Our kids rugby club, Centaurs, had a brilliant time at the Singapore Sevens, now SGP SVNS. The community came together to celebrate rugby and each other.
Centaurs at the Rugby Sevens!
We had a brilliant time at the SGP SVNS this weekend (4 & 5 May 2024) at was has been a fabulous reincarnation of the Rugby Sevens format.
What was special about this year? Firstly, the name change – as part of the global rebrand of the competition, the HSBC Singapore Sevens is now HSBC SVNS SGP.
With new logos and vibes, the whole sevens has a festival air and you could feel the great energy of the crowd (shoutout to the Centaurs who were UNMISSABLE in their yellow and blue!).
As part of the “new” sevens, there are now eight countries on the circuit – and luckily the crowd favourites Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai remain.
Gender Parity at the Rugby SVNS
The biggest and most celebrated change for SVNS in 2024 has been that the Womens and Mens teams now play in all countries (so this was the first time in a while that we’ve seen the women play in Singapore!) and they get equal game time on the pitch.
The Womens teams played spectacularly – to the crowd’s delight! These athletes have no doubt inspired the next generation of girls to pick up a rugby ball and give the sport a go. Our girls are totally inspired!
Meeting the players
A big perk of the Singapore SVNS was being able to go down to the front of the stands and meet the players. In some years, this wasn’t allowed – but honestly, it makes a huge difference to the experience for our young fans!
and… hats off to the 7s teams! The athletes were so generous in their fan interactions, signing shirts and rugby balls, posing for pictures. Our young Centaurs players were chuffed to meet and chat to the superstars they’d watched on the pitch (some of whom will head to the Olympics in summer!), and it’s a really vital part of the community-building for rugby sevens. Fan loyalty begins here!
Getting involved
The SVNS became a week-long festival for Centaurs Rugby players with the Ruck & Rumble Tournament and a sideshow netball carnival!
Rugby's Ruck & Rumble Tournament
Starting on Tuesday and incorporating the Wednesday public holiday, Centaurs were heavily involved in playing 7s rugby in the lead up to the professional SVNS weekend.
Congrats to our two teams who made it to their age group finals of the Ruck & Rumble tournament, playing at the Singapore Sports Hub National Stadium in front of the crowds. Not easy keeping your cool with so many watching, but what an experience – so, so proud.
Netball Carnival
A big thanks too for the SG7s x SGNA Netball Carnival organisers, which saw our U14s, U16s and Opens teams compete and head into the rugby stands with their tickets.
Our Opens team took home the silver medal, which they were very happy with – congratulations, girls!
Centaurs in the officiating team
We were also honoured to have members of our community represent in the SVNS officiating team. Cam & Luke have been long-involved in the refereeing of rugby in Singapore and we’re very proud to see them get this unique experience in high-level sports. Well done!
All in all, a fantastic rugby sevens weekend for our clubs. Looking forward to next year!
