New Zealand had already stunned Singapore 7s finalists France, winning the penultimate game with golden point in injury time, to claim the second semi-final slot from Pool B in the Perth 7s.
But Great Britain, who had earlier picked up a deserved win over the All Blacks Sevens, threatened a major shock, as they took a 21-19 lead into the dying seconds of the deciding match — only for Hadley Tonga to break their hearts with a dramatic diving touchdown in the corner.
Fiji and South Africa both enjoyed rather more routine runs to the last four spots in Pool A.
Singapore champions Fiji will play New Zealand, and Australia take on South Africa in the semi-finals on Sunday, while Spain will take on Great Britain and France will face Argentina for the minor places.
POOL A: Fiji top ‘Pool of Death’ as back-to-back Perth winners Argentina stumble again
Zain Davids scored his 50th try in Blitzboks green as they planted one foot in the semi-final draw at Perth with a high-intensity 19-12 win over two-time HSBC SVNS League phase winners Argentina. Christie Grobbelaar and Donavan Don joined him on the scoresheet.
That was his second try of the day. He scored his 49th as South Africa opened their account in Perth with a convincing five-try 33-14 win over Spain.
But Argentina’s 2026 HSBC SVNS Series struggles continue. The loss to the Cape Town tournament champions was their second of the day, and meant they were out of last-four contention, after they had slipped to a 26-10 loss to Fiji in their first Perth outing.
Spain’s Jeremy Trevithick took his try tally on opening day to five with a hat-trick against Fiji. A first-half double took his side into an early 12-0 lead. But the Singapore champions hit back to briefly lead 14-12 before Gabriel Rocaries touched down on the stroke of half-time.
Trevithick’s third, with the clock in the red, wasn’t quite enough following a second-half Kavekini Tanivanuakula double, as the conversion was missed, allowing Fiji to hold on for a 26-24 win.
EDITOR’S PICKS:
Back-to-back Perth winners in 2024 and 2025 Argentina salvaged some pride / were condemned to finish day one at the bottom of Pool A. Another Trevithick double helped Spain to a deserved 26-19 victory at the end of an enthralling encounter.
A week after a golden-point thriller decided a pool phase meeting between Fiji and South Africa, the two sides served up another thriller. Viwa Naduvalo scored twice as the Singapore champions came from 14 points down to win 20-14.
POOL B: New Zealand stun France as Australia finish top after thrilling final match
Hosts Australia — without a number of their key players ensured a semi-final place in Perth with two wins in their first two games. First, they won a hard-fought encounter against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand 21-14.
And, in their second outing, Australia got the better of a rejigged France, also missing veterans Paulin Riva and Stephen Parez-Edo Martin, with a statement 29-14 win, courtesy of a double for Ben Dowling.
Despite their defeat to the hosts, Les Bleus were still in with a shout of reaching the semi-finals, after Simon Desert had scored a first-half hat-trick as last weekend’s losing finalists in Singapore eased to a 36-10 victory over Great Britain.
New Zealand have historically struggled in Perth. Their second outing ended in a shock 26-19 loss to Great Britain, Finley Lloyd-Gilmour scoring a hat-trick to end a seven-game losing run and bag just their fourth win on the HSBC SVNS Series this season.
The All Blacks Sevens leap-frogged France into the semi-final places courtesy of a golden point touchdown for Frank Vaenuku at the end of a thrilling, draining encounter after sunset.
They nearly lost it again. The loudest cheer of the day came from New Zealand’s players, relieved to see Australia’s Hadley Tonga touch down in the corner with the clock to snatch a 24-21 victory over an improving Great Britain, who briefly had one foot in the last four.
Perth 7s results
Saturday 7 February 2026
HBF Park, Perth | Boorloo
Women – Pool A
USA 7s 34–15 Fiji 7s
New Zealand 7s 34–12 Japan 7s
USA 7s 38–14 Japan 7s
New Zealand 7s 36–5 Fiji 7s
Fiji 7s 14–31 Japan 7s
New Zealand 7s 31–0 USA 7s
Women – Pool B
Canada 7s 12–24 France 7s
Australia 7s 54–5 Great Britain 7s
Canada 7s 45–7 Great Britain 7s
Australia 7s 26–12 France 7s
France 7s 42–10 Great Britain 7s
Australia 7s 38–10 Canada 7s
Men – Pool A
South Africa 7s 33–14 Spain 7s
Fiji 7s 26–10 Argentina 7s
South Africa 7s 19–12 Argentina 7s
Fiji 7s 26–24 Spain 7s
Spain 7s 26–19 Argentina 7s
Fiji 7s 20–14 South Africa 7s
Men – Pool B
France 7s 36–10 Great Britain 7s
Australia 7s 21–14 New Zealand 7s
New Zealand 7s 19–26 Great Britain 7s
France 7s 14–29 Australia 7s
France 7s 21–26 New Zealand 7s
Australia 7s 24–21 Great Britain 7s
Sunday 8 February 2026
HBF Park, Perth | Boorloo
5th Place Semifinals
Women: Japan 7s vs Great Britain 7s (05:30)
Women: Canada 7s vs Fiji 7s (05:52)
Men: Spain 7s vs Great Britain 7s (06:14)
Men: France 7s vs Argentina 7s (06:36)
Cup Semifinals
Women: New Zealand 7s vs France 7s (07:13)
Women: Australia 7s vs USA 7s (07:35)
Men: Fiji 7s vs New Zealand 7s (07:57)
Men: Australia 7s vs South Africa 7s (08:19)
Placement Matches
Women 7th Place Play-Off (08:51)
Men 7th Place Play-Off (09:13)
Women 5th Place Play-Off (09:35)
Men 5th Place Play-Off (09:57)
Women 3rd Place Play-Off (10:35)
Men 3rd Place Play-Off (10:57)
Finals
Women Cup Final (11:28)
Men Cup Final (12:04)
