GB7s Bordeaux World Championship Review

8 Jun 2026

Great Britain Sevens were in action over the weekend with the men’s team finishing in eighth place and the women finishing in tenth spot. Both sides will now drop out of the Sevens Series next year and will compete in Sevens Two. They will then play in the World Championships next year and vie for promotion back to the World Series

Darcy Graham made an instant impact for the men scoring in their first match against South Africa where they won in extra-time with Fin Lloyd-Gilmour touch down the winning the try.

GB7s then lost out against Fiji before defeating Kenya 14-5 on day two. In the quarter-final they lost against New Zealand which led to a seventh place play-off which they lost against Australia.

The women’s team lost out to USA, Canada and Spain before beating Brazil 19-7. They then lost to Argentina meaning they finished in tenth place.

GB7s will next be in action in Rugby Europe at the end of June for the event in Hamburg.

BORDEAUX, FRANCE – June 5: Great Britain defeated South Africa 19–14 in a men’s Pool match at the 2026 HSBC SVNS Bordeaux at Stade Atlantique Bordeaux Métropole on June 5, 2026 in Bordeaux, France. (Photo by Zach Franzen / World Rugby)

GB7s Director of Rugby Ciaran Beattie said: “We were really disappointed for everyone involved to not finish in the top eight. Both teams haven’t been good enough to cross the line over the season ultimately and things haven’t gone our way at times. When you’ve only got three tournaments at the end, in the World Championship, there’s high risk and reward, and unfortunately we fell on the wrong side of things.

“The South Africa game showed what we’re capable of on the men’s side. It was no surprise to me that we beat the top team in the championship as I know we’ve got that in us.

“We were aware we could drop down into Sevens Two so now it’s time to reflect on the last year and make sure we’re ready to bounce back. It has been a positive year in terms of getting the programme back under way but to not stay at the top level is frustrating.

“Scottish Rugby are really backing the programme and the vision for us is clear since we started in September last year. There’s a few tweaks to be made but we’re still very keen to use Sevens as a development tool going forward.”

Results:

Men’s:

Friday 5 June
South Africa 14-19 GB7s
Fiji 26-12 GB7s

Saturday 6 June
Kenya 5-14 GB7s
Quarter-Final: New Zealand 24-5 GB7s

Sunday 7 June
7th place play-off: Australia 29-0 GB7s

Women’s

Friday 5 June
USA 31-7 GB7s
Canada 35-14 GB7s

Saturday 6 June
Spain 29-10 GB7s
9th place semi-final: Brazil 7-19 GB7s

Sunday 7 June
9th place play-off: GB7s 19-31 Argentina

Men’s Squad

3. Finlay Callaghan (Scotland Sevens)
4. Roan Frostwick (Scotland Sevens)
5. Marcus Kershaw (Great Britain Sevens)
6. Matt Davidson (Scotland Sevens)
8. Jacob Henry (Scotland Sevens)
9. Brent Jackson (Glasgow Warriors Pro-Academy)
11. Ethan Waddleton (Great Britain Sevens)
12. Ben Salmon (Glasgow Warriors Pro-Academy)
13. Fin Lloyd Gilmour (Great Britain Sevens)
14. Ryan Apps (Great Britain Sevens)
22. Kaleem Barreto
23. Josh Radcliffe (Scotland Sevens)
24. Charlton Kerr (Great Britain Sevens) CAPTAIN
26. Darcy Graham (Edinburgh Rugby)

Women’s Squad

2. Abbie Brown (RFU / Loughborough) – CO-CAPTAIN
4. Grace Crompton (RFU/ Harlequins)
6. Evelyn Clarke (RFU / Loughborough)
10. Katie Shillaker (RFU/ Harlequins) – CO-CAPTAIN
15. Courtney Greenway (WRU / Gwalia Lightning)
17. Chantelle Miell (RFU / Saracens)
23. Heather Cowell (RFU/ Harlequins)
26. Hanna Tudor (WRU)
27. Georgie Lingham (RFU / Tigers)
28. Solana Shaw de Leon (RFU / Harlequins)
33. Hannah Bluck (WRU / Brython Thunder)
57. Ellie Boatman (RFU / Ealing)
67. Ellen Scantlebury (RFU / Exeter)