From fan to champion: Kelsey Teneti’s 12-month Hong Kong Sevens journey

You couldn’t wipe the smile off Kelsey Teneti’s face after an “ugly” decider at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens last month. Teneti had just walked off the field at Kai Tak Stadium with a winners’ tankard in hand, completing a remarkable rise from fan to champion.

While Teneti is no stranger to the HSBC SVNS Series, having debuted on the circuit as an 18-year-old at the Dubai Sevens in 2022, the New Zealander missed selection for the highly-prestigious event in Hong Kong China 12 months ago.

One year earlier, almost to the day, Teneti enjoyed the tournament as a fan while the Black Ferns Sevens charged towards their second successive title at the event. Risi Pouri-Lane captained New Zealand, who defeated the USA 37-6 in the Cup Final in 2024.

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Teneti was later recalled for the Paris Olympic Games, with Team New Zealand claiming the top prize with a win over Canada at Stade de France. After missing out on the Hong Kong Sevens, Teneti was an Olympic gold medallist only a few months later.

But Teneti’s journey from the South Stand at Hong Kong Stadium to winning Olympic gold wasn’t the end of this sporting fairytale. The 21-year-old has been impressive on the SVNS Series this season, which included a return to Hong Kong China.

“Unfortunately I didn’t make the last Hong Kong team so a lot of us girls that don’t make it end up playing in the 10s tournament outside of it,” Teneti told RugbyPass at Kai Tak Stadium.

“That was a cool experience in itself but then I got chosen this year.

“I got to experience being in the crowd and now being on the field and winning.”

After helping the Black Ferns Sevens win another title the following week in Singapore, as they got the better of Australia in a one-sided decider at the National Stadium, Teneti is set for another exciting challenge with the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England just a matter of months away.

It was announced last month that Teneti would be one of New Zealand’s sevens stars making the switch to 15s in a bid to play at the showpiece event. Pouri-Lane, Jorja Miller, Theresa Setefano, Alena Saili, Dhys Faleafaga and Stacey Waaka are the others.

Teneti has already played for the Black Ferns, as have another four of these SVNS Series stars, but Pouri-Lane and Miller are in line to enter the Test arena for the first time during World Rugby’s Pacific Four Series, which starts in a matter of weeks.

The Black Ferns open their account in Pac Four against Australia’s Wallaroos on May 10 in Newcastle.

Waaka and Miller will be available to play for New Zealand at the winner-takes-all SVNS Series World Championship at Los Angeles’s Dignity Health Sports Park on May 3-4, while the other five will miss the final stop of the season.

“I’ve played 15s before and the opportunity is there and I’d be silly not to take it,” Teneti explained.

“I love playing for my country, whether it’s 15s or sevens, so I’d love to be a part of that.”