South Africa.
Australia will face Ireland in the second quarter-final on Sunday, while New Zealand take on Canada, France will meet Fiji, and Great Britain will play USA.
Levi described becoming the fastest Australian player to reach 100 sevens tries as âinsaneâ, after ensuring quarter-final qualification with a double in their third and final match.
âI guess we always do really well in Dubai and coming to Cape Town, weâve never won here,â she said. âWe won the World Cup here, I guess itâs motivation to prove that we can do it on this soil. But weâll take it as it comes.â
VIEW RESULTS, POOLS AND FIXTURES >>
Meanwhile, away from the pitch, getting the party going was the massively popular DJ Zinhle. With an Instagram following of 5.3 million, South Africaâs queen of the dancefloor has claimed the title of the continentâs number one female DJ for the past four years.
While she was setting the vibe at the Beach Club, comedian Rob van Vuuren ensured the fun didnât stop with a dance off on the Sun Stage while the beat kept going with African Djembe Drumming in the Love Garden with several more artists adding to the incredible line-up.
âIt was so amazing. I didnât think it was going to be this vibe. Itâs like Iâm at Miami Beach,â said DJ Zinhle. âYou would never even say we were at a sports event. I thought I was in Miami doing a sunset show. It was so nice, really nice⌠The [South African] game ended and the people came through and were ready to party. Thatâs amazing, thatâs insane â Iâll do it over and over again.
âItâs so good, itâs sunshine, people are happy, people are having fun and itâs safe and secure â itâs amazing, I love it.â
The action continues from 09:00 local time (GMT+2) on Sunday with the quarter-finals, and concludes with the womenâs and menâs finals at 18:43 and 19:23 respectively.
Tickets for finals day on Sunday at the DHL Stadium are available from R150 at Ticketmaster here.
Fans can watch the HSBC SVNS action wherever you are in the world, either via broadcaster partners or online on Rugby Pass TV. All matches taking place on pitch two in Cape Town will be live streamed on Rugby Pass TV.
The HSBC SVNS 2024, World Rugbyâs revamped and rebranded global celebration of rugby sevens, is taking place across eight iconic destinations and is set to supercharge the sportâs global appeal.
The new look HSBC SVNS 2024 features seven regular season events â 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 âwinner takes allâ Grand Final, where the womenâs and menâs SVNS champions will be crowned.
VIEW HSBC SVNS 2024 CALENDAR >>
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.
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 Rugbyâs commitment to grow the womenâs game, all HSBC SVNS events will see menâs and womenâs teams sharing the platform equally to showcase their incredible strength, speed and skill on the biggest stages around the world.
HSBC SVNS events are bringing the ultimate in immersive experiences, a unique festival of sport, entertainment, music, culture and cuisine alongside the worldâs best menâs and womenâs athletes set against the spectacular backdrops of some of the most stunning locations around the globe.
The stage is set for an exciting finale in Cape Town on Sunday. – WORLD RUGBY
