The HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 Tournament is ready to kick off at Athlone Stadium, Cape Town, on the weekends of March 1-2 and March 7-8. World Rugby has confirmed the participation of 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams, each having qualified through regional competitions, leading to coveted spots on the global stage at the HSBC Sevens World Series (HSBC SVNS).
Marking a significant event for South African rugby, particularly for the Springbok Women’s Sevens team, the tournament will feature teams drawn across four pools. Each pool consists of three teams, set up according to previous rankings. The first round will start with men's matches showcasing Germany against Japan and Georgia in Pool A, followed by the likes of Chile, Tonga, and Portugal in Pool B. Heavyweights Samoa will compete against Uganda and Brazil in Pool C, with Hong Kong China and Madagascar facing off against Canada, who has transitioned from the HSBC SVNS to this Challenger event.
For the women’s teams, the competition begins with South Africa, Czechia, and Hong Kong China clashing in Pool A, whereas Argentina leads Pool B featuring Thailand and Mexico. Belgium, Uganda, and Colombia will compete within Pool C, with Samoa pairing with Kenya and Poland to round out Pool D.
The competition structure replicates the format utilized during the HSBC SVNS Cape Town tournament held back in December 2024. This format sees the pool winners advancing directly to the semi-finals, with second-placed teams vying for fifth through eighth positions, and the third-placed teams battling for ninth to twelfth spots. After two rounds, the top eight teams from both men’s and women’s categories will move on to the final round at Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium in Krakow, Poland, scheduled for April 11-12.
Following the completion of the Krakow tournament, the top four ranked teams from both the men’s and women’s sides will secure their positions for the HSBC SVNS Play-Offs, to be held at the end of the tournament on May 3-4, 2025, in Los Angeles.
The excitement boils down to the home crowd advantage for the Springbok Women’s Sevens team, who will be competing for reinstatement as core teams within the World Series. Head Coach Renfred Dazel has expressed tremendous enthusiasm about playing on home soil, particularly considering their recent absence from the HSBC SVNS earlier this season. “It is a massive boost for us to play in front of our home crowd, especially after we missed out on the HSBC SVNS Cape Town earlier this season,” Dazel said.
He emphasized the rigorous preparation the team has undergone to be ready for the Challenger Series, underlining the competitiveness and unpredictability of this series gained from their experiences two years prior.
SA Rugby’s CEO, Rian Oberholzer, also highlighted the significance of hosting this event, which provides South Africa with the opportunity to showcase itself as a desirable global sporting venue. “We are honored to be chosen to host these tournaments, as it not only underlines our commitment to rugby on a global scale,” Oberholzer stated. He reminisced about the previous Challenger hosted two years ago, where the Springbok Women crowned champions and qualified for the World Series, hence hoping for similar success this time around.
Adding to South Africa's impactful representation, local referees Griffin Colby and Giana Viljoen have been named among the 18 Emirates Match Officials selected for the men’s and women’s Challenger 2025 panels. With so much riding on this tournament, the Springbok Women’s Sevens team aims to deliver exceptional performances and gain recognition on the global stage.
The tournament opens at 10:00 local time (GMT+2) on March 1, with the men's and women's finals scheduled for Sunday, March 2, at 19:54 and 19:23 respectively. Rugby fans can expect top-tier action as the participating teams battle for greatness and the chance to ascend within the world of rugby sevens.