The stakes are high in perhaps the most competitive HSBC SVNS to date, with New Zealand and Australia level on points at the top of the women's standings and Argentina's men just eight points clear of Ireland for their first SVNS League Winner's title. The battle for a top-eight finish and a place at the HSBC SVNS Grand Final in Madrid from 31 May to 2 June will also be on show in Singapore. 

This edition will see the women's teams compete in Singapore for the first time as the tournament expands into three days of action, with the top 12 men's and women's teams sharing the platform to showcase their outstanding speed, skill and power ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in July. 

In the women's pool draw, reigning champion New Zealand was drawn in Pool A with Canada, Ireland and Spain. SVNS league title rivals Australia will play in Pool C with Fiji, Great Britain and Brazil. The USA, who was finalists at the last edition in Hong Kong, are in Pool B with France, Japan and South Africa. 

New Zealand captain Risi Pouri-Lane said, "We didn't get off to the best start this season, but we've found consistency since then. We've been on a journey since the beginning of the season. It would be great to win the title, but there's a bigger picture, so we can't get too far ahead of ourselves. 

"We know what we have to do and we just have to keep playing our game. It's great to have the women's competition here in Singapore. The growth of women's rugby has been fantastic. We're really looking forward to this weekend and we're sure Singapore will put on a great show," she added. 

Australian captain Madison Ashby said, "It's exciting to have the women's competition for the first time. We've heard a lot of great things so we can't wait to get out in front of the crowd and experience the atmosphere. We will take it one game at a time and hopefully come out on top." 

Men's SVNS leader Argentina has been drawn in a tough Pool A with recent Hong Kong winners New Zealand, Australia and Canada. League title contenders Ireland is in Pool C with double Olympic champions Fiji, the USA and Great Britain. Pool B is led by France, who have finished on the podium at the last three editions, along with South Africa, Spain and Samoa. 

Argentina men's captain Santiago Álvarez said: "We're very happy to be on top, but we're trying not to think about it and just trying to get better, because we haven't played our best in the last two tournaments, so we're thinking about how we can do better in Singapore. 

"I've played in Singapore a few times, it's a nice enclosed stadium with a good atmosphere, so we're looking forward to playing there this weekend. Our goal is to win the title, but we are taking it one game at a time. It would be the best season in the history of Los Pumas Sevens," he stressed. 

The HSBC SVNS 2024 will feature seven regular season events - in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Hong Kong - with the regular season league winners being crowned in Singapore before a winner-takes-all Grand Final in Madrid from 31 May to 2 June to crown the HSBC SVNS Champions. The top eight teams at the end of the seventh round in Singapore will secure a place at the winner-takes-all Grand Final. 

Seven men's and women's teams have already secured their places at the Grand Final. Great Britain and Brazil will battle it out for the eighth place, while the USA are currently eighth in the men's standings but face competition from Great Britain, Spain and Samoa. The four lowest ranked teams will join the top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 in a high-stakes promotion and relegation tournament in Madrid.