Vancouver SVNS Next; Here's Where We Stand
Vancouver SVNS Next; Here's Where We Stand
The Vancouver 7s is the next stop on the SVNS World Series and we're getting into the serious part of the season.
Leading up to the World Championship tournament at the LAX SVNS at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. May 3-4, Vancouver is tournament four out of the six (before LA).
Here's where we stand:
Eagle Women In the Hunt
Despite seeing several stars from the Bronze-Medal-Winning team at the 2024 Olympics sidelined due to injury or choosing to shoot for the Rugby World Cup squad for 2025, the USA has been performing well. Even after faltering a bit in Perth the Eagles are ranked 4th in the World Series right now and therefore are well-placed to shoot for the Podium in LA.
But they have to build on those performances. Several players, including Nia Toliver, Kaylen Thomas, Alyssa Porter, and Autumn Locicero, have emerged as the new generation. Meanwhile, veterans have stepped up, too. Kayla Canett is possibly having her best season. Their issue right now is beating teams that are more physical than they are—Canada at times and certainly France.
France has been consistently dangerous, finishing 3rd in every tournament so far and sitting 3rd in the standings. Australia and New Zealand have been trading championships—Australia twice and New Zealand once. But, despite having more first-place finishes, Australia is 2nd in the standings because they also finished 4th (in Cape Town, when the Eagles took 2nd), while new Zealand has been 1st or 2nd each event. So, even more intriguing to us, New Zealand is 1st in the standings despite not having beaten Australia this season. Their only two meetings resulted in Australia winning. When Australia didn't make the final in Cape Town it was the USA that beat them.
The battle for staying in the Top Eight (and thus eligible for the Championship tournament in LAX) seems to be around four teams. Great Britain (25 standings points, 7th), Ireland (17 pts), Brazil (14 pts), and China (13 pts) are the ones really fighting for this. A good showing in Vancouver can vault Team GB out of the worry zone. Japan (30 pts) and Canada (32 pts) are a little on the bubble but really they only have to finish reasonably high. One would expect Canada to perform at their home tournament in front of their home fans.
But this is a battle to watch, too.
The Pools
It's a good draw for the USA. They have New Zealand (which is tough, of course), China, and Ireland. While the Irish team can be a problem, a healthy, fit USA team should come out of this pool 2-1. Pool A is Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Spain, which is consistently tough. Pool C is Fiji, France, Great Britain, and Japan, which is also a tough one. If GB can beat Japan and Fiji they can exit that worry zone.
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The Struggle is Real
For the men, the USA is in trouble and needs to bring the results. The Eagles are ranked 11th out of 12 teams and they are only 11th because they have a better points difference than Ireland. If they want to get into the top eight for LA's Championship tournament, then they need to perform well and get into that quarterfinal arena, ideally the top six in Vancouver.
The good news? They are positioned to do it. The USA's results in Pool Play have not been bad; they just falter late in the tournament (physical or mental or emotional fatigue? Maybe).
Meanwhile Fiji, Argentina, and Spain (!) are tied in points at the top of the standings. South Africa and France are close behind. Australia and New Zealand are further behind than you might expect, but really it's an all-out brawl for the top spots. It also seems like teams are a bit fallible this year.
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Have a look at what this all does to the pools, however. Pool B ... wow.
The Pools
Look at these pools! The USA has an excellent shot at making the quarterfinals here. They are in Pool C with Fiji, Spain, and Uruguay. Yes the Eagles have struggled to win games, but they have shown in their close games with South Africa and Argentina that they could beat all of these teams, even Fiji. Meanwhile, take a look at Pool B. That's a rough pool.
Pook A is Argentina, France, GB, and Kenya
Pool B is Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa
So what can the USA do? Well GB and Kenya might struggle to get into the quarterfinals. If New Zealand or Australia get into the 9th-12th knockouts, they could find themselves in standings danger. Meanwhile, the USA would do well to leave Uruguay in the bottom four and they have the ability, as we said, to beat Fiji or Spain. What they would also want is for Ireland to struggle. If all that happens, the Eagles could potentially bypass Uruguay and Kenya to get to 9th. They likely wouldn't catch Greabt Britain, but they could close the gap.
Key for the USA after winning two games on Day One? Win a knockout or placement game.
The Finals
LAX SVNS hosts four major tournaments: Women's World Series Championship, Men's World Series Championship, Women's Re-Qualification, Men's Re-Qualification.
What that means is, even if the USA men don't get to the Top 8, you will still see them play in LA and they will be playing for a serious prize—a place in the SVNS Series for 2025-26. To do that, they would have to in the top four of the eight-team tournament. The World Rugby Challenger Series decides which other four teams will be there. That Series kicks off March 1 in Cape Town and for the men features teams such as Madagascar, Hong Kong, Japan, Georgia, Portugal, Tonga, Uganda, Brazil, Canada, Samoa, German, and Chile.
For the women, competing are: Kenya, Samoa, Uganda, Colombia, Thailand, Mexico, Czechia, Hong Kong, Poland, Samoa, Belgium, and Argentina.
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