Canadian international Cindy Nelles named to New Zealand Barbarians rugby squad

Canadian rugby international Cindy Nelles has been named to the New Zealand Barbarians squad to face the New Zealand women later this month.

Nelles is currently working in New Zealand and playing rugby for Canterbury. The lock forward from Belleville, Ont., scored the winning try in the 81st minute for Canterbury on Oct. 31 when it captured its fourth straight Farah Palmer Cup title in an 8-7 win over Waikato in Christchurch.

The Black Ferns, ranked No. 1 in the world, play the Barbarians on Nov. 14 in Auckland and Nov. 21 in Nelson.

The 25-women Barbarians all-star roster includes six capped Black Ferns.

Nelles, who graduated from McMaster with a civil engineering degree, has been a member of the Canadian national team since 2014 and has 19 caps. She was named Canadian university rugby player of the year in 2015.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2020