The rugby fraternity at Casurina Bay with Hong Kong sevens tickets will anxiously await photos and visuals of the all-new Hong Kong Stadium, where the new sevens episode will unfold in 2025.
The 2024 tournament was a spectacle that brought in the best rugby sevens and pure entertainment.
With the World Rugby SVNS Series league series over, fans who had Hong Kong Sevens tickets will now focus on the ultimate showdown in Madrid.
The grand finale, the first of its kind, is a new addition to the tournament. It will see an ultimate winner announced.
The schedule was unveiled during an event hosted by Jose Manuel Rodriguez Uribes, President of the Supreme Council for Sports, Spain, to officially welcome the HSBC SVNS to Madrid ahead of the three-day event at the iconic Civitas Metropolitano Stadium.
There will be more to play for than ever before in the history of international rugby sevens on the pitch, while fans will be treated to a festival of music, food, and entertainment around the venue.
The action will be intense from start to finish, with World Rugby’s new winner-takes-all Grand Final format featuring only the top eight men’s and women’s teams set to crown the first-ever SVNS Champions.
Meanwhile, the promotion and relegation Play-Off competition will see eight more men’s and women’s teams play for their HSBC SVNS status.
The Qualifier final matches on Sunday are set to provide rugby sevens fans with a feast of excitement, jeopardy, and high drama.
Under the new HSBC SVNS 2024 model, seven regular-season events occurred. This resulted in Argentina and New Zealand's acclaimed men’s and women’s league winners at HSBC SVNS Singapore in May before Madrid's new standalone Grand Final.
Based on cumulative SVNS points after the seventh round in Singapore, the top eight men's and women's teams secured their place in the Grand Final.
The HSBC SVNS Grand Final pools see men’s 2024 League Winners Argentina in Pool A with Australia, France, and Great Britain. League runners-up Ireland are in Pool B alongside 2023 Series winners New Zealand, double Olympic Champions Fiji, and South Africa.
Meanwhile, in the women’s Grand Final, fans can look forward to seeing arch-rivals Australia and New Zealand battle along with reigning Olympic silver medallists France and Ireland, who won the Perth SVNS title in January.
Reigning Olympic and Series champions New Zealand are in Pool A with the USA, Canada, and Great Britain, while Australia, France, Fiji, and Ireland are in a very competitive Pool B.
The newly introduced high-stakes promotion and relegation play-off competition will take place simultaneously in Madrid. Teams ranked ninth to twelfth in SVNS 2024 will compete with the top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024.
The competition format involves two pools of four teams deciding who plays who in the all-important playoff matches on Sunday. The winners of the resulting four cross-over matches secure their place in HSBC SVNS 2025, while the losing teams will enter the regional qualification pathway for the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025.
Spain’s men’s and women’s teams are in HSBC SVNS Play-Off action in Madrid and will need home support to maintain their HSBC SVNS status.
The men’s Play-Off pools see the USA in Pool A with Canada, Germany, and Uruguay – who arrive fresh from being crowned Challenger champions earlier this month in Munich.
Hosts Spain are in Pool B, where they will face Samoa, Kenya, and Chile.
The Women’s Play-Off pools see Spain in Pool A against Japan, Poland, and China – who wrapped up a clean sweep of victories to take the Sevens Challenger title in Krakow earlier this month.
South American rivals Brazil and Argentina are in Pool B, South Africa, and Belgium.
The three-day event kicks off at noon local time (GMT+2) on Friday, 31 May, with Spain's men facing Kenya in the last match of day one at 21:18. Pool play continues throughout day two, which also kicks off at noon, before the action reaches its climax with finals day on Sunday, 2 June, when play begins at 10:05 and reaches its finale with the HSBC SVNS championship finals at 19:49 and 20:26.
With rugby sevens kicking off the Olympic Games in Paris on 24 July, Madrid represents the last stop on the road to Paris for the teams already qualified.
It is anticipated that former World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year Antoine Dupont will rejoin the France squad in Madrid following his sensational impact at the recent SVNS events in Vancouver and Los Angeles.
For the Hong Kong Sevens winners, the Black Ferns, it will be a test to see if they can come on top against the Australian Women's Sevens team. The rivalry between Australia and New Zealand has been intact throughout this season.
The Australian women got significant honors in the first few tournaments, but the Black Ferns fought to win the final few.
And the Hong Kong Sevens was special. Fans with Hong Kong sevens tickets got the opportunity to witness a peak Black Ferns side going up against the Australians and emerging victorious.
This title was achieved without their usual captain, Sarah Hirini.
The All-Black Sevens will be a test before heading to the Paris Olympics. The All Blacks Men are still to win gold at the Olympics, and it will be their ultimate goal. The Madrid Play-off will be a fitting pre-run ahead of the tussle in Paris.
The best 36 men’s and women’s teams in the world will showcase the speed, skill, and all-action drama of rugby sevens. A pumping music and entertainment line-up will create a buzzing festival atmosphere over three fun-filled, sun-soaked days at the iconic Civitas Metropolitano Stadium.
Away from the pitch, the hugely popular SVNS beach club will see DJs keep the energy high with a mix of dance floor fillers and classic anthems. The sounds of HSBC SVNS in Madrid include famous local DJ Luc Loren and live acts, including Ptazeta and Chanel.
