Green gunning for Rio sevens glory for Australia and Fiji

Ellia Green has made waves since her first rugby sevens start for Australia three ago. Now the Fijian-born flyer is on her way to Rio for the sport's Olympic debut and hoping to use her profile to help the people of cyclone-ravaged Fiji.

2016 Sydney Sevens

during the 2016 Sydney Sevens match between at Allianz Stadium on February 7, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. Source: Getty Images

The coaching staff for Australia's women's sevens rugby team are a pushy bunch. Barking orders during training at Ellia Green - who they've converted from a gun sprinter, into a rugby attacking weapon.

It's fair to say the 23-year-old has many talents.

"Look, I'm a born rapper. I'm an entertainer, you know. I like to beat box," green says before backing up her claim with some beat boxing skill.

And she's certainly not afraid to stand out - both off the field and on it. Green made a name for herself with a blistering length-of-the-field try at the Gold Coast Sevens in 2014 and hasn't looked back.

"I've been sprinting since I was in kindergarten. I had a massive fro, my mum would be in the crowd. I'd be running, not even watching where I'm going," she says. "I'd just make sure my mum is watching. And she's still watching. She's only seen us play live twice, but she's always up at 2am watching. It's something that I just love doing. Something I was born to do."
Green runs the 100 metres in 11.3 seconds. Women's sevens head coach Tim Walsh says it's that speed which brought her to rugby and which makes her such a weapon on the paddock.

"One of the non-negotiables are speed. When you've got someone who's not just quick but lightening quick, if not the fastest in the world series, it's a massive point of difference," Walsh says as the team trains behind him. "We're very fortunate to have such a tremendous athlete and such a tremendous person as well."

National women's sevens captain Sharni Williams says, often, the game play is simply get the ball to green.

"Just try and get that ball to her and let her unleash and play her style of game. We don't put pressure on her to change or anything. Just let her play her game and just get her the ball and let her do her magic," Williams says.

Green was adopted in Fiji and raised in Australia. She says the Pacific Island nation is still close to her heart - especially after the largest recorded cyclone ever to hit the country.

"It's something that Fiji has dealt with before but we're putting a big package together to send over there, like boots and kits to help out and do all we can."

There are still three rounds of the women's sevens World Series to go before the Rio Games. Australia took out the first two rounds - with Green scoring almost half the Pearls' points. It's safe to say the girls now have Olympic success on their minds.

"Absolutely, yep, we're thinking about gold. No other colour. Getting there is something that's in the back of our minds every day," Green says.


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3 min read

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By Darren Mara



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