Theresa Setefano

BIOGRAPHY

Black Fern #194

The expression ‘renaissance man’ refers to somebody who is knowledgeable or competent in almost anything. If the phrase was applied in a female rugby context Theresa Fitzpatrick would surely be worthy of the title.

Verstiale, reliable and successful she is the backbone of the all-conquering Black Ferns sevens and was a member of the 2017 World Cup winning Black Ferns XV.

“I can play all over except for the wings. In sevens I don’t have a set position, the coaches have told me I’m a utility player. I don’t score a lot of tries, but my job is to be accurate at kicks-off and set-piece, make my tackles and support. Sevens is about possession, the longer you have the ball the more likely it is you’ll win the game.”

Initially a league player, Fitzpatrick came up through the junior ranks at Ponsonby – there was a 2008 team photo on the 2016 Annual Report cover that showed the club’s three Olympians (Fitzpatrick and the Ioane brothers, Reiko and Akira).

At St Cuthbert's College rugby wasn’t provided so the focus became athletics, touch, netball and basketball.

The lure of the Olympics and the ‘Go for Gold’ talent search in 2012 inspired Fitzpatrick to return to rugby, but injury prevented her from taking part in the programme itself.

Rejoining Ponsonby in 2013, she managed to crack the Auckland team and scored nine tries in 16 games as the Storm won consecutive national titles. She also helped Auckland to the 2015 National sevens title.

Her Black Ferns Sevens debut was at the 2016 Atlanta Sevens. Strong displays in Canada and France earned Fitzpatrick a place at the Rio Olympics. New Zealand won the silver medal, beaten by Australia in the final.

“The Olympics was an awesome opportunity. It didn’t seem real at the time. You would go into the dining hall and see Serena Williams and Roger Federer. It was cool to be a part of the wider New Zealand team and meet our national icons like Lisa Carrington and Valerie Adams. It was disappointing not to win the gold medal, but the Olympics is something I’ll never forget.”

In 2017 she turned her attention to fifteens and made her debut in front of her parents against Canada in Wellington.

A place was secured in the World Cup squad and Fitzpatrick made an immediate impression in the first group game against Hong Kong, scoring two tries in the 121-0 slaying. Despite the enormity of the scoreline Fitzpatrick believes the education gained was invaluable.

“Hong Kong allowed us to try out a lot of moves and play girls in different positions. Our halfback got yellow carded so Kelly Brazier went into halfback and I played first-five. Hong Kong’s heads never dropped. They chased everything and spoke of their pride of playing against New Zealand.”

Fitzpatrick was used as a substitute for centre Stacey Waaka in the remaining three matches. The 41-32 victory over England in the final was a showcase of women’s rugby at its best.

“It was an epic game. I got about 20 minutes and a lot of people told me they were amazed at the skill level. England was very competitive. It was special to be a part of.”

Returning to Sevens she has appeared in 28 tournaments and helped New Zealand win the 2018-19 and 2019-20 World Series titles. Winning streaks of 50 and 24 games in a row were achieved in those triumphs. In 2018 she was a member of the Commonwealth Games gold medal winning team.

“The Com Games was a definite highlight. It felt like a home tournament because there are so many Kiwis on the Gold Coast. We had to show a lot of resilience to win that because the final went to extra time and not everything in the build up went according to plan.”

The coronavirus wreaked havoc in 2020, but it did enable Fitzpatrick to play for the Ponsonby Fillies, who won the Coleman Shield for the first time in 27 years. In the final at Western Springs they beat Manurewa 35-20 in an extraordinary extra-time tussle .

In the 100-minute epic Manurewa scored two tries in the last two minutes of regulation time to tie the scores. Ponsonby’s 16-year-old winger Sylvia Brunt then completed a hat-trick to seal the win. The team was coached by former Black Fern Linda Itunu.

Fitzpatrick kicked onto enjoy an outstanding season for the Auckland Storm scoring four tries in six games, including a double in the 29-22 victory over Northland, a fixture regarded by some critics as the best match of the 2020 Farah Palmer Cup season.

Perhaps the best moment of her career was in July 2021 when she helped New Zealand win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. New Zealand overcame a 21-0 deficit to beat Great Britain in pool play and required extra time to conquer Fiji in the semis before accounting for France 26-12 in the decider. Joseph Pearson reporting for Stuff noted:

“One of New Zealand’s unsung heroes, whose consistent skill and class across the park guided the Kiwis in the intensity of the sharp end of their Tokyo campaign. She was a steadying influence during the chaos of the semifinal against Fiji and her smart offload for Tyler Nathan-Wong’s clincher against the French wrapped up a fine tournament."

She is one of only 16 women to win two or more Olympic medals joining company like the Evers-Swindell sisters, Barbara Kendall, Dame Valerie Adams and Lisa Carrington.

Her younger sister is former Silver Fern and Samoan sevens player Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick and her uncle is former All Black prop Olo Brown.

She identified Emily Scarratt (England) and Alev Kelter (USA) as her toughest opponents. She is a part time medical student.

Profile by Adam Julian