A seventh straight Dubai title is very much on the cards for Australia, as they won all three of the Pool B games to set-up a second-day semi-final against Fiji.
Try-machine Maddison Levi ran in five tries in those three matches, one more than her side conceded all day, as the ruthless new-look HSBC SVNS series kicked off under the hot desert sun
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Meanwhile, new-look New Zealand — without stalwarts Sarah Hirini or Michaela Brake in their ranks — will face surprise semi-finalists Japan in the last four, despite a mid-Pool A scare when they lost to USA.
POOL A: New Zealand brush off USA slip to claim semi-final slot
Jorja Miller kickstarted the Dubai scoresheet just 15 seconds into the opening match against France, taking advantage of some lacklustre defending to score from a tap penalty to score the first of a personal brace as New Zealand kicked off their Dubai challenge with a 24-21 win over an inexperienced France side.
It was a relatively straightforward victory for the Black Ferns’ Sevens, but Les Bleues’ fleet-footed 18-year-old Mariama Tandiang showed signs of future stardom, scoring two tries on her sevens debut.
A double for Lavena Cavuru and a late score for debutant Atelaite Ralivanawa helped Fiji to a 19-7 victory over Olympic bronze medalists USA.
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Reapi Ulunisau’s first-half hat-trick then shot Fiji to an early lead in their second game against France. But they had to hang on, as France roared back from 28-0 down to get to 28-19 with a minute left on the clock. But Les Bleues were unable to crack Fiji’s defence again.
Having lost their opening game, USA needed to win second time out against New Zealand, a team they hadn’t beaten in their last 14 attempts, to keep their semi-final hopes alive. Erica Coulibaly’s try in the dying seconds handed them a hard-fought 21-17 victory at the end of a momentum-shifting match, their first win over the Black Ferns Sevens since the Dubai tournament in 2019.
Ariana Ramsey’s brace helped make it two from three and keep USA’s semi-final hopes alive as they beat France 27-14 to hold second place with one match to play.
USA’s victory over France heaped the pressure on New Zealand, who hadn’t lost back-to-back pool matches on the SVNS circuit for more than a decade, as they faced early Pool A pace-setters Fiji. Two more for Miller set them on their way to a decisive 31-12 win to finish top of the pool, above Fiji, then USA, with France propping up the table.
POOL B: Japan claim last-four place with surprise win over Canada
Maddison Levi — who else? — scored twice as Australia extended their winning run over Japan to 18 matches, as they kicked off their bid for a sixth successive Dubai title with a straightforward 31-7 victory in their tournament debut in the desert. Sister Teagan, so often the provider, had opened the scoring, while Faith Nathan and captain Isabella Nasser also touched down.
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Levi got two more in Australia’s second Pool A outing, with Faith Nathan and Heidi Dennis also scoring as the reigning Dubai champions put one foot in the semi-finals with a 24-17 win over Canada.
Charity Williams scored two of Canada’s three tries, with Adia Pye getting her second touchdown in as many matches at her debut HSBC SVNS tournament.
Earlier, Olympic silver medalists and 2025 HSBC SVNS bronze winners Canada were too strong for an inexperienced Great Britain side, who featured 11 debutants in their squad. The Canadians scored seven tries to win 41-5, but Solana Shaw de Leon’s late touchdown for Team GB was a real confidence booster for a revamped squad.
Honoka Tsutsumi touched down twice in quick succession in the first half, and Michiyo Suda rounded things off with a late double of her own as Japan recovered from their first-game defeat to run in six tries in a 36-5 victory over Great Britain that kept their qualification hopes alive.
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Those earlier Pool B results set-up a winner-takes-all shoot-out between Canada and Japan for a semi-final place in the two sides’ final outing of the day. For the longest time, it looked like that place was Canada’s, but Yume Hirano’s conversion of Mei Ohtani’s late try gave the result — and the last-four place — to Japan 21-19.
Already-qualified Australia, meanwhile, eased through their final match of the day, beating Great Britain 55-0. Tia Hinds got the scoreboard moving with 10 seconds on the clock, while Kaitlin Shave and Teagan Levi scored two each as the champions ran in nine unanswered tries to round off the pool phase in style.