Perth SVNS - Round Three

Today at 09:19 AM

PREVIEW: Sevens fever is set to grip Perth as the city gears up to host the third round of the HSBC SVNS for a second time.

Olympic champions France are looking to retain their SVNS Champions crown after they defeated SVNS league winners Argentina to claim the inaugural men's title in 2024.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's women secured their second successive Olympic title in Paris and will be aiming to reclaim the SVNS Champions title they lost to Australia in 2024.

In a landmark first, the women's final will be the last showpiece match of the tournament, taking centre stage on Sunday and bringing down the curtain on HSBC SVNS Perth.

"We've loved our time in Perth again so far and to be back playing in front of the Aussie fans at Perth Rectangular Stadium gives the girls a lot of motivation to try and win the title this year," Australia women's captain Isabella Nasse said.

"We fell short in the final last year and that has only driven us as a team to get better."

Australia men's captain Henry Hutchison said: "It's great to be back in Perth and we're looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd that really turned up and got behind us last year. We've got some fresh faces in the group but hopefully we can go one better this year and put on a show."

New Zealand women's captain Sarah Hirini said: "I'm really proud of the way we have started off the season. Perth is our closest event to home so I know we will have a heap of Kiwi's down here supporting us. It's my first time in Perth so I'm exciting to see what the stadium is like and hopefully get another win on the Series.

"I think the women's final being played after the men's is a pretty cool step forward, showing a lot of young girls that things can change as we keep adapting to how society is."

Argentina men's captain Santiago Mare said: "We are very happy to be back in Perth. We have very good memories here from last year so we hope to have a good tournament and achieve the same as last season. We are always looking to keep improving, with new players and new staff. We love the beach and the sun so we are very happy to be playing again here in Perth."

Ireland women's captain Megan Burns said: "Winning last year's tournament here in Perth was definitely a great moment for us and one that will stay in our memories forever. We are really excited to be back here, we all love it here and can't wait to get back out there on the pitch. The support from the many Irish fans here gives us massive energy. We're going out there to enjoy it and hopefully get to the final again."

(Continue below...)

Schedule
(Kick-off is local time - GMT plus eight hours)

Men

Saturday, January 25
Kenya v Uruguay (12.00)
Fiji v New Zealand (12.22)
Great Britain v Ireland (12.44)
France v Spain (13.06)
Australia v United States (13.28)
South Africa v Argentina (13.50)

Women

Saturday, January 25
Great Britain v Fiji (14.19)
United States v Canada (14.41)
Ireland v Brazil (15.03)
New Zealand v Japan (15.25)
China v Spain (15.47)
France v Australia (16.09)