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HSBC 2025 SVNS Vancouver Day 1 – Recap & Photos
Canada Women made a triumphant return to Vancouver after securing a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, thrilling fans with two dominant victories. Charity Williams wasted no time, scoring her 100th HSBC SVNS Series try in the opening moments against Brazil before quickly adding another to reach 101. The team carried that momentum forward, delivering a seven-try spectacle against Spain and securing the top spot in Pool A heading into day two.
Reflecting on her milestone, Williams shared, “That’s probably the milestone for me that I’m really proud of. I’m really proud of myself for being in the game for as long as I have. It was awesome to get the ball from our captain who has been wonderful and it felt good touch that one down for sure.
“It brings me back to the very beginning when I was 16 or 17 and I think I scored my first try in Brazil, it literally feels like a lifetime ago and I was like a baby then and I had no idea what was in store for me. To look back and see that I’ve been here for over a decade, I’m just really grateful.”
Meanwhile, Olympic champions New Zealand maintained their dominance in Pool B with two convincing wins. Michaela Blyde continued her record-breaking form, scoring five of the team’s 10 tries against Ireland. In doing so, she surpassed fellow New Zealander Portia Woodman-Wickliffe to set a new tournament record of 260 tries, helping propel the team into Saturday’s quarter-finals.
Over in Pool C, Japan closed out day one at the top after securing wins against Fiji and Great Britain. France, however, will need to regroup after suffering back-to-back losses. Their upcoming match against Japan is a must-win if they hope to keep their quarter-final dreams alive.
The biggest shock of the day came in the final moments, as Brazil pulled off a stunning upset over second-placed Australia, setting the stage for an electrifying showdown on day two.
Read the Day 1 Women’s Report.
One of the standout clashes of the men’s tournament saw South Africa edge out New Zealand 12-10 in a thrilling, end-to-end battle. They followed up with an impressive win over Ireland, securing their place at the top of Pool B at the end of day one.
In Pool A, Great Britain kicked off their campaign with a commanding 26-7 victory over France, but their path to the quarter-finals remains uncertain after a narrow loss to Argentina. The outcome will be decided on day two.
Over in Pool C, Spain continued their strong run in the series, notching victories over both the USA and Uruguay. They now share the top spot with Fiji, who also secured maximum points against the same opponents.
The pool stage resumes at 10:30 (GMT-8) on Saturday, leading into the quarter-finals in the afternoon. The action culminates on Sunday, with finals day kicking off at 10:50, and the men’s and women’s championship matches set for 17:05 and 17:41, respectively.
Following the format introduced in Perth, the women’s final will once again serve as the tournament’s grand finale, bringing HSBC SVNS Vancouver to an electrifying close.
This year’s Vancouver SVNS festival is bigger than ever, celebrating its 10th anniversary as the Canadian leg of the series. Alongside world-class rugby sevens action featuring 12 of the best men’s and women’s teams—packed with Olympic stars—fans can enjoy a variety of entertainment, including global food options, live music, interactive activities like a snowball obstacle course, and, for the first time in SVNS Series history, a competitive axe-throwing showdown featuring team captains.
Beyond BC Place, the excitement continues with seven rugby-themed light installations scattered across downtown Vancouver throughout the weekend, building on the success of a similar fan-favourite activation seen during Taylor Swift’s recent visit to the city.
Check out our favourite photos of the day below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer
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PWHL Vancouver Goldeneyes Strike Early, Beat New York Sirens 5–2 at Home
The Vancouver Goldeneyes leaned on a fast start and some fresh faces to take down the New York Sirens 5–2 on Wednesday night at Pacific Coliseum, pulling themselves back into the playoff picture in the process.
Vancouver came out flying, getting goals from Anna Shokhina and Anna Segedi, both their first with the team, inside the opening seven minutes. Shokhina opened the scoring on a late power play, weaving through traffic and finishing unassisted, while Segedi followed soon after by converting a clean setup from Michelle Karvinen behind the net. It marked a rare early surge for a team that has struggled to generate first-period offence this season.
New York responded quickly, with Sarah Fillier tipping in a point shot just over a minute later to cut the lead in half. The push didn’t last long. Sophie Jaques stepped into a slapshot from the blue line late in the period to restore Vancouver’s two-goal cushion, and that goal stood as the difference.
The Sirens found their footing in the second period and made things interesting. Rookie Anna Bargman redirected a point shot midway through the frame to bring New York back within one. Vancouver bent but didn’t break, with Kristen Campbell holding steady in net during a stretch where the Sirens controlled more of the play.
Any momentum New York built faded early in the third. Tereza Vanišová extended the lead to 4–2 after a shot bounced in off Kayle Osborne’s blocker, taking the edge off the comeback attempt. Mannon McMahon added an empty-netter in the final seconds to cap off the night and secure her first point in several games.
Campbell finished with 22 saves for Vancouver, continuing her solid play at home, while Osborne turned aside 24 shots for New York. Vancouver also snapped a lengthy power-play drought with Shokhina’s opener and saw production come from all four lines, a promising sign for a team that has been searching for consistency.
The win moves the Goldeneyes within three points of the sixth-place Sirens, tightening the race as the regular season winds down. Vancouver now heads into the final game of its homestand with some needed momentum, while New York, now on a four-game road skid, is left looking for answers after another slow start.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
PWHL VANCOUVER GOLDENEYES vs NEW YORK SIRENS
All Photo Credit: Jill Meagher
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PWHL Boston Fleet Return Home but Fall Short in 2-0 Loss to Toronto Sceptres
Coming off of an incredible comeback win against Montreal, the Boston Fleet finally returned home and battled it out with the Toronto Sceptres in front of a sold out crowd at Agganis Arena. Fans showed out in a sea of green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day hoping for another Fleet win back at home but their home win streak would be snapped by Toronto, shutting out Boston 2-0.
This was Boston’s first home game in 48 days, since coming back from the Olympics. All of the Fleet’s Olympians were honored in a pregame ceremony highlighting their time in Milan. Team Team USA standouts Megan Keller, Haley Winn and Aerin Frankel, who had big roles in earning gold in Italy. Teammates Alina Müller (Switzerland) winning bronze, Daniela Pejšová (Czechia), Susanna Tapani (Finland) and Laura Kluge (Germany) were also recognized. There was a ceremonial puck drop as well featuring Haley Winn’s three brothers all decked out in USA onesies.
Energy was high throughout the entire game but in the end it simply wasn’t enough for Boston to grab 3 points at home. In fact this was their first loss at home all season, which is pretty impressive. It was a very hard fought game from both teams and for the most part was very tight almost until the final buzzer.
The first two periods saw a few penalties for both teams and both penalty kills were stellar. Both Frankel and Kirk in net were locked in and made some incredible saves to keep the game scoreless. Tensions rose throughout the game which saw some scrums in front of both nets as the teams fought to put the puck into the net, but defence was on another level this game.
Boston would then receive a pair of power plays but came up empty on both tries before heading right back to the penalty kill with 7:51 left in the second. Shay Maloney would make another shorthanded breakaway attempt but it was quickly challenged by Kirk, who was standing on her head all night, making some incredible saves. Going scoreless into the third there was talk of this game potentially going into overtime.
There wasn’t a goal scored by either team until around ten minutes left in the third period, when Toronto’s Daryl Watts made a swift move side to side to beat Frankel through the five-hole, to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. Boston would battle it out until the very end, having multiple scoring chances but just coming up short in the end. Toronto’s Turnbull put the finishing touches on the win with 26 seconds left with an empty net goal, to make it 2-0. Toronto’s Raygan Kirk would record her 2nd shutout in a row in a dominant win.
The Fleet still sit at the top of the PWHL standings while the Sceptres sit at 5th but with this win are now in a playoff spot. The Fleet will play the Seattle Torrent on Saturday at home at 4pm and then against Vancouver on Tuesday at 7pm.
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Check out our favorite photos of the game below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
PWHL BOSTON FLEET vs TORONTO SCEPTRES
All Photo Credit: Erin Crowley