Five rugby stars to watch at the HSBC SVNS Dubai

The world's best 12 men's and women's rugby sevens' teams will compete this weekend (30 November - 1 December) as the HSBC SVNS 2025 Series gets underway in Dubai.

Among the roster of participating teams are men's Olympic medallists France, Fiji and South Africa and women's Olympic medallists New Zealand, Canada and the USA.

Such is the pool of world-class rugby talent for the opening round of the 2025 series that it's hard to limit the players to watch to a short list, but nonetheless Olympics.com has profiled five stars who should light up the competition in the United Arab Emirates, which you can find below.

• World Rugby SVNS Series 2024/25 preview

Maddison Levi, Australia

Maddison Levi returns to the venue in which she set a record 12 tries in a single event which culminated with Australia defeating rivals New Zealand 26-19 in the final of the 2024 Series opener in December last year. Six months later, the 22-year-old dominated the scoresheet again by recording a hat-trick against France in the grand final of the competition in Madrid that saw Australia crowned as HSBC SVNS 2024 Champions.

Just over a month later, the 2022 Rugby Sevens World Cup champion competed at her second Olympic Games in Paris, scoring a tournament-high 14 tries and finishing as the leading points scorer of the competition as Australia placed fourth.

For her incredible performances over the 2023/24 season, in which she scored an absurd 83 tries, Levi was awarded the title of World Rugby Women's Sevens Player of the Year this past Sunday (24 November).

The forward is unanimously recognised as one of the best women's rugby sevens players on the planet, and her blistering speed coupled with her strong build and knack for finding the try zone means she is a definite must-watch for the entirety of the 2025 SVNS Series.

Aaron Grandidier Nkanang, France

The defending SVNS champions may be without Antoine Dupont for the 2025 edition (the superstar rejoined his nation's 15s side after guiding Les Bleus to Olympic gold at Paris 2024), but France will stick pack a punch in Dubai through Aaron Grandidier Nkanang.

The London-born winger displayed all of his attacking versatility in Paris, recording four tries - including a pivotal score to put France ahead against Fiji in the gold medal match.

Nkanang was recognised for his displays throughout the year when he was named to World Rugby Men's Sevens Dream Team of the Year, and was also a finalist for the Men's Seven's Player of the Year award which was claimed by his teammate Dupont.

He'll need to replicate his Olympic displays at the SVNS Series if France hope to retain the crown they won in June this year. Expect to see much of Les Bleus' attacks go through the 24-year-old in Dubai.

Jorja Miller, New Zealand

Jorja Miller made her international sevens debut as a member of New Zealand's World Cup squad that took silver in Cape Town in 2022. She has since gone from strength to strength; during the 2022/23 SVNS Series, Miller was named in four seperate dream teams, named player of the final at the Sydney tournament and at the end of the season was named Rookie of the Year by World Rugby.

She was a key part of the Black Ferns' squad that defended their Olympic title at Paris 2024, scoring three tries over the course of the competition.

The 20-year-old, known for her footwork and speed, was a finalist for the Women's Sevens Player of the Year award and was named on World Rugby's Women's Sevens Dream Team of the Year.

Despite her young age, she has already established herself as a veteran presence on New Zealand's sevens' squad and will dictate a lot of the play through the 2024/25 campaign.

Marcos Moneta, Argentina

Marcos Moneta was emerging as the star of the 2023/24 SVNS series before suffering a brutal leg injury at the Hong Kong Sevens that ruled him out for the remainder of the tournament.

Prior to his exit Argentina were sitting in pole position through impressive wins in Cape Town, Perth and Vancouver. But such is his importance to Los Pumas that the team fell to some uncharacteristically poor results in Hong Kong, China and the proceeding month in Singapore.

Even so, Argentina still managed to finish as runners-up to France at season's end - their highest-placed finish ever.

Moneta was a part of Argentina's team for Paris 2024, though he was unable to help Los Pumas replicate their podium finish at Tokyo 2020, where they won bronze.

Even so, the 2021 Sevens Player of the Year remains one of the most electric talents on the tour, and will likely have a number of jaw-dropping moments this weekend in the UAE.

Henry Hutchinson, Australia

At this point, Henry Hutchinson is essentially synonymous with rugby sevens in Australia.

The three-time Olympian returned from a lengthy injury absence to guide Australia to a fourth-place finish in the 2023/24 SVNS Series and at Paris 2024 this summer.

With former captain Nick Malouf retiring, the Australian seven's side will need leaders for the new Series, and that's where Hutchinson comes in.

Though smaller than your typical player in stature, the 27-year-old more than makes up for it with an unstoppable engine and work rate that typically leads to points and vital stops in defence.

Both will be needed when Australia take on South Africa (whom they lost to in the bronze medal match at Paris 2024) on 30 November.