NZ Men Win HSBC Singapore Sevens 2023 & Qualify for Olympics 2024

rugbyasia247 Posted On April 10, 2023

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The New Zealand Men’s Sevens backed up their Cup win in Hong Kong by claiming the crown at the HSBC Singapore Sevens 2023 and secured their place at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Feature Photo credit: – Fans enjoy the games on day one of the HSBC Singapore Sevens at Singapore National Stadium on 8 April, 2023 in Kallang, Singapore. Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

In the final, the NZ men beat Argentina 19-17 to extend their lead at the top of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 standings with only two rounds left to play; Toulouse and London.

Fiji claimed the bronze medal in a thrilling 24-19 win over Samoa, with the Samoans having beaten their Pacific rivals in pool play.

There were plenty of upsets all weekend again such as Uruguay beating the USA and an injury-hit South African team falling to Spain. World Rugby says this is the most competitive men’s Series to date with Olympic qualification at stake for the top four teams has seen five different winners in the first nine rounds.

Photo Credit: HSBC Singapore Sevens – NZ Win the 2023 tournament

Fiji still has slim hopes of winning the overall Series but Samoa will rue now having now lost 10 successive Series bronze medal finals, and following Singapore, remain one point and a place outside of the Olympic qualification spots.

The fourth and final Olympic qualification place with two tournaments to play is held by Australia who won 24-21 in the fifth-place play-off match against Great Britain.

New Zealand All Blacks Sevens head coach Clark Laidlaw said: “It’s been a big two weeks with obviously Hong Kong last weekend, and to play the way that we did today makes me really happy and super proud. To qualify for Paris means everything to us. The first thing this year is to qualify for the Olympics. Everybody talks about it, but you have to be there to have a crack so we’re super happy we’ve managed to do that and win another final. Now we look ahead to France and London to try to win the World Series.”

NZ lead at the top of the World Sevens standings by 24 points and with a maximum of 42 points still up for grabs in Toulouse and London, the All Blacks Sevens could secure their 14th Series title if they reach the Cup final in France next month when the 2023 Series continues in Toulouse from 12-14 May.

Japan beat Hong Kong China - HSBC Singapore 7s 2023

Japan’s Moeki Fukushi races away from the Hong Kong China defense on day two of the HSBC Singapore Sevens at Singapore National Stadium on 9 April, 2023 in Kallang, Singapore. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

You can see all the results from the HSBC Singapore Sevens 2023 here:

Japan secured two wins over the weekend, beating Asian rivals Hong Kong and China, and also for the first time claiming a win over Ireland.

Hong Kong China had an incredibly tough pool but never reached the same level of play as last weekend, with a much-changed squad playing in Singapore as they build towards the Challenger Series in South Africa.

Hong Kong China 0-47 NZ
Hong Kong China 12-31 SA
Hong Kong China 0-48 Aus
Japan 17-19 GB
Japan 7-42 Argentina
Japan 12-7 Ireland
Japan 21-5 Hong Kong China – 9th place QF
Hong Kong China 5-26 Canada – 13th place SF
Japan 7-40 Kenya – 9th place SF

At the bottom end, Japan (16 points) hold the lowest ranking among core teams, while Canada (24), Kenya (37), Spain (48) and Uruguay (40) will be trying to accumulate points in Toulouse to avoid relegation and the playoff in London against the Challenger Series winner and next three bottom-ranked times, aside from the 15th ranked core side which will be relegated automatically.

SEA 7s 2023 Results

The finals of the SEA 7s 2023 were played at the Singapore Sports Hub Stadium during the HSBC Sevens with the Thailand women claiming the Cup, beating hosts Singapore, while the Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) men won the final against Malaysia.

Cup Final Women – Thailand 22-7 Singapore
Cup Final Men – Chinese Taipei 17-14 Malaysia

Singapore captain Victoria Chew told Straits Times: “For most of us, it was our first time playing a home tournament, so the adrenaline and excitement definitely helped us to step up when opportunities presented themselves.” Singapore will be playing in the 2023 Asia Rugby Sevens Series held from August to October and in September’s Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Thailand already has 8 squad members in South Africa preparing for the Challenger Series and some of the winners of the SEA 7s will be joining them.

You can see all results for the SEA 7s 2023 here.