China women and Uruguay men win World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024
2024.05.20
The much awaited HSBC SVNS 2024 Grand Final and Play-off in Madrid on May 31–June 2 will include four men’s and women’s teams.
China women and Uruguay men were declared World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 champions after winning the third and final rounds in Krakow, Poland, and Munich, Germany, respectively, capping an exciting day of international rugby sevens.
Teams battled for a top-four spot in the rankings, which guaranteed them a spot in the new HSBC SVNS Play-off promotion and relegation competition in Madrid from May 31 to June 2. There was a lot of drama and passion both on and off the field.
Along with qualifying teams Kenya, Chile, and Germany, Uruguay advanced to the HSBC SVNS Play-off in Madrid by winning both the overall series championship and the last round of the men’s World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 at Munich.
Throughout the whole three-tournament Challenger series, Los Teros Sevens dominated and finished first with 56 points, capping their season with a victory that followed their March victory in Montevideo, Uruguay.
In an exciting final, Uruguay defeated Germany 21–19, while Hong Kong China, who almost missed out on the top four, was consoled by their bronze medal from Munich.
Kenya finished as runners-up to Uruguay in the final rankings despite missing out on the semi-finals this time. They secured a fifth-place finish.
Uruguay and Germany will play the USA and Canada in Pool A of the HSBC SVNS Play-off in Madrid, while Kenya and Chile will play Spain and Samoa in Pool B.
“I feel very proud of the team, of our staff, and of our friends that stayed at home but were in the team,” stated Diego Ardao, the captain of Uruguay. We put in a lot of training. We put up the effort and succeeded in our objectives, which included qualifying for Madrid and becoming the local champions. As a result, I’m overjoyed and, above all, really proud of the team.
China won the HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 women’s World Rugby event for the third time in a row, defeating the host Poland 36-0 in the Krakow final to cap off an almost flawless campaign.
After making it to the quarterfinals on the first day of the HSBC SVNS Play-off competition, the Chinese will be joined in Madrid by Argentina, Belgium, and Poland.
While many in Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium on Sunday hoped to witness a home victory, China once again shown why they have been the 2024 Challenger’s best squad.
Prior to the main match, China has only lost one of its seventeen games in Dubai, Montevideo, and Krakow.
Poland finished in second place overall, which meant that even though they lost in the end, they would still go to Madrid in two weeks.
Kenya needed to win the bronze final in Krakow with a high score in order to have any chance of earning the final ticket to Madrid because of their much smaller points differential than Poland.
But Belgium was motivated to win a bronze medal for the second time in a row, and they defeated Kenya 26-7.
Pool A of the HSBC SVNS Play-offs in Madrid will feature China, Poland, Japan, and Spain, while Pool B will feature Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, and South Africa.
@charith
