Cape Town’s famous Athlone Stadium has been confirmed as the venue for the opening two rounds of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025. File Picture: Armand Hough, Independent Newspapers
Cape Town’s Athlone Stadium has been confirmed as the venue for the opening two rounds of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025, marking a crucial start for the Springbok Women’s Sevens team as they seek to reclaim their World Series core team status.
World Rugby has announced that the first two of the three Challenger tournaments will take place in Cape Town on the weekends of 1-2 and 7-8 March. A total of 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams who qualified through regional competitions will compete for coveted spots in the HSBC SVNS.
The top eight teams from both the men’s and women’s competitions will then progress to the third round, hosted at Henryk Reyman's Municipal Stadium in Krakow, Poland, on 11-12 April. After this stage, the four highest-ranked men’s and women’s teams will earn places in the HSBC SVNS Play-off tournament in Los Angeles on 3-4 May.
Springbok Women’s Sevens in Pool A
The Bok Women’s Sevens team has been drawn into Pool A alongside Czechia and Hong Kong China for the opening tournament. Pool B includes Argentina, Thailand, and Mexico, while Pool C consists of Belgium, Uganda, and Colombia. Poland, Samoa, and Kenya complete Pool D.
The tournament kicks off at 10am on 1 March, with South Africa’s pool matches scheduled against Hong Kong China at 3.55pm and Czechia at 7.36pm.
The play-offs will follow on Sunday, 2 March.
The competition format will mirror the HSBC SVNS Cape Town tournament from December 2024. The four pool winners will progress directly to the semi-finals, while second-placed teams will battle for fifth to eighth positions, and third-placed teams will compete for ninth to twelfth spots.
A Home Boost for the Bok Women
Springbok Women’s Sevens head coach Renfred Dazel expressed his enthusiasm for the team playing in front of their home crowd.
“It is a massive boost for us to play in front of our home crowd, especially after we missed out on the HSBC SVNS Cape Town earlier in the season,” said Dazel. “We have been working really hard to be in the best shape possible for the Challenger Series. We have seen how competitive and unpredictable this series can be when we played two years ago, so the supporters will be in for top-class action.
“We are determined to get back to the World Series, and we will deliver our best effort in Cape Town next month.”
SA Rugby CEO Welcomes the Tournament
Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, highlighted the significance of hosting the Challenger tournaments in South Africa.
“We are honoured to be chosen to host these tournaments, as it not only underlines our commitment to rugby on a global scale but also provides us with another opportunity to showcase South Africa as a highly desirable destination for big sporting events,” said Oberholzer.
“Over the last few years, we’ve hosted matches in the World Rugby Under-20 Championship and WXV 2 at Athlone Stadium, and it’s a superb venue with all the necessary amenities to host another international event.
“The last time we hosted the Challenger, two years ago in Stellenbosch, our Springbok Women’s Sevens team was crowned champions and booked their spot on the World Series, and we would love nothing more than to see them replicate those performances in March.”
South African Officials to Feature in the Tournament
Adding to the South African presence at the event, local referees Griffin Colby and Giana Viljoen have been named among the 18 Emirates Match Officials selected for the men’s and women’s Challenger 2025 panels.
With a world-class venue, strong home support, and a determined squad, the Springbok Women’s Sevens team will look to make a strong statement in their pursuit of HSBC SVNS qualification. Rugby fans can look forward to top-tier action in Cape Town as teams battle for a place on the global stage.
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