Kelsey Teneti

Last updated

Kelsey Teneti
Date of birth (2003-05-12) 12 May 2003 (age 22)
Height1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
School Hamilton Girls' High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
Hamilton Old Boys' (0)
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
Waikato (0)
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2022–Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 3 (5)
National sevens team
YearsTeamComps
2022–presentFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 40 apps
22 tries
110 points [1]
Medal record
Representing Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Women's rugby sevens
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Paris Team competition

Kelsey Teneti (born 12 May 2003) is a contracted New Zealand rugby sevens and rugby union player. She plays primarily as a centre and represents New Zealand in both the fifteens and sevens formats of the game.

Contents

Early career

Teneti attended her final two years at Hamilton Girls' High School. She was an age-grade field hockey player, representing Poverty Bay in all grades. From the age of 13, she also represented New Zealand Māori in both the Under-21 and senior women's teams.

In waka ama, she won the New Zealand national sprints J16 singles title and secured national and world titles in her six-man and double-hull events with her Horouta team. She capped this off with a world title in the six-man long-distance race in Australia in 2016. [2]

Teneti was also the national judo champion in 2013 in both the +36 kg and Open Junior Girls categories. [3] [4]

Rugby career

Teneti spent her final two years of school at Hamilton Girls' High School, during which she played for Waikato in the Farah Palmer Cup in 2020 and 2021. [5]

In 2021, she was named in the Chiefs Manawa squad for their historic match against the Blues at Eden Park in April. [6]

That same year, Teneti received several accolades, including the Waitomo Chiefs Rookie of the Year, Waikato Supporters Club Farah Palmer Cup Back of the Year, and the Waitomo Group Farah Palmer Cup Player of the Year. She was also nominated for the NZRPA Women’s Young Player of the Year award in 2021.

In 2022, Teneti was contracted to the Black Ferns Sevens straight out of high school at the age of 18, and she made her debut at the Dubai round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in December 2022. [5] [4] She was featured in the 86th edition of the Rugby Almanack as the most promising player of the year.

Teneti was also called up as an injury replacement for the Black Ferns squad during the 2022 Pacific Four Series. [7] [5] She made her international debut on 6 June 2022 against Australia in Tauranga. [8] [9]

In 2023, Teneti was named in the Black Ferns squad for the 2023 Pacific Four Series and the Laurie O'Reilly Cup. [10] [11] In July, she scored a try in the Black Ferns’ 52–21 victory over Canada at the Pacific Four Series in Ottawa. [12] [13]

In May 2025, she helped the Black Ferns 7s win the Sevens World Championship title in Los Angeles. [4] She was named in the Black Ferns XVs side for the trial match against the Black Ferns on 5 July in Whangārei. [14]

References

  1. "Kelsey Teneti". SVNS. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  2. Perry, James (7 September 2018). "Teneti a star on the rise in three sports". Māori Television. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  3. "2013 National Judo Championships" (PDF). judonz.org. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Wrigley, Wynsley (2 July 2025). "Sports dynasty: Black Ferns 7s achieve world championship treble". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "Black Ferns call up sevens rookie Kelsey Teneti as injury cover for Pacific Four Series". Stuff. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  6. "Chiefs women's side named for historic Super Rugby match". NZ Sports Wire. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  7. "Injury replacements called into Black Ferns". allblacks.com. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  8. "Black Ferns named for first Test of Pacific Four Series". allblacks.com. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  9. Burnes, Campbell (5 June 2022). "PREVIEW: Black Ferns v Wallaroos (Tauranga)". allblacks.com. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  10. "First Black Ferns squad of 2023 named". allblacks.com. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  11. "Nine rookies named in first Black Ferns squad of 2023". NZ Herald. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  12. "Black Ferns fly past Canada in front of record crowd in Ottawa". Americas Rugby News. 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  13. Burnes, Campbell (9 July 2023). "Black Ferns secure WXV1 qualification with Ottawa victory". allblacks.com. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  14. "Springbok Women get preview as Black Ferns XV reveal squad". rugby365.com. 1 July 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.