HSBC SVNS: Spain lay down marker on a day of shocks in Dubai

Sevens heavyweights Fiji – looking for their first tournament title since 2022 – and Argentina both went unbeaten on day one in Dubai, as Spain and Kenya both sprang major surprises, getting the better of New Zealand and South Africa respectively.

But while Spain also beat USA to finish in the top eight, Kenya’s loss to Australia meant they missed out on the quarter-finals on their return to the top tier.

Great Britain will play Spain in the last eight on Sunday, while South Africa take on New Zealand, France and Fiji will face off in a repeat of the Olympic final, and Argentina meet Australia.

POOL A: South Africa keep dream of six alive

South Africa – looking for their sixth Dubai title in a row – beat Olympic and HSBC SVNS champions France in a pulsating match to bring the curtain down on the opening day at Dubai.

A much-changed France, featuring just three of their Olympic stars, had come back from 12-0 down in the first half to lead 19-12 in the dying seconds of the match. But Christie Grobbelaar broke free to score under the posts – and Donavan Don raced clear at the end of the first period of extra time to settle the result at 19-24.

To the delight of the crowd, Kenya had earlier given France a real scare in the two sides’ opening match – taking the game into extra time, before Ali Dabo scored his second try in a matter of minutes of the match to take the score to 24-19.

France, featuring just three of their Olympic stars, then went two for two with a hard-fought 14-10 victory over Australia.

A pair of tries for Tristan Leyds had earlier given South Africa an opening match 17-0 win over the Australians – but they came undone against an effervescent Kenya. Leyds scored another brace – but Nygel Pettersan Amaitsa won a footrace with the clock in the red to secure a dramatic first-ever win on the SVNS series for Kenya, 22-17.

Australia finished the day on a positive note. Hayden Sargeant scored two of their five tries as they beat Kenya 31-14.

POOL B: Perfect Argentina prove their point

Argentina – who were beaten to last season’s HSBC SVNS title by France – threw down an early gauntlet to their rivals with a perfect three from three on the opening day in Dubai. 

Tobias Wade scored two of Argentina’s seven tries in their opener against neighbours Uruguay, as they kicked off their campaign with a 45-7 win. They then ensured a place in the last eight with a comfortable 22-5 win over a Great Britain side drained by a 20-minute golden point win over Ireland in their opening outing.

Quarter-final place assured, they rounded off their day’s work with a 29-7 victory over Ireland to round out a miserable day for the men in green.

Despite their defeat against last season’s losing Dubai finalists, Great Britain made sure of a place in the last eight. Harry Glover scored the golden point try six minutes into extra time as they came from behind to beat Ireland in the opening match 

They made it two from three with a comfortable 31-10 victory over Uruguay in their final outing of the day, Sunni Jardine marking an impressive debut with his second try of the day.

And Uruguay had benefited from Ireland’s post-golden point match fatigue, winning 26-14, despite a brace from the impressive Josh Costello.

POOL C: Fiji cruise to three from three as Spain shock New Zealand

Spain coach Francisco Hernández was understandably proud of his side, as they booked passage to the last eight courtesy of a thoroughly impressive win over New Zealand.

Anton Legorburu Anso scored twice in the second half as the HSBC SVNS new boys showed few nerves and even less respect for their more illustrious rivals, winning comfortably in the end.

“[I’m] very happy with this win,” Hernández said of the 26-14 victory over the All Blacks Sevens. “We started well against Fiji, but didn’t get that win. We’re very happy with this result. We did a good job in preseason. The set-piece worked really well – we have to improve our kick offs but we have consistency, that’s key.”

Spain had had already given another sevens heavyweight side, Fiji, a major scare in their opening match – leading 10-7 at halftime before eventually losing 21-15.

And they ensured a deserved quarter-final place with a 26-0 win over USA.

That loss to Spain meant new-look New Zealand – who had beaten USA 28-12 in their opening outing – needed to beat Fiji in their final match to ensure a favourable draw. But Terio Veilawa, Pilipo Bukayaro and Filipe Sauturaga had other ideas as they led the Pacific Islanders to a 21-12 win, leaving new-look New Zealand sweating on the result of the match immediately afterwards, Great Britain v Uruguay.