World Rugby confirmed that the first two of three Challenger tournaments will be hosted in the Mother City on the weekends of 1-2 and 7-8 March, with 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams – all of whom have qualified via regional competitions – battling it out for HSBC SVNS spots.
The top eight placed men’s and women’s teams will progress to the third round at the Henryk Reyman's Municipal Stadium in Krakow, Poland on 11-12 April, after which the top four ranked men’s and women’s teams will qualify for the HSBC SVNS Play-off tournament in Los Angeles on 3-4 May.
The Bok Women’s Sevens are in Pool A with Czechia and Hong Kong China in the opening tournament, while Pool B features Argentina, Thailand and Mexico. Pool C sees Belgium, Uganda and Colombia go into battle, and Poland, Samoa and Kenya make up Pool D.
Play starts at 10h00 and South Africa’s pool matches on Saturday, 1 March are scheduled for 15h55 (Hong Kong China) and 19h36 (Czechia), with the playoffs to follow the next day.
The first two rounds of the Challenger will replicate the competition format used for the recent HSBC SVNS Cape Town tournament in December 2024. This sees the four pool winners progress directly to contest the semi-finals, while second placed teams will play for fifth to eighth places and teams finishing third in their pools will compete for ninth to twelfth positions.
Renfred Dazel, head coach of the Springbok Women's Sevens team, welcomed the news that his team will be playing at Athlone Stadium in the opening two legs of the Challenger series.
The Springbok Women in action at Athlone Stadium in WXV 2 last year.
“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.”
Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, said: “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.
“Over the last few years, we’ve hosted matches in the World Rugby U20 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 were 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.”
Meanwhile, the team of 18 Emirates Match Officials from 11 unions who make up the men’s and women’s panels for the Challenger 2025 was also confirmed.
