For the first time this season, New Zealand and Australia will not meet in the women’s final of an HSBC SVNS tournament – with the two sides on a last-four collision course after day two in Spain.
After USA had ended Australia’s long pool-phase winning run, the two sides will face one another in the last four.
The early day-two loss to USA was doubly painful for Australia as they saw try-machine Maddison Levi limped off. Australia Sevens later confirmed that she will miss the rest of the HSBC SVNS World Championship weekend.
“She got a side knee injury in the USA game, just a minor one so she’ll do everything she can to be at her best,” Australia co-captain Bella Nasser said. “Mads is an incredible athlete, incredible human, so she’s still very much in and around the girls and still playing her role.”
Canada and USA will meet in the other semi-final.
Quarter-finals: USA live Spanish dream with perfect run on day two
After a slow start on Friday, USA’s Valladolid tournament has turned into something of a dream. They booked a place in the last four with an utterly convincing six-try 40-12 win over Fiji in the last eight.
They hadearlier claimed top spot in Pool B in dramatic fashion, ending Australia’s long-standing 32-match winning run in HSBC SVNS pool play. Kaylen Thomas and Sariah Ibarra were the try-scoring heroes for USA in a thrilling 14-10 victory.
Maddi Levi – of course – scored for an unusually error-strewn Australia, her seventh in Spain, but later left the pitch with the injury that will keep her out for the rest of the weekend.
“[It] feels pretty good,” USA captain Kristi Kirshe told RugbyPass TV moments after their seismic victory. “We had our work cut out … but we’ve been training for this moment for the last four weeks and basically all season.
“Really proud of that result, really proud of how the girls committed to each other and had good intensity at the right moment.”
Earlier, Reapi Ulunisau scored her 100th international sevens try – the first Fijian woman sevens’ star to reach the mark – with a highlight-reel, mazy long-distance scorcher to guide the Pacific Islanders to a the vital 17-12 pool B win that ensured a last-eight berth.
Spain’s great Valladolid adventure ended in a 33-7 defeat to all-conquering New Zealand at the quarter-final stage.
Jorja Miller got two of the Black Ferns Sevens tries to take her season total past 50, after Katelyn Vahaakolo had got the scoreboard moving to set up a semi-final meeting against traditional final opponents Australia.
Earlier, having seen Australia toppled in Pool B, New Zealand made sure of qualifying for the quarter-finals at the top of Pool A with a dominant 47-14 win over Japan – who had finished day one in Valladolid unbeaten. Manaia Nuku scored two in quick succession as the Black Ferns Sevens pulled away in the second half.
Spain, meanwhile, had reached the last eight with a clinical 26-0 win over Great Britain in their final Pool C match – featuring tries from Olivia Fresneda, Denisse Gortazar, Maria Calvo and Carmen Miranda Miralles.
Faith Nathan’s scored twice as Australia brushed off the injury absence of try-machine Levi and the disappointment of their surprise pool phase defeat to USA with a scrappy 21-5 win over France in the opening quarter-final.
Canada booked their place in the last four with a convincing six-try 40-5 win over Japan in the last eight.
They had earlier claimed top spot in Pool C with a 24-7 over a subdued France. Olivia Apps scored two, while Charity Williams and Savannah Bauder also got in on the scoring act.
In the play-offs for the minor places, South Africa beat Argentina 19-17 in the ninth-place semi-final. The South Americans were without Antonella Reding, who was handed a red card in the 14-5 loss to Brazil in the pool phase.
South Africa will meet Brazil after a late try Camilla Carvalho handed them a gutsy 19-17 win over Great Britain.
Argentina hold off France fightback
Hong Kong finalists Argentina and South Africa will meet in the last four of the men’s competition, while Fiji take on Australia in the other semi-final.
After a relatively modest regular SVNS Series campaign, Argentina look to be peaking at just the right time.
They reached the final in Hong Kong, where they were beaten by South Africa, and will meet the Blitzboks again in the last four in Valladolid, as they beat New Zealand and France in consecutive outings on day two.
Fiji will take on Australia in the other last-four clash in the men’s competition on the final day of an epic Valladolid weekend.
Quarter-finals: Argentina step up as South Africa fight through
Streetsmart and defensively ferocious Argentina starved France of possession in their quarter-final meeting late on day two in north-west Spain as they avenged their Madrid Grand Final defeat in 2024.
It paid off as they scored three unanswered tries in the first half, and held off a late second-half fightback from Les Bleus to win 21-19.
The South Americans had made certain of top Pool B seeding with a comprehensive 24-0 win over New Zealand in the two sides’ final Pool B match. Marcos Moneta, Luciano Gonzalez, Juan Patricio Batac, and Pedro De Haro scored their tries.
Nelson Epee had been the hero for France in their final pool match as they held on to beat USA 19-14. The Toulouse flier won a try-saving penalty near his own line as Les Bleus booked a last-eight slot.
“The Championship is very close, very difficult with 12 big teams,” relieved France captain Paulin Riva told RugbyPass after that scrappy win. “We are happy to go into the quarter-finals because in Hong Kong it was very difficult for us, so let’s go.”
Maurice Longbottom scored a double, and Ben Dowling added a third as clinical Australia eased past Kenya 21-0 in their quarter-final match-up.
Australia head coach Liam Barry had said before kick-off the best way to beat a South African side who have dominated the season was to starve them of possession. And that’s exactly what his side did as they claimed top spot in Pool A with a 24-14 win, with Harry Wilson, Henry Hutchison, Dowling, and Josh Turner all crossing.
Kenya had reached the last eight after a hard-fought, high-intensity final Pool A match against a gutsy Great Britain, who must be ruing their ill-fortune after another determined performance that wasn’t quite good enough. Festus Shiasi Safari and Patrick Odongo Okong’o scored the crucial tries in a 12-7 win.
After their pool phase surprise, regular season champions South Africa faced hosts – and opening-day conquerors in Hong Kong – Spain in front of a loud and partisan crowd at Estadio Jose Zorrilla.
The Blitzboks found themselves 12-0 down before they had any meaningful time on the ball, and had no points on the board at the break.
But tries from Impi Visser and Jayden Nell, both converted by Ricardo Duarttee, saw them through to the last four.
Spain’s men had earlier followed in the footsteps of their female counterparts, making sure of a place in the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 14-12 win over Fiji.
George Bose scored a try in each half as a brilliant Fiji swept New Zealand aside. Bose’s double was augmented by touchdowns for Tomasi Vuluma, Terio Veilawa, Akuila Dranivotua and Nacani Boginisoko as they won 40-0 to set-up a semi-final against.
Play-offs: USA end Valladolid winless run and Germany do Uruguay double
Great Britain’s frustrating Valladolid weekend continued as they lost 21-26 to USA in golden-point extra-time in the ninth-place play-off semi-final.
Two matches at either end of the second day between Uruguay and Germany could not be more different. The first was one-way traffic.Makonnen Amekuedi scored three and Anton Gleitze two of Germany’s eight tries as they brushed aside the South Americans 52-0.
The second was a much tighter, momentum-shifting affair. But Amekuedi’s second hat-trick of the day against the same opposition settled it 22-17.
“I’m lost for words,” Germany’s hero told RugbyPass seconds after the final whistle. “We made it hard for ourselves, but in the end we just powered through, didn’t give up and won as a team.”
