Singapore National Stadium will play host to the final round of the HSBC SVNS 2024 regular season this weekend and there is plenty to play for at both ends of the standings.
The two teams that top the men’s and women’s standings at the end of HSBC SVNS Singapore will be crowned League Winners and have top seeding for the Grand Final in Madrid between 31 May – 2 June.
Meanwhile, the bottom four teams in each will have to compete in a promotion-relegation tournament at Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, against the top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Challenger 2024, to secure their place in HSBC SVNS 2025.
Ahead of kick-off in Singapore, we run you through the permutations facing the teams involved…
Race to be crowned League Winners
New Zealand and Australia head to the Singapore National Stadium locked on 106 points and separated at the top of the women’s standings by points difference alone, the Black Ferns Sevens holding a 57-point advantage in that metric.
It means that whoever performs best in the heat and humidity this weekend will finish the regular season as League Winners.
The Black Ferns Sevens are the form team having reeled off three successive tournament victories in Vancouver, Los Angeles and Hong Kong while Australia are yet to win a title since the turn of the year.
Argentina hold an eight-point cushion over second-place Ireland in the men’s standings ahead of HSBC SVNS Singapore.
That means, Los Pumas Sevens will be sure of the League Winners title if they reach at least the Cup semi-finals at Singapore National Stadium.
Los Pumas Sevens’ points difference is 298 points better than Ireland’s, which means they are also likely to finish the regular season top of the standings if they finish fifth in Singapore – regardless of what Ireland do.
Should Argentina fail to reach the Cup quarter-finals for the second successive tournament, however, Ireland would leapfrog them in the standings if they qualify for the Cup semi-finals.
Sprint for the top eight
Fourteen of the 16 teams that will compete for the overall HSBC SVNS 2024 title at the Grand Final have already been decided.
One men’s and one women’s team will join them in the standalone tournament, while the remaining eight nations will compete in the promotion-relegation tournament in Madrid.
In the men’s standings, USA will secure their place in the top eight if they reach at least the Cup semi-finals – regardless of what Great Britain and Spain achieve this weekend.
Great Britain head to Singapore in ninth place, seven points adrift of USA, who they have been drawn to play in a crucial Pool C match on Saturday.
Should USA qualify for the Cup quarter-finals and both Great Britain and Spain fail to join them then the Men’s Sevens Eagles will be guaranteed a top-eight place.
If USA fail to make the quarter-finals then the door will open for Great Britain and Spain. The former would have to finish at least fifth to be guaranteed to climb above the Men’s Eagles Sevens, while the latter would need a podium place to do the same.
Great Britain enjoy a slightly more comfortable position in the women’s standings, sitting two points above ninth-place Brazil.
The two teams have been drawn to meet in Pool C on Saturday in what looks like being a crucial match to each nation’s hopes of a top-eight berth.
Advancing to the Cup quarter-finals at the expense of their rival could prove decisive for either Brazil or Great Britain.
Ciaran Beattie’s Great Britain start the weekend knowing they only need to outperform Brazil in Singapore to finish above them in the regular season standings.
That should be enough to also secure a top-eight place.
See the HSBC SVNS 2024 champions crowned in Madrid, 31 May – 2 June. Tickets from €10 available to purchase here
