Theresa Setefano
New Zealand rugby union player
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Theresa Matauaina Setefano (née Fitzpatrick; born 25 February 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player. She was a member of the Black Ferns champion 2017 and 2021 Rugby World Cup squads. She has also represented New Zealand in rugby sevens; she won gold medals at the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens, 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[1] She played for the Blues Women in the 2022 Super Rugby Aupiki season.
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Setefano in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Theresa Matauaina Fitzpatrick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 25 February 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative | Sulu Fitzpatrick (sister) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Since her marriage in December 2023, she has used the surname, Setefano.
Early life
Theresa Matauaina Fitzpatrick was born on 25 February 1995 to Greg and Faalogo Rosemary Fitzpatrick.[2]
Rugby career
2016
Setefano represents New Zealand in rugby sevens. She made her sevens debut at the 2016 USA Women's Sevens.[3][4] She was named in the sevens squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[5][6]
2017–2020
Setefano was named in the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup squad[7][8] and was part of the winning team of the 2019 Women's Rugby Super Series.[9]
2020 Tokyo Olympic Games
In July 2021, she was a member of the New Zealand team that won the gold medal in the women's event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[10][11]
On 3 November 2021, She was named in the Blues squad for the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki competition.[12][13]
2022
Setefano was named in the Blues starting line up for their first game against Matatū, they won 21–10.[14][15] She also started in their 0–35 thrashing by the Chiefs Manawa in the final round.[16][17]
Setefano was named in the Black Ferns Sevens squad for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.[18][19] She won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games.[20][21]
In August 2022, she was selected in Black Ferns XV's team for the test series against Australia for the Laurie O'Reilly Cup.[22][23] She made the Black Ferns 32-player squad for the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup.[24][25] She scored a try in the second pool game against Wales.[26][27] Her second try came in the final pool game against Scotland.[28][29] Setefano also scored a try in the Black Ferns nail-biting semifinal clash with France as they fought their way into the final.[30][31]
2024–25
After taking a break from rugby through most of 2023 she was named in February 2024 in the Black Fern Sevens squad for the remainder of the 2023–24 season.[32]
On 20 June 2024 it was announced that she had been selected as a member of the New Zealand Women's Rugby Sevens team for the Paris Olympics.[33] The team won the gold medal, defeating Canada 19–12 in the final to give both her and New Zealand back-to-back Olympic gold medals.[34]
In July 2025, she was named in the Black Ferns squad to the Women's Rugby World Cup.[35][36]
Personal life
Setefano undertakes medical studies at the University of Auckland.[37]
In Rarotonga in the Cook Islands on 22 December 2023 Setefano married Ryan Quentin Setefano.[2] Setefano played 166 premier games for Marist St Pats rugby team and was head coach of the club's women's team for eight seasons.[38] In 2023, he was appointed the assistant coach to Wellington Pride women's rugby team during their 2023 Farah Palmer Cup campaign.[citation needed]
Her older sister, Sulu Fitzpatrick is a New Zealand netball international. The Fitzpatrick sisters both represented New Zealand at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[39]
Two of Setefano's uncles, Olo Brown and Tana Umaga, were New Zealand rugby union internationals.[2]
