AUSTRALIA women’s 7s player Ellia Green was awarded the UL Mark of Excellence in the women’s competition at the Cape Town 7s tournament last weekend.
Green set the all-time try scoring record for an Australian player in Cape Town and she was also dubbed as the fastest woman in Cape Town last weekend.
“This is a pretty incredible feeling and honestly I wear my heart on my sleeves every time I run out with this jersey,” she said.
“I am thinking about my mum and everyone back at home that I play for. “I really do play my heart and soul when I put on this gold jersey.”
At first glance, it’s easy to assume Ellia Green’s athletic talent is credited to her Fijian heritage. But it only takes a short talanoa to realise it took much more than pure Melanesian genetics to be the first Fijian in history to win an Olympics gold medal at Rio in 2016.
“Hard work will beat talent when talent doesn’t work hard. I came from being a sprinter into rugby sevens, and all I could do was run fast. I knew I had to do a lot more than that to stay in this (Australian Women’s Rugby Sevens Olympic) team and be successful.”
Born in Suva, Fiji, Ellia was adopted by Yolanta and Evan Green, a Polish mother and English father, who raised her and her brother in Australia.
She says she was lucky to have been shaped by the experiences and opportunities her parents gifted her with.
