South Africa, the men’s World Rugby Sevens champions, had a bumpy start at the start of their title defense by finishing fifth in the opening tournament in Dubai as the Series kicked off on November 29, 2025 in a new format.

In this format, eight top teams from the last season were placed in two pools of four teams with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals, bypassing the quarters. South Africa, Spain and Argentina who had a good run last season came to terms with the brutal format that requires each team to win all their matches to have a realistic chance of advancing to the next stage.

The champions had a narrow 15-12 win over an exciting France outfit in their opening match before losing 10-28 to Fiji and 14-19 to Argentina to drop out of the final four. Although they bounced back to beat Great Britain 34-0 and Spain 21-12 in the next two matches, they faced an uphill task in the home tournament in Cape Town.

Familiar Position

This a familiar position for the Blitzz Boks who had mixed results in the run to last season’s championship win in Los Angeles. Again, this team had to go a different route to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France after being knocked out by Kenya in the Africa Cup, a qualifier for the Olympics.

Therefore, the alarm bells are not yet ringing in their camp as Neil Powell prepares for an assault at the title in Cape Town. They have been drawn in a tough Pool A that has New Zealand, Fiji and Great Britain. The second pool has Australia, France, Spain and Argentina. Only the top two teams qualify for the semi-finals.

Across the board, Santiago Gomez Cora had some tough words at the end of the opening leg where Los Pumas finished eighth. The placing has landed them in Pool B with Australia, France, Spain and Argentina in the second tournament in Cape Town, South Africa.

Five Debutants

Cora was realistic after including five debutants in the team explaining that other teams only blood one or two players. “It’s a nice challenge for rebuilding the team. We have three years to build. It is a place we don’t want to be. We shall work hard to turn this around. We have several tournaments ahead, one this weekend and four others. We are hurt by the results but we have the desire to work,” he said in an interview.

The coach added it was an unfamiliar path but explained it was necessary to bring in new players. “The truth is we knew we were coming into this competition which was going to be tough because in the past we have included one or two new players. We are not looking for excuses but facing realities. Nothing was built overnight and from these places we have renounced and become strong,” Cora concluded.

In the women’s category, New Zealand bounced back from a narrow 17-21 loss to the USA to win the title. Japan defied all odds to finish third by beating Fiji 22-12.    

Results from  Dubai

Women

Pool A: Fiji, France, New Zealand, USA

New Zealand 24 France 21, USA 7 Fiji 19, Fiji 28 France 19, New Zealand 17 USA 21, USA 27 France 14, New Zealand 31 Fiji 12.

Pool B: Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Japan.

Australia 31 Japan 7, Canada 41 Great Britain 5, Great Britain 5 Japan 36, Australia 24 Canada 17, Canada 19 Japan 21, Australia 55 Great Britain 0.

Cup Semi Finals: New Zealand 31 Japan 5, Australia 31 Fiji 10; Playoff: Japan 22 Fiji; 12 Final: New Zealand 29 Australia 14.

Fifth Place Semi Final: USA 49 Great Britain 14, Canada 19 France 12; Final: USA 19 Canada 14.

Seventh Place Play Off: Great Britain 5 France 46.

Men’s Results

Pool A: Argentina, Fiji, France, South Africa.

Argentina 19 Fiji 26, South Africa 15 France 12,  South Africa 10 Fiji 28, Argentina 7 France 59, France 24 Fiji 19, South Africa 14 Argentina 19.

Pool B: Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand, Spain.

New Zealand 21 Great Britain 14, Spain 7 Australia 14, Spain 10 Great Britain 14, New Zealand 21 Australia 17, Spain 7 New Zealand 24, Australia 26 Great Britain 17.

Cup Semi Finals: France 0 Australia 14; New Zealand 24 Fiji 21; Playoff: France 7 Fiji 24; Final: Australia 22 New Zealand 26.

Fifth Place Semi Final: Argentina 28 Spain 31, Great Britain 0 South Africa 34; Final: Spain 12 South Africa 21.

Seventh Place Play Off: Argentina 19 Great Britain 24.

Tournament Venues and Dates

Dubai, UAE: November 29-20, 2025.

Cape Town, South Africa: December 6-7, 2025.

Singapore: January 31 – February 1, 2026.

Perth, Australia: February 7-8, 2026. 

Vancouver, Canada: March 7-8, 2026.

New York, USA: March 14-15, 2026. 

Championship

Hong Kong, China: April 17-17, 2026.

Valladolid, Spain: May 29-31, 2026.Bordeaux, France: June 5-7, 2026.