Thailand Women Shine At World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 Leg 1 With 5th Place Finish

The Thailand women put in one of their best international tournament performances to claim 5th at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger 2025 Leg 1, following up their good performances on the opening day. The Japanese men finished 8th overall, while the HKCR men claimed 9th and the women 10th. 

The Kenyan women and Chilean men won the opening leg, beating Argentina and Canada respectively, while the South African women and German men took 3rd place overall.

Chile men’s captain Lucca Avelli said of winning: “We’ve put a lot of work in over the last year, and I’m very proud of the group. This win is really great. Our goal is to get HSBC SVNS, and we won’t stop until we get there.”

Kenya captain Grace Okulu (who has previously played for Japanese club Nagato Blue Angels) said: “This victory is nice because we’ve never won a Challenger series. It is a milestone for us. I’m happy for the team, and I’m delighted for everyone who supports us. We must carry on with the momentum and prepare hard for the next series this coming weekend. It has been an amazing journey for us and we are happy that things are working out for us.”

Photo by Zach Franzen / World Rugby – Kenya women and Chile men celebrate their Cup victory at the 2025 HSBC Sevens Challenger – Cape Town 1 at Athlone Sports Stadium on March 2, 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. 

Thailand Women – 5th place – HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger 2025 Leg 1

The Thailand women put in some assured performances as they all spoke of the benefits of the last half year working with a new high-performance manager and the general teamwork and attitude of the side to achieve 5th place in the opening leg at Athlone Stadium.

They opened the day with a hard-fought win over Uganda, after trailing 12-0 but played really well to hold on to a 19-17 win.

Jirawan Chutrakun scored a hattrick in the 5th place final 28-17 win over Poland and with 6 tries this weekend told us about what she has seen change since she went away to play in Japan and returned to the national team setup “There is so much belief in the whole squad, and we have worked hard on improving our conditioning. We are very well-connected now and there is real belief.”

Photo Credit – World Rugby – Jirawan Chutrakun Thailand Women

Thailand conceded first against the Poles but Jirawan Chutrakun was a star for them this weekend and she put the Thais ahead. A frantic period of play followed and most of the half was played in the Polish territory as the Thais were relentless in defence and incisive on attack. They showed great transition from defence into attack and a second Chutrakuntry meant the Thais led 14-5 at the break.  It was Thanaporn Huankid who next split the Poles open to extend the lead to 21-5.  The Poles did score but it was the hattrick of Chutrakun that secured a well-deserved 5th place and a good 28-17 win.

Of her performances, she said “I am so happy and proud of myself and the team, just so happy and relieved as there was some pressure to perform. I really want this team to reach a final or top 4 finish and I think we can do that next weekend.”

Wannaree Meechok, the Thai captain told us “Im very happy as the team really played to the best of our abilities, especially in that final. I think we have improved physically and mentally and we are much stronger as a team. Our teamwork and how we gel with each other is fantastic.”

Of how she feels as captain of the side “We worked so hard to prepare for these tournaments and it was 100 % effort to achieve this – I’m so proud of everyone on this team”.

Japan Men’s 7s – 8th Place – HSBC World Rugby 7s Challenger 2025 Leg 1

Japan started the day with another shock loss for the Asian side to Madagascar. Yusei Demetrius Jamal Kashima and Shotaro Tsuoka try aw the team led 14-7 before the African side again squared things up at 14-14 – but Japan scored before the break through a Ren Ouchi try at halftime to lead 21-14.

Madagascar again pegged Jaoan back in the second half to make it 21-all and a yellow for Japan Toma Shiwachi cost them as they went behind 21-28 – they scored a late unconverted try but lost 26-28 to head to the 7th place final.

Japan couldn’t make the most of their chances in the 7th place final against Uganda but did well to compete with a physically strong and quick side, falling 17-7 in the 7th place playoff- although they achieved their goal of a top-8 finish, there is work to be done.

Japan’s Head Coach Phil Greening told us: “In parts, we played really well and you need to remember these are mostly 18 and 19-year-old players but it has been a good learning environment and they are learning on the run in a pressure environment. If you look at today’s games we spent too much like looking at ‘me’ space rather than ‘we’ space. For next week we need to trust in our system better and stay square in defence more  – we also butchered some tries so need to be more clinical.”

On the physical side of the tournament, Greening said, “They have never faced this level of physicality before and I think sevens in some ways is closer to 15s rugby than its ever been in that regard, and the set plays that teams use, and the breakdowns are brutal and its a great learning ground for these players.”

Photo Credit – World Rugby

Hong Kong China Men’s (9th) and Women’s (10th) Place – HSBC World Rugby 7s Challenger 2025 Leg 1

The HKCR Men opened the day with renewed intent after some soul-searching the night before following a disappointing opening day.  Jevon Groves, HKCR Men’s 7s Head Coach there were some deep reflections last night from everyone – the coaches and players.

The side started with a comfortable win in a niggly game against Georgia 29-0, knowing they would face another physical challenge in Tonga in the 9th-place final. Surprisingly Max Denmark got his first tries of the weekend in the Georgia win (two of them).

Groves said after the win that these two legs “would sometimes not be just about the rugby – It’s about how much character the boys can show. This really shows what these boys are made of.”

Against Tonga, a game that was vital to claim 9th and give them a fighting chance across the two legs to finish in the top 8, the HKCR men started well and were leading 21-0 by the halftime break. But the Tongans struck back and nearly pulled off an unlikely comeback falling just short and losing 19-21.

Photo Credit – World Rugby

The HKCR women started the second day against a big physical Samoan side and put together some lovely rugby against their larger opponents. The game was marked by a Sabay Lynam hatrick, but the team put together their best performance of the weekend. There were two late tries by Samoa and a yellow card to HKCR but HKCR won 29-17 to reach the 9th-place final against Belgium.

The 9th-place final started with both sides creating chances and some great tries with the Belgians leading 19-12 at halftime. Both sides battled hard to close out the game but it was the Europeans who held on for the win.

HKCR Women’s Head Coach Andy Vilk said that he was happy with how the team kept the ball alive and attacked the right areas saying momentum is key and they will need to build towards that next weekend.

Photo Credit – World Rugby

Of the HKCR women’s top 8 aspirations across these two legs in Cape Town, co-captain Natasha Olson-Thorne said, “We’re still driving for that top eight spot and we have to keep fighting and keep going and believing- bringing it back to basics of being quick, tackling, passing – we have everything to play for.”

Standings – World Rugby HSBC 7s Challenger 2025 Leg 1

Keep in mind that the points differentials may also well come into play by the conclusion of the second leg.

Women’s Standings

1. Kenya 20
2. Argentina 18
3. South Africa 16
4. Colombia 14
5. Thailand 12
6. Poland 10
7. Czechia 8
8. Uganda 6
9. Belguim 4
10. Hong Kong China 3 
11. Samoa 2
12. Mexico 1

Men’s Standings

1. Chile 20
2. Canada 18
3. Germany 16
4. Samoa 14
5. Portugal 12
6. Madagascar 10
7. Uganda 8
8. Japan 6
9. Hong Kong China 4
10. Tonga 3
11. Georgia 2
12. Brazil 1

The unsung heroes for us this weekend were the team liaisons who were excellent in supporting and getting behind their assigned sides – just great ambassadorial work all around.

All of the results and fixtures can be seen here. The second leg will be played at the same venue from 8-9 March 2025.

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