Cindy Nelles

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Cindy Nelles (born August 19, 1993) is a Canadian rugby union player who plays as a lock. She has played for Canterbury in New Zealand, for Matatū, and for the Canada women's national team.

Internationally, Nelles has 19 caps for Canada since 2014. She was part of the Canadian squad at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup as an injury replacement, helping Canada win silver, and she also played in the 2017 World Cup.

In college, she helped McMaster University win its first CIS rugby title and earned multiple awards. In New Zealand, she played for Canterbury and helped them win the Farah Palmer Cup in 2019 and 2020. She joined Blues Women in 2022 for Super Rugby Aupiki and played for Matatū in 2023, helping them win the league’s first championship and finishing as a leading tackler with 73 tackles.

Nelles studied civil engineering at McMaster University, graduating with honors in 2016. She grew up in Belleville, Ontario, where she attended St. Theresa Catholic Secondary School. She has worked as a civil engineer in New Zealand while continuing her rugby career and has been a spokesperson for Bell Let’s Talk to promote mental health awareness. As a child, she played football, ice hockey, and volleyball, and began touch rugby at age 10, which led her to pursue the sport at higher levels.