Five reasons to watch the men’s HSBC SVNS Vancouver

We could give you 50, but here are our top five suggestions as to why you should add the men’s HSBC SVNS action in Vancouver to your must-watch list:

1. More ‘magic in the air’ for Argentina?  

Three HSBC SVNS stops, three different winners points to the joyful unpredictability of this tournament. Add on a succession of sensational shocks (plenty more on that below) and you would appear to be brave a fan if you wanted to predict the victor in Vancouver.

But are Argentina about to grab this tournament by the scruff of the neck?

Santiago Mare certainly thinks so. After punching through with victory in Perth last month (having finished third in Dubai and fifth in Cape Town) the skipper ominously said, “we are growing tournament to tournament”.

Then there is the Vancouver factor to consider. The Argentineans, on a scarcely believable 18-game unbeaten run in the BC Place, are gunning for a fourth win-in-a-row in the Canadian city.

No wonder wizard wing Marcos Moneta said, “Maybe there’s some magic in the air. Each time we come here we feel like we’re at home,” after last year’s win over New Zealand in the final.

2. Spain: no plans to wake up

Despite Argentina’s fair status as favourites, the team which has merrily ripped up the formbook most often this season is far from done.

“I mean we're all very, very happy about what's happened, but we're not focusing much on what we've done, more on what’s to come,” Jeremy Trevithick said of his team’s nonchalant progress to the top of the table, alongside Argentina and Fiji.

Although, the smiling wing did permit himself a moment to revel in how far they have come.  

“Obviously we all grew up playing rugby In Spain, so having the opportunity to beat big teams like New Zealand, Ireland, Great Britain, for us, it's incredible,” said Trevithick.

“I mean, we're honestly living in a dream right now.”

3. Uruguay prove any team can win any time

 Uruguay may well wish they could close their eyes and wake up back on day one in Perth. But even though they were unable to follow up their headline-grabbing pool-stage wins over Fiji and New Zealand on days two and three, the South Americans have fired up their first SVNS campaign since securing promotion back to the top league just last season.

Every game is winnable is surely the message filtering through the camp now.

Consider this, just weeks after succumbing 70-7 to Fiji in Cape Town, the Uruguayans found themselves 17-0 down against the same opponents in Perth. Mental scarring? No chance. Just a few scintillating minutes later, the men in blue were walking off 24-17 victors.

And guess which game kicks the men’s tournament off in Vancouver? Yep, Uruguay v Fiji. Unmissable.

4. Derby games galore

Fiji, the third team sat on 48 points after three rounds, may be forgiven for thinking that just about every team is out to get them in Vancouver.

As well as that tantalising opening match-up against Uruguay, the Pacific Islanders will also face one of their fellow league leaders, Spain, in Pool C.

While that underlines the strength of this year’s competition, it also potentially paves the way for another knockout classic versus France. The 2024 Olympic finalists have faced off in each round so far, with shuddering consequences.

First up, Fiji got their revenge for their Paris heartache, with victory in the quarter-finals in Dubai. Just a week later, France reclaimed bragging rights by winning the Cape Town semi-final. But fate threw them together in Perth too, and Fiji claimed a 2-1 season lead, winning the fifth-sixth place playoff.

Who wants to see another round of this emerging classic?

5. Wounded All Blacks ready to roar?

Losses galore, a sixth and a ninth-place finish in the past two tournaments and a team shorn of stardust. But rugby lore, not to mention a dose of logic, suggests you write off New Zealand at your peril.

While the Vancouver squad still contains a quartet of young fliers, as the All Blacks plan for the future, there is plenty of experience in the line-up. Alongside Ngarohi McGarvey-Black, the standout star of their underwhelming campaign so far, five men have more than 200 international caps under their belt.

Add on the fact that last season the team followed up a ninth place in Perth with a silver in Vancouver and wins in the final two SVNS stops.

One thing all this does is make yet another day one clash box-office. A win in their heavyweight opener against South Africa and all could be rosy once more for the All Blacks.