HSBC SVNS Series leaders Fiji have secured their spot in the Men’s Cup quarterfinals after recording a much-needed 33-5 win over New Zealand at Perth’s HBF Park on Saturday.
On the back of their title-winning run to glory at the season-opening event in Dubai and another strong outing in Cape Town last month, Fiji emerged as the top team on the men’s standings with 36 competition points from those two stops.
Fiji would’ve been widely considered one of the favourites to secure the first sevens title of the new year in Perth, but their favouritism took a blow in game one. In one of the biggest upsets in SVNS Series history, Fiji started their tournament in Perth with a shock loss to Uruguay.
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The Fijians had beaten Uruguay by an emphatic 70-7 scoreline at Cape Town’s DHL Stadium and they appeared to be on track for another big win in Perth after an idyllic start on a scorching January morning. But the Uruguayans managed to claw their way back.
From a 17-point deficit, Uruguay rallied to knock off the Fijians 24-17. Fiji bounced back later on day one with a hard-fought 21-14 win over newly promoted Kenya, which set the stage for a blockbuster showdown on Saturday morning against their traditional foe.
New Zealand also beat Kenya but lost to Uruguay, putting them on four competition points in Perth from their two matches. On day two, Kenya beat Uruguay 19-15, so both Fiji and New Zealand had to win to secure their spot in the Cup knockout rounds.
The All Blacks Sevens looked the more threatening of the two teams early on as they made their way deep into Fiji’s half, but against the run of play, Iowane Teba raced away for a long-range try as the Fijians registered the first points of this Pool C clash.
SVNS Series veteran Andrew Knewstubb hit back for the New Zealanders a few minutes later, but with that score going unconverted, the men in black still trailed their great rivals by a slender two-point margin.
Joji Nasova scored just before the half-time break, and a try to Pilipo Bukayaro early in the second term saw Fiji fly out to a 19-5 advantage. As the live ladder on the broadcast showed at the time, New Zealand sat in third place in their pool.
It was tense. Fiji had one foot in the Men’s quarterfinals while the All Blacks Sevens were frighteningly close to relying on other results – 12 months on from their pool stage exit at the very same tournament in Western Australia.
An incredible offload set up Viwa Naduvalo’s try in the 12th minute, with that score all but ending New Zealand’s hopes of victory. Terio Veilawa also added another five-pointer in the final play which saw the All Blacks Sevens finish third in their pool.
“Are you kidding me” 🤯
Is that the greatest offload you’ve ever seen? 😱#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSPER | @fijirugby pic.twitter.com/j4g5FgurYQ
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) January 25, 2025
“A little blip on the radar yesterday with the defeat to Uruguay but restoring their position as top dog and Fiji are through to the quarterfinals 33 points to 5. Absolutely emphatic over their rivals,” commentator Rikki Swannell said on the broadcast.
“New Zealand, well it’s written on their faces isn’t it? They are in a jam, struggling to find a way out at the moment.”
At the time of writing, the New Zealanders no longer control their destiny. They will need to wait for other results to see if they’ve done enough to qualify for the quarterfinals at SVNS Perth.
