Kelsie Thwaites (née Wills; born 8 January 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player. She previously represented New Zealand in beach volleyball before switching to rugby.[1]
Volleyball career
Thwaites completed an indoor volleyball scholarship in the United States, and played professionally in Paris.[1]
Thwaites and playing partner Shaunna Polley represented New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[2][3] They were the nation's first women's beach volleyball team to compete at the Games.[2][3] The pair won a bronze medal at the Ulsan Open in South Korea on the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.[3]
Rugby career
Thwaites made a switch to rugby union in 2019.[1] She made the Bay of Plenty Volcanix squad in her debut year for the Farah Palmer Cup.[4][5] She wore the black jersey for the first time in two non-test matches against the NZ Barbarians in 2020.[2] She made her international debut for the Black Ferns against England on 31 October 2021 at Exeter.[6][2]
Thwaites was named in the Chiefs Manawa squad for the 2023 Super Rugby Aupiki season.[7]
References
- ^ a b c Macfarlane, Kristin (13 April 2019). "Why Kelsie Wills is focusing on rugby in 2019". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d Chapman, Grant; Chapman, Alex (30 October 2021). "Black Ferns v England: Nine debutants named for 100th test, World Cup final rematch". Newshub. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ a b c "First NZ women's beach volleyball team to compete at Commonwealth Games". Stuff. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ Standley, Ashley (3 September 2020). "Kiwi beach volleyball star Kelsie Wills' rugby switch pays off". Stuff. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Black Ferns v England: Nine debutants named for 100th test, World Cup final rematch". Newshub. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Black Ferns name four debutants in starting XV for historic test". Otago Daily Times. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Waitomo Chiefs Manawa Squad Announced". Chiefs. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
External links
- Kelsie Wills at the Black Ferns (archive)
- Kelsie Wills at Chiefs Manawa Archived 25 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine
- Kelsie Wills at FIVB.com
- Kelsie Wills at the New Zealand Olympic Committee
- Kelsie Wills at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (archived)
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