The Kraków, Poland HBSC SVNS took place last weekend, April 11-12, with eight women’s teams competing in two pools. Pool A featured teams from Thailand, Kenya, Colombia, and Belgium, while Pool B included South Africa, Argentina, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Uganda, which had qualified for this stage, opted out of the tournament to focus its attention on the rugby 15s at the Africa Women’s Rugby Division One game taking place in Côte d’Ivoire. Belgium, which finished in ninth place at the HSBC Series in South Africa earlier this year, replaced Uganda.
Game Day One
- Colombia 12 – 24 Thailand
- Kenya 12 – 0 Belgium
- Argentina 31 – 7 Czechia
- South Africa 29 – 10 Poland
- Colombia 19 – 0 Belgium
- Kenya 12 – 28 Thailand
- Argentina 24 – 12 Poland
- South Africa 45 – 0 Czechia
- Kenya 12 – 7 Colombia
- Thailand 12 – 15 Belgium
- South Africa 22 – 0 Argentina
- Czechia 22 – 15 Poland
In the first round of the HBSC series in South Africa, Kenya had a stellar performance, winning by large margins. However, in the return series, the team struggled to maintain its dominance against some opponents. Argentina, also a strong contender in the South Africa HBSC series, regrouped in preparation for this tournament and defeated Kenya on day one by a margin of 16 points. The game changer for Argentina was their strong attack, securing four tries, each followed by a successful conversion.
The Kenyan side rallied back after Argentina took an early lead with a try just five minutes into the game. Meanwhile, South Africa dominated throughout game day one, winning by large margins and tightening its defense, denying two opponents a chance to score. Only the host country, Poland, managed to score two tries against the South African favorites.
Game Day Two
- Thailand 20 – 21 Argentina
- South Africa 22 – 10 Kenya
- Thailand 19 – 27 Kenya
- Argentina 12 – 21 South Africa
Unlike the South African HBSC series, where all the participating teams advanced to game day two for competitions, the Poland Series proceeded directly to the semifinals, finals, and third-place game. Kenya, the champions of the South African HBSC SVNS, fell short against the South African team, which was determined to reach the finals. In the finals, South Africa faced Argentina in a highly contested match, with both sides demonstrating a strong offense and defense.
Unfortunately for Argentina, despite scoring three tries like the South African side, they failed to convert two of their three tries. The South African side converted all three of its attempts to gain a winning edge over Argentina. South Africa was crowned the champions of the HSBC SVNS Kraków, Poland series. On the other hand, Kenya was awarded the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 Championship following their performance in the South Africa and Poland editions of the games.
Next Stage
The South Africa and Poland HBSC SVNS series challengers were building blocks toward the Los Angeles HSBC SVNS 2025 Playoff, scheduled for May 3-4. The teams that qualified through the Challenger Series to compete in this high-level tournament are Colombia, Argentina, Kenya, and South Africa, and they will be joining the core teams.
