Fiji Airways Men's National 7s speedster Vuiviawa Naduvalo holds a 10-vote lead in the race to become the inaugural RugbyPass Men’s SVNS Series MVP for 2025/26.
Meanwhile, we are still awaiting confirmation from Fiji Rugby on Naduvalo's condition after he was stretchered off in the final against South Africa.
While Fiji fell to South Africa 21-19 in last night’s Cup Final in Perth, Naduvalo still polled a total of seven votes from a possible 12.
Naduvalo was crowned the Player of the Final at SVNS Singapore for the second year running after Fiji beat France 21-12 at the National Stadium earlier this month.
The 29-year-old carried that form into the fourth stop of the season, playing a key role in Fiji’s run to the decider.
In Fiji’s dominant 35-nil semi-final win over the All Blacks Sevens, Naduvalo stole the show with a hat-trick of tries.
Naduvalo’s try was especially skillful, kicking the ball ahead twice before beating Akuila Rokolisoa to the loose ball in the in-goal.
Ricado Duarttee converted a clutch shot at goal with four minutes remaining in the Cup Final, which was ultimately the difference against Fiji, but Naduvalo’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed, with the SVNS Series top try-scorer crossing for Fiji’s first in the sixth minute.
Naduvalo is still first on the SVNS Series leaderboard with 19 votes from four events, 10 more than three others who share second place.
Perth Player of the Final Ryan Oosthuizen is the big mover in the men’s standings, receiving maximum votes from two writers.
Oosthuizen said post-game that he was very happy with that performance, having been named Player of the Final.
He says playing against Fiji, it is always a battle as they always expect a war against them.
South Africa’s Shilton van Wyk and Argentina’s Luciano Gonzalez share equal second, while New Zealand’s Rokolisoa and Fiji’s Terio Veilawa are one vote back.
Brady Rush, Dietrich Roache, Paulin Riva and Duarttee are other contenders for MVP honours.
Perth was the fourth stop of the season, with another two tournaments left in SVNS 1 before the new-look World Championships.
All eight teams from the first division will compete with four sides out of SVNS 2 to be named overall SVNS Series champions.
Meanwhile, Fiji are in Pool B with Australia, Argentina and France for the Vancouver SVNS which is from 7th to 8th March.
