Kelsie Thwaites
New Zealand beach volleyball player (born 1993)
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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]
| Born | 8 January 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 81 kg (179 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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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]
