Japan Men To Play 2025 HSBC SVNS Vancouver Invitational Sevens Tournament

rugbyasia247 Posted On December 23, 2024

2 Views

HKCR & Japan Men Cup Final ARSS Leg2 2024

Rugby Canada announced that an invitational men’s sevens tournament will place alongside the 2025 HSBC SVNS Vancouver and will feature the host nation, Japan, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Much like the Melrose Claymores tournament in Hong Kong which features the Hong Kong China women’s and men’s 7s teams as well as invitational Asian teams and was introduced in 2024 and will take place again in 2024, the invitational men’s team matches will be integrated into the HSBC SVNS Vancouver schedule on Friday, February 21 and Saturday, February 22, 2025 at BC Place.

The Japanese men are part of the Melrose Challenge 2025, and recently played in the Oceania 7s and will now get really useful game time before the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 kicks off in Cape Town in March 2025. The Canadian men have also qualified for the Challenger as they seek to make a return to the 2026 HSBC SVNS series.

2025 HSBC SVNS Vancouver Invitational Sevens Tournament

Rugby Canada confirmed that the 2025 HSBC SVNS Vancouver Invitational Sevens Tournament “will be structured as a double round robin, with three games on February 21 and three games on February 22.”

The full schedule details and kick-off times for both the men’s invitational and HSBC SVNS Vancouver will be announced closer to the event.

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team last met Japan in April 2023 at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens and at BC Place last August, according to the press release.

The Japanese finished the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series 2024 as runners-up behind Hong Kong China and took a development squad to the Oceania 7s 2024 where they finished 7th.

Sean White, Head Coach of Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team said, “Granted this is not the format we aimed to be in at Vancouver Sevens, any chance our players have to play in front of a home crowd, in front of family and friends, is such an incredible opportunity and one we could not pass up.

It will show our players who haven’t experienced Vancouver a glimpse of what we are working towards and it will remind our players who have experienced Vancouver Sevens just how much these moments mean on home soil.”