Tysha Ikenasio (born 13 September 1997) is a New Zealand

rugby sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

player. She has also represented New Zealand in tag and touch rugby.

Early life

Tysha Ikenasio was born on 13 September 1997 in Auckland. She attended Sancta Maria College in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and played

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

and

touch rugby Touch rugby refers to games derived from rugby league in which players do not tackle each other but instead touch their opponents using their hands on any part of the body, clothing, or the ball. A formal, competitive variety, known as Touch ...

representatively. She competed for New Zealand at the 2015 Touch World Cup in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It was while in Year 12 at the college that she played her first sevens rugby when the school established their first girls sevens team in 2014. Prior to finishing her education in 2015 she was twice co-winner of the Middle School Sportswoman of the Year and twice Senior School Sportswoman of the Year.

Career

Ikenasio played sevens professionally in Japan for five years, she played for the Tokyo Phoenix for two years before moving to the Nagato Blue Angels. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic brought an end to the Japanese competition and so Ikenasio returned to New Zealand. With little opportunities to play rugby, she played rugby league for a season with the Richmond Roses in the Auckland premiership. The only chance to play sevens rugby during this period was when she was asked by co-coach Rocky Khan to play for Moana Pasifika in the 2021 Takiwhitu Tuturu Sevens in Wellington.

New Zealand sevens

In 2022 while working full time as a personal trainer she was approached by Cory Sweeney and as a result obtained a position on the Black Ferns Sevens Development Team. She played for the Black Ferns Pango team at the 2022 Oceania Sevens at

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Puke ...

. She was named as a non-travelling reserve for the Black Ferns Sevens squad for the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

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2023 Premier Rugby Sevens

In May 2023, Ikenasio revealed she was going to play Premier Rugby Sevens in the United States during the New Zealand sevens off-season. Ikenasio signed with the Texas Team, suiting up alongside

Black Ferns The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns (), represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tour ...

teammate, Alena Saili. Ikenasio ended the year totaling, 15 carries, 10 points, nine tackles, two tries, and two steals. Team went 1-3 throughout the season picking up their lone win at

Highmark Stadium Highmark Stadium may refer to: * Highmark Stadium (New York) Highmark Stadium (also known colloquially as The Ralph) is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, United States, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo, New York, Buffalo metropolitan area. I ...

in Pittsburgh, Pa. against the Pittsburgh Steeltoes. Texas dominated Pittsburgh, shutting them out 29-0. Ikenasio tallied one try in the Eastern Conference Kickoff at

Q2 Stadium Q2 Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium located in the North Burnet section of North Austin, Texas, United States. It is the home of Austin FC, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team that began play in 2021. The stadium hosted its first event on June ...

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. At this event, the Team went 0-2 falling to the New York Locals and the Steeltoes. She scored her second try at the Eastern Conference Finals in Pittsburgh where the squad went 1-1, falling to the Southern Headliners by one point and topping the Steeltoes.

2023-24

She retained her contact with the Zealand Black Ferns Sevens though the 2023-2024 season. She was a travelling reserve for the New Zealand Women's Rugby Sevens team that won the gold medal in the rugby sevens competition at the Paris Olympics

Move to the Warriors

In December 2024 Ikenasio signed a three year contract to play rugby league for the New Zealand Warriors women's tea commencing in 2025.

References

External links

Tysha Ikenasio
at the Black Ferns Sevens
Tysha Ikenasio
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikenasio, Tysha 1997 births Living people New Zealand female rugby union players New Zealand female rugby sevens players New Zealand women's international rugby sevens players People educated at Sancta Maria College. Auckland Olympic rugby sevens players for New Zealand Rugby sevens players at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen