Great Britain and Fiji have booked their tickets to the HSBC SVNS Series World Championship at Los Angeles’s Dignity Health Sports Park on May 3-4, with it no longer possible for Brazil to rise into the top eight on the overall women’s standings.
Six teams had already done enough to secure their place at the winner-takes-all event ahead of this weekend’s regular season finale in Singapore. New Zealand, Australia, France, Canada, the USA, and Japan will compete for the top prize on the Series in one month.
There were still two more places up for grabs, though, and three teams continued to battle it out in a bid to fill those spots. Fiji in seventh and eighth-place Great Britain were in the box seats but results still needed to fall their way.
LA’s Dignity Health Sports Park will host the World Championship and SVNS Series playoffs on May 3-4. Don’t miss out – buy your tickets HERE.
GB took a big step towards the World Championship with a last-gap 15-12 win over the USA. 20-year-old Reneeqa Bonner was the hero for the British in their firs match with a late try, but they still had Paris Olympics silver-medallists Canada to play in Pool D.
“Just unreal. Absolutely amazing and so happy,” Bonner told RugbyPass.
“I’m so grateful to be able to go out and represent my country and [scoring] the winning try as well for the girls, we needed it so bad.
“It’s a whole team effort, one from 13. I’m so grateful to be with the girls.
“The cohesion we’ve got in this squad is unreal and we really do believe that we have the power to be better and that’s what we’re striving to be every tournament, every game.”
GB were beaten 14-5 by Canada later on Saturday, but it didn’t impact their dream of playing in the World Championship, with Brazil losing to New Zealand. With that result, Brazil were confirmed as the ninth-placed side, meaning Fiji had also done enough to qualify.
At the other end of the standings, the Black Ferns Sevens were also mathematically confirmed as the 2024/25 League Winners. It’s the New Zealanders’ second league title in as many seasons after claiming that crown at Singapore’s National Stadium last year.
“If, based on selection, if I go I’m going to be absolutely ecstatic,” Bonner said when asked about the prospect of playing at the World Championship.
“Just training hard, playing hard as well and hopefully we can get the scores.”
Brazil joins China, Ireland and Spain in the bottom four. These teams will face off against the top four sides from the second-tier Challenger Series during the World Championship at the home of Major League Soccer giants, La Galaxy.
In the men’s draw, the top eight was confirmed last week during the Hong Kong Sevens with GB taking hold off the last vacant playoff. They join Argentina, Fiji, Spain, South Africa, France, Australia and New Zealand at the winner-takes-all tournament.
“We’re trying not to think about LA,” Argentina’s Santiago Alvarez told RugbyPass at Kai Tak Stadium when asked about the World Championship.
“Of course, it’s our dream, our objective is winning LA… but we’re going step by step and trying to be better.”
Download the RugbyPass App to watch exclusive SVNS Series videos and catch up on the latest news you need to know. Download it from the App Store HERE or Google Play.
