Kelsey Teneti, fourth from left, celebrates with her New Zealand teammates after their world championship sevens title win in Los Angeles at the weekend. Photo / Zach Franzen, World Rugby via Photosport
Kelsey Teneti, fourth from left, celebrates with her New Zealand teammates after their world championship sevens title win in Los Angeles at the weekend. Photo / Zach Franzen, World Rugby via Photosport
Kelsey Teneti, 21, helped the Black Ferns 7s win the Sevens World Championship in Los Angeles.
The team achieved a treble, adding it to their World Sevens Series title and Olympic Gold in Paris.
Teneti, a former judo and waka ama champion, also plays for Waikato and the Chiefs in Super Rugby Aupiki.
Gisborne has another world champion in Black Ferns rugby sevens impact player Kelsey Teneti.
The 21-year-old daughter of Kelvin and Louise Teneti is a regular off the bench for the all-conquering Black Ferns sevens side who won the Sevens World Championship title in Los Angeles on Monday after defeating the world’s second-ranked team Australia 31-7 in the final.
The Black Ferns achieved the sevens double after earlier winning the world sevens series title after taking out four of the six tournaments and finishing runners-up in the other two legs.
Louise Teneti pointed out the side had actually achieved a treble in less than 12 months, having also won Olympic gold in Paris where Kelsey was a squad reserve.
Louise said she had not “really” spoken to her daughter since the final in Los Angeles.
Kelsey did not drink and team celebrations were moderate with all of the travelling required on the sevens world circuit.
Louise said the players came and went within the squad and there were different age groups.
“She’s friend with all of them - no problem.”
Captain Sarah Irini hugs teammate Kelsey Teneti after New Zealand beat Australia 31–7 in the women's final at the sevens world championship in Los Angeles. Photo / Zach Franzen - World Rugby via Photosport
Teneti was contracted to the Black Ferns Sevens team in her first year out of high school and made her debut in Dubai in 2022.
Earlier that year she was called in as an injury cover for the Black Ferns (XVs) squad for the Pacific Four Series and debuted against Australia.
Some high-profile 7s players made themselves unavailable for Los Angeles to aim for the 2025 Rugby World Cup (15s) starting in England in August and were instead selected for the Pacific Four Series.
But that World Cup 15s door is not closed to Teneti and others from the world championship-winning sevens side.
Louise said Blacks Ferns coach Alan Bunting told Teneti to go to Los Angeles with the sevens side.
There was another 15s trial later in the year before the World Cup squad were named, she said.
Another option is to play in the EAATS 7s tournament in May/June in Cognac, France, which features international development sides.
Teneti originally played in the 18 jersey - indicating her age when first contracted by New Zealand Rugby.
She now dons the 88 jersey with the number resembling a butterfly in honour of her late nanny Pat Teneti.
Teneti wanted that connection to her nan who loved butterflies and told her: “If you see one, that’s me watching.”
Her grandfather Opa (Leo) Lexmond turned 88 the same year, and 88 is considered a lucky number.
Teneti was educated at Lytton High School before moving to Hamilton Girls’ High School to play rugby at a higher level.
She has a strong sporting pedigree.
Father Kelvin and various relatives from the Lexmond side of the family played rugby for Poverty Bay while grandfather Whetu Teneti played for East Coast.
Louise played hockey for Poverty Bay and cousin Sydnee Andrews represented New Zealand in judo at the Paris Olympics, is a Commonwealth Games medallist and recently won the silver medal in her weight class at the Panamerican senior champs in Chile.
Teneti has played as an outside back for Waikato in the Farah Palmer Cup and for the Chiefs in Super Rugby Aupiki.
She is a former national junior judo champion in the over-36kg class, won a gold medal at the waka ama world championships in Tahiti and has represented NZ Māori in hockey.
