High Five: State of play in the men’s competition heading to Cape Town

The new SVNS Season kicked off in Dubai last weekend – and even with Stormzy on stage outside the stadium, the party was definitely within. 

Clear from the get-go was that the Aussie women and Black Ferns Sevens remain a cut above, and will dominate the women’s draw once again. For record try scorer Maddison Levi (15 in one weekend) and Player of the Final Charlotte Caslick, Paris trauma turned into Dubai triumph.

But there’s no such thing as a two-horse race in the men’s competition. The battle for the title here looks wide open, and exciting. 

If Dubai is anything to go by, 2025 could be one of the most closely contested and hard-fought races in Sevens history. So let’s take a whistle-stop of what’s what in the fellas’ tournament. 

Fiji are back

If Fiji shine, sevens shines. The wide-as-a-mile smile on the face of head coach Osea Kolinisau summed it up: two and a half years and 22 events in the waiting, Fiji are finally back on top of a SVNS podium. 

They had to graft for some of their wins, most notably with the last-gasp stunner from Vuiviwa Naduvalo that won a captivating quarter-final against France in a repeat of the thrilling Olympic final. 

But graft they did – and win they did. They left Dubai unbeaten and full of that Fiji joy we all wish we could bottle and take home. The sound of the team singing in the middle of the Sevens Stadium after full-time lifted every heart, no matter the jersey worn. 

Spanish history

Gold proved a bridge too far, but Spain made Sevens history by playing in their first-ever cup final and taking silver, after beating the All Blacks twice in two days en route. 

And what of Pol Pla? A moment of the weekend was the 31-year-old stalwart and 2016 Olympian breaking the 100-try barrier, and then scoring the opening try of the cup final. Cheers around the ground. Having missed out on Olympic qualification, the Spanish men showed in Dubai that they are a genuine force – and this is without Jaime Manteca and captain Juan Ramos. Their return will only add more strength and flair. 

Rookies rise 

There were more than 90 debutants across the men’s and women’s teams in Dubai last weekend – spare a thought for your commentators, with 90-plus new names, pronunciations, and histories to learn. 

But what began as a commentator’s nightmare soon became a dream to call, as so many SVNS first-timers put in breakout performances. 

A few to note: Ali Dabo and Gregoire Arfeuil, for France; Oli Mathis and Sofai Maka, for New Zealand; Kavekini Tanivanuakula and George Bose, for Fiji; Sunni Jardine for Great Britain; Kenya’s crazy-quick Patrick Odongo. The long journey to LA 2028 has begun: when the next Olympics rolls round, many of these ones-to-watch will have evolved into seasoned sevens stars.

Giants stumble

Both have world-class talent on the team bus, but Los Pumas and the Blitzboks missed out on the main event. 

South Africa’s five-time Dubai title-run came to an end in a quarter-final against New Zealand, but perhaps that bodes well for the second event in Cape Town – after winning Dubai, the Blitzboks have rarely been able to consolidate on home turf the following week. Let’s see. 

Meanwhile, Argentina succumbed to Fiji in their semi, putting in something of an old-school Pumas performance, conceding too many soft tries, and claws retracted during attacks. 

Wonder boy Marcos Moneta started most games on the bench, and I reckon Coach Santi Gomez Cora might want to take his Ferrari out of the garage a little earlier in Cape Town.   

Sprint to the top 8 

We’re just one tournament down and we’re already buckled in for a race to the top eight – avoiding bottom-four relegation will be edgy all season. 

The last four as we look at it is instructive – promoted teams Uruguay and Kenya were always going to be in the play-off conversation until it gets locked in after Singapore, but both Ireland and the USA will be nervous, having lost so many top players in the off-season. It’ll be interesting watching them slug it out as they grow and settle. 

So... It’s all new, and all go. See you in Cape Town!