The All Blacks Sevens and the Black Ferns Sevens know who they will face in the pool phase of the next stop on the HSBC SVNS Series in Cape Town, after the draw for next weekend’s tournament took place shortly after they celebrated their double Dubai titles.
The Black Ferns Sevens will meet Fiji, USA – who shocked them on day one in Dubai — and Great Britain in Pool A in South Africa next weekend.
Losing finalists Australia head-up Pool B, alongside a Japan side brimming with confidence after their first-ever podium finish, Canada and France.
Celebrating a first Dubai win since 2019, New Zealand’s Katelyn Vahaakolo said: “We haven’t won Dubai in six years, so to be able to bring it home, especially after the rebuild we’ve been having as a group, obviously we don’t have the likes of Sarah [Hirini] and Michaela [Brake]. I’m just so proud and I'm so privileged to be a black Fern today.
But looking ahead to next week’s Cape Town challenge, she insisted there was more to come: “Our connection has been so good off the field and it was cool to finally transfer into the final. [But] we need to keep being more consistent, keep working on our team connection, our combos, and just nailing the one percenters.”
And team-mate Theresa Setefano looked forward to renewing a few rivalries thrown up in the draw. “The new format in the competition, every single game is going to be a tough one, so [we’re] really excited to go against Fiji and USA again.”
Their male counterparts have been drawn in Pool A in Cape Town, with hosts South Africa, Dubai bronze-medallists Fiji and an increasingly confident Great Britain.
Beaten Dubai finalists Australia and fourth-place finishers France, as well as underperformers Spain and Argentina, who will both be out to show their respective sixth and eighth-placings in the opening round aren’t a harbinger of things to come on the HSBC SVNS Series, make up a tough-looking Pool B.
Dubai winner Jayden Keelan said the title showed how much work the All Blacks Sevens had put into their pre-season training. But, looking ahead to Cape Town, he added: “Sevens is a game where anything can happen. If we put our best team out there, the boys that get put on that field will do the job and get the job done.”