(Photo World Rugby)
The two sides that have dominated the women’s HSBC SVNS Series so far appear locked on to another final appearance in Bordeaux – but their respective semi-final opponents Canada and USA will want to have their say on Sunday.
And the North American sides’ analysts have plenty to work on after neither New Zealand and Australia were entirely convincing in their quarter-final wins over Japan and Spain.
Meanwhile, the celebrations started early for Spain despite their quarter-final loss to Australia. Their run to the last eight in Bordeaux ensured they will step up from HSBC SVNS 2 to the main HSBC SVNS Series next season.
Quarter-finals: Valladolid finalists USA build a wall, as Australia grit their way to last four
A physical USA side built an unbreakable defensive wall in their quarter-final against France, and hit the home side twice on the counter through Sammy Sullivan and Ariana Ramsey to book a semi-final slot with a 12-0 win.
USA had made sure of top spot in Pool C with an impressive 33-22 over neighbours and fellow quarter-final qualifiers Canada – Kristi Kirshe scoring two of USA’s five tries, while Charity Williams hit back with two for Canada.
“We’ve been growing all year… but we knew this weekend was going to feel hard, [after] two back-to-back tournaments,” Kirshe said afterwards, “so coming out yesterday we were lucky to come out with two wins but I don’t think we played the type of rugby that we know we can play.
“Coming in today, it was really just about delivering a performance that we can be proud of and elevating from yesterday and I think we did that. Now it’s about elevating as we go through each of the next games.”
A first-half hat-trick for Savannah Bauder set Olympic silver-medallists Canada marching into the semi-finals on sevens rugby’s return to France for the first time since 2024. Carmen Izyk and Pamphinette Buisa added tries in the second-half as they beat Fiji 29-7.
But their delight at reaching the last four was tempered by injury to Chloe Daniels.
Late tries from Reapi Ulunisau – her second of the match – and all-time leading points-scorer Ana Maria Naimasi had helped Fiji claim the second quarter-final berth from Pool B with a comeback 28-24 win over a battling Brazil. The remarkable Thalia Costa got a double for the South American side – but they will return to HSBC SVNS 2 next season.
Jorja Miller added another two tries to her tally – taking her level with Michaela Brake’s New Zealand season record of 53 – as the Black Ferns Sevens beat Japan 35-22.
Miller wasn’t impressed with her side’s performance in the last eight. “[It was] not how we wanted to end the game,” she told Rugbypass. “We know we need to be stronger for the full 14 minutes.”
Even without Stacey Waaka, who has been ruled out for the rest of the Bordeaux tournament, New Zealand had been far too good for France, scoring six tries in the first 10 minutes of the match while keeping Les Bleues firmly trapped in their own half – until Marie-Aurelie Castel broke free to give the Stade Atlantique crowd something to cheer, which they did with gusto. It ended 38-7.
It took Australia a surprising 11 minutes to break the deadlock against a determined and gutsy Spain, but late tries from Heidi Dennis and Kahli Henwood were good enough to claim a hard-fought and gritty 14-0 result and extend their winning run over the Spanish to 19-0
Australia had wrapped up a perfect pool phase with a clinical, if not always entirely straightforward, five-try 33-7 win over a Japan side that had already qualified for the quarter-finals.
Spain had confirmed top-eight qualification, and ended Great Britain’s hopes of being on the main HSBC SVNS Series next season, with a well-worked 29-10 win in the opening women’s competition match on day two in Bordeaux.
Maria Garcia, Silvia Morales, Marta Cantabrana, and Abril Camacho Ruiz all scored for Spain. Katie Shillaker and Heather Cowell – in her final tournament before she retires from rugby – both touched down for Great Britain.
In the playoffs, determined defence and incisive counter-attack handed Great Britain a 19-7 win over Brazil. Katie Shillaker scored twice to record just their second win of the season and set up a ninth-place final against Argentina.
The South Americans beat South Africa for the second time on day two, doubling down on their 17-5 Pool A win with a 22-17 victory.
Semi-final run hands South Africa unassailable World Championship lead
Regular season men’s winners South Africa will be crowned HSBC SVNS World Champions at the end of the grand finale in Bordeaux – but they did it the hard way after qualifying for the last eight as one of the two best third-placed sides.
The Blitzboks’ quarter-final win over Fiji on day two, combined with slip-ups for their nearest rivals was enough to take them out of reach – but they will want to sign off the season on Sunday with another tournament win.
They will face host nation France, who helped them to the main title by beating Australia in the quarters, in the last four. That win ensured Les Bleus became the seventh side to confirm their place on next season’s eight-strong HSBC SVNS Series, joining South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Fiji, Spain and New Zealand on the tour.
On the other side of the draw, New Zealand – who also did their bit for South Africa by knocking Argentina out of contention for the last eight in the pool phase – will meet Spain in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, a nervy Sunday is in store for Kenya, who are hanging on to the all-important eighth place – and its qualification for next season’s HSBC SVNS Series – by their fingernails. Results on Sunday mean they could lose out to USA.
Quarter-finals: Champion Blitzboks stumble into last four after Australia hopes dashed
Valladolid winners Australia’s World Championship hopes were dashed at the quarter-final stage by inspired hosts France, who rode a partisan crowd wave to a 26-0 win, courtesy of two tries from Gregoire Arfeuil, and touchdowns for Celian Pouzelgues and Ali Dabo.
The quarter-final success confirmed France’s place on the main HSBC SVNS Series next season.
Les Bleus had earlier put their day one scare behind them with a 14-7 win over Germany to confirm their place in the last eight – Enahemo Artaud scoring in each half to settle the result.
Australia booked their place in the last eight with a hard-fought 12-10 win over Spain, Ben Dowling scoring both their tries. The losing bonus for Spain, meanwhile, meant they qualified as one of the two best third-placed sides after fighting their way back from 12-0 down shortly before the break.
Following two defeats – against Great Britain on Friday and Fiji on Saturday – in three Pool A matches, HSBC SVNS World Championship leaders South Africa were forced to rely on results elsewhere going their way to reach the last eight.
But, after Argentina had failed to qualify as one of the top two sides from Pool C, to gift the Blitzboks a quarter-final spot, and Australia were nilled in their knockout match against host nation France, the sums were clear for the Blitzboks – beat Fiji and they could not be caught in the HSBC SVNS World Championship Series standings.
They did enough with a hard-fought come-from-behind 14-12 win over Fiji – Sebastiaan Jobb scoring both their tries in the seconds either side of half-time.
It was a turnaround result from the two sides earlier meeting, a Pool A decider in which a thumping try-saving tackle prevented Impi Visser scoring what would have been a match-winning try at the end of a thrilling encounter.
Apete Narogo, George Bose and Viwa Naduvalo scored for the Pacific Islanders, who claimed a 15-12 victory to leave South Africa waiting nervously on results of the Pool C match between Argentina and New Zealand.
New Zealand eased through to the last four with a comfortable 24-5 win over a brave Great Britain side – who threw everything they could at the match, but kept crashing on an unpassable All Black wall. Brady Rush crossed the 50 try mark en route to victory.
New Zealand ended Argentina’s title challenge in a dramatic, end-to-end final pool match. Akuila Rokolisoa scored two of the All Blacks Sevens’ tries as they held off a second half fightback from Los Pumas to win 24-21.
Meanwhile, tries late in the first half for Charlton Kerr and Finley Lloyd-Gilmour were enough to beat Kenya 14-5 and send Great Britain through to the quarter-finals.
USA’s hopes of qualifying for the main HSBC SVNS Series next season took a hit after they lost 17-5 in their quarter-final against Spain – a side they had beaten on Friday in an unbeaten Pool C run. Eagles’ skipper Steve Tomasin gave them hope with an early score, but unanswered tries for Tiago Romero, Josep Serres, and Juan Ramos settled the matter.
The Eagles’ hopes now rest on the result of their fifth-place play-off against Fiji on Sunday afternoon.
They had claimed top spot in Pool B in rampant style in the opening match of the second day in Bordeaux. After Ben Broselle got their side of the scoreboard started in the second minute, it moved at a terrific lick. He added another, and Ryan Santos and Lucas Lacamp also scored in the first half, while Marcus Tupuola, Jack Wendling and Will Chevalier crossed in the second en route to a 43-7 win over HSBC SVNS 2-bound Uruguay.
Play-offs: Nervy Sunday in store for Kenya
Germany gave USA a helping hand in their hopes for HSBC SVNS Series qualification as they picked up their first win in Bordeaux by beating Kenya 7-5 in the ninth-place semi-final.
The result means Kenya, in the 11th-place final against Uruguay, can only get to a maximum 16 points in the HSBC SVNS World Championship standings. If USA beat Fiji to finish fifth, they will finish on 17 points.
In the other ninth-place semi-final, Marcos Moneta scored the hat-trick that took him to 199 career tries as Argentina beat Uruguay 26-17.
