Australia Men's Sevens riding confidence into SVNS Championship

Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 12:13 AM
Nathan Williamson
by Nathan Williamson
Jayden Blake goes over to secure the win and ensure Australia Sevens Men's go through the pool stage of HSBC SVNS New York undefeated

Australia Men's Sevens captain Henry Hutchison believes the side is finding their best form at the right time ahead of next month's SVNS Championship.

The Australians capped off the regular season of the SVNS World Series with another fourth place finish in New York.

Watch the 2025-2026 HSBC SVNS Series live and on demand via Stan Sport.

It came after a perfect day one, finishing top after wins over France, New Zealand and eventual champions South Africa.

They struggled to back this form up the following day, going down to Fiji and Argentina.

"We were really happy with day one, I thought it was our best single day of football all year" Hutchison said. "We need to learn how to become day two masters and learn to bring the same intensity, fight and will when it matters.

"That will be our focus point moving onto Hong Kong."

The performance was enough to secure third place for the regular season behind South Africa and Fiji, their highest since winning the World Series in 2022.

The Aussies' consistency proved the difference, making the semi-finals of every event in 2026.

This becomes even more crucial heading into the three-leg World Championship, with an additional four teams entering both draws in an elimination-style, three-round tournament kicking off in Hong Kong next month. The top eight sides overall in the standings table after the final three rounds of competition will qualify for the 2026/2027 World Series, while the bottom four teams will face relegation.

"Overall happy with the consistency and to finish third is the best since we won in 2022 so we’re tracking well. However, we’re also not delusional in knowing that there’s not much between third and sixth and we're aware of our situation heading into the World Championships," Hutchison added,

"Credit to South Africa and Fiji who have been the form teams in the first six tournaments and it’s been a dog fight beneath them."

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