The Big Apple will stage the final round of the HSBC SVNS regular season on 14-15 March 2026 when Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, hosts rugby sevens’ elite eight for the first time.
World Rugby and TEG Rugby Live dropped the confirmation this week: New York slots in after Dubai, Cape Town, Singapore, Perth and Vancouver, and immediately before the HSBC SVNS World Championship finals in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux.
Only the eight men’s and eight women’s teams that contested the 2025 Los Angeles Grand Final retained core status in the new trimmed league.
Men: Argentina, Australia, Fiji, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain
Women: Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, USA
Pacific Picture: Fiji and New Zealand In, Samoa and Tonga Out
Fiji and New Zealand are the only Pacific nations with both programmes still in the top flight. Samoa and Tonga will not travel to New York.
The cut from twelve core teams to eight after the Los Angeles event in May 2025 was ruthless. Manu Samoa men missed the promotion places at the final play-off tournament. Tonga never made it that far after patchy Challenger Series results. Both are now relegated to the third-tier SVNS 3-Leg circuit in 2026 – a much longer grind back to the big stage.
That reality hits hard across the Islands. Samoa’s men still own more SVNS titles than anyone except New Zealand and Fiji. The Manusina have delivered Olympic and World Cup moments that still trend on Island phones. Yet the new system shows no mercy: eight spots only. Fiji and New Zealand kept theirs. Samoa and Tonga did not.
And while the All Blacks Sevens and Black Ferns Sevens rosters are stacked with Samoan, Tongan and Fijian passports, the jerseys they wear in New York will still be silver fern, not blue or red.
USA Eagle and New York native Su Adegoke nailed the vibe: “New York and sevens are the same… fast paced, intense, and everyone brings their own style.” She gets to play in front of her own people. Ilona Maher, Perry Baker, Antoine Dupont, Maddison Levi, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, Michaela Blyde – the Olympic stars all get another massive American platform with LA 2028 closing in.
Tickets go on sale 4 December for club seats and two-day passes; single-day tickets drop in January. Pre-sale registration is open now at usasvns.com/new-york-presale.
Manhattan skyline behind the stands, Fiji drums thumping, Black Ferns haka echoing, late-night chopped cheese and island food trucks outside the gate – the full carnival is coming east.
Two Pacific nations will be in the main draw. The rest of the moana will be watching, cheering the cousins in black and white, but still waiting for the day the circle is complete again.
