South Africa rocketed to joint top of the standings, alongside Fiji with their third tournament win of the HSBC SVNS Series, adding the Vancouver title to their Perth and Cape Town crowns.
The Blitzboks went unbeaten across the weekend to claim their first win in Canada since the Covid-shortened series in Edmonton in 2021
Blitzboks captain Impi Visser’s focus was already switching to next weekend in New York when he spoke on the sidelines immediately after the match. “It’s an amazing feeling,” he said of their win. “Sometimes we take it for granted but it’s an amazing feeling and we’re really grateful for it.
“We had a lot of changes —-six changes from Perth to now and the thing we said we want to build is consistency. I think we’ve shown that through and through. We just need to keep up this momentum going into New York.”
Fiji made it five podium finishes in five HSBC SVNS Series tournaments, beating Australia to claim third, while Argentina — who had won the past four tournaments in Vancouver — recovered from a disappointing day one performance to claim fifth place.
South Africa and Fiji are locked at the top of the men’s standings. They’re level on log points, with Fiji just ahead having scored two match points more across the HSBC SVNS Series to date.
The side that finishes top of the standings heading into the three-tournament World Championship series will be exempt from relegation to HSBC SVNS 2.
Final: South Africa put rivals on notice with statement third tournament win
South Africa laid down a marker to their rivals as they claimed their third gold medal of the HSBC SVNS Series with an emphatic 38-12 win over Spain in a one-way repeat of last year’s Grand Final in Los Angeles.
Spain, in just their third HSBC SVNS tournament final, soon learned the scale of the task in front of them, as the Blitzboks screamed into an early lead.
Ryan Oosthuizen got the scoreboard moving early, before Sebastiaan Jobb and Shilton van Wyk each scored before the break.
Jobb got his second and Gino Cupido also scored for South Africa, while Jeremy Trevithick and Anton Legorburu Anso scored for Spain. But captain Impi Visser had the final word with a long-distance touchdown.
South Africa’s march to their seventh final in Vancouver only came after an enthralling semi-final against a determined Australia.
The Blitzboks had conceded only four tries in three matches on day one, but shipped two in 14 minutes, and had Selvyn Davids’ late try to thank for a 19-12 win.
The second semi-final was another thriller. A double for Eduardo Lopez, and tries for Manu Moreno and Anton Legorburu Anso were enough for Spain to spring a shock on Fiji, holding on to win 24-17, and record only their fifth win over the Pacific Islanders in 34 attempts.
Third-place play-off: Fiji claim fifth podium finish
Fiji beat Australia 29-10 in an occasionally spicy third-place play-off to maintain their record of a podium finish at every stop on the 2025/26 HSBC SVNS Series. Terio Veilawa and Viwa Naduvalo — who else? — got the scoreboard moving, before Australia hit back through Maurice Longbottom and Jayden Blake to trail by four at the break.
But Fiji’s George Bose, who had a first-half try ruled out, got the scoreboard moving after the break, with Nacani Boginisoko and Apete Narogo adding late emphasis scores as the clock ran down, with Australia reduced to five players.
Play-offs: Fifth for four-time Canada champions Argentina
Four-time consecutive Vancouver champions Argentina signed off a disappointing weekend on a positive note with a comfortable 34-15 win over France to claim fifth place. Luciano Gonzalez scored twice, after Simon Desert had taken Les Bleus into an early lead.
Santiago Alvarez had earlier gone from yellow card villain to hero as Argentina came from behind to beat New Zealand 24-21 to set up a fifth-place play-off against France.
Les Bleus had survived an extended period in the second half with six players, after Celian Pouzelgues picked up two yellow cards. Lucas Oudard’s 15th-minute try, converted off the posts by Rayan Rebbadj, was just enough to beat Great Britain 21-19.
Akuila Rokolisoa’s second try of the seventh-place play-off was his 100th in international sevens rugby. Dylan Collier, Kitiona Vai and Sam Clarke also scored as New Zealand finished their Vancouver work with a 29-5 win over Great Britain.