DINNER SPEAKER Ellia Green

DINNER SPEAKER Ellia Green Rugby 7’s Olympic Gold Medallist Ellia Green OAM (25) is one of the stars of international Rugby Sevens. Green and her Australian teammates made headlines around the world when they won the first gold medal in Olympic history for women’s Rugby Sevens at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Green’s form throughout the tournament was scintillating, consolidating her standing as one of the most prodigiously talented female players in the world game. She was also proven to be one of the toughest, having played her entire Olympic campaign with a fracture in her right humerus and a tear in her shoulder socket, courtesy of separate training incidents in the critical run-up to Rio. Ellia capped off a massive 2016, with the Pearls becoming the first Australian Sevens team to win the IRB World Rugby Sevens Series. Ellia scored 17 tries across the 10-leg Series to finish as the competition’s fourth highest try-scorer. In January 2017, Ellia Green and her Olympic teammates were awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia – the country’s highest recognition for outstanding achievement and service. The Fijian-born flyer made her early mark in athletics, competing at the 2009 Qatar World School Games in the 100m, 200m, and long jump. Her code-switch was not by intention having taken her cousin to an open trial organised by the Australian Rugby Union in 2012. The governing body staged a ‘Pathway to Gold’ Talent ID camp to recruit players into their women’s national program. The squad would then train in a semi-professional environment in Sydney to prepare for their historical entry into Olympic competition. Ellia was coaxed into trialing and made an immediate impression – her unmissable top-flight speed and superior power caught the attention of selectors. She was picked to make her international debut the following year in February 2013 and has since been a mainstay of the Australian women’s Rugby Sevens team. In 2017 during the Las Vegas leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series, Ellia sustained an injury to her ACL. She underwent a knee reconstruction on her return home to Australia and was in a race against time to regain her fitness to be considered for selection as part of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games team. According to coach Tim Walsh, Ellia emerged from her knee rehab program a month ahead of schedule and leaner, fitter and stronger than ever before. Ellia was rewarded with selection for the Commonwealth Games, eventually coming away with a silver medal after a narrow loss to New Zealand in the final in extra-time. Ellia was again forced to have more surgery on her knee, missing the final three legs of the 2018 World Rugby Sevens Series, which Australia went on to win. Her absence at the back-end of the tournament didn’t stop Ellia from picking up the TAG Heuer ‘Don’t Crack Under Pressure’ award at the World Rugby Sevens Series awards night in Paris. Ellia’s nomination came from her barnstorming try at the 2018 Sydney Sevens in her return outing from injury. Ellia and the Australian Pearls added a bronze medal to their recent haul at the 2018 Women's Rugby 7s World Cup in San Francisco. The Olympic champions were stunned 17-12 by France in the semifinal, which put them into the bronze medal match with hosts, the USA. Ellia showed her class in that outing, scoring two tries to lead her team to a 24-14 win. Away from Rugby, Ellia is studying a Cert IV in Nursing. She hopes to make a return to professional athletics as a sprinter in her thirties and to embark on a career with the United Nations in world aid. Ellia is an ambassador for Barnardo’s and Adopt Change. Ellia herself was adopted from Suva as a baby. Her parents Yolanta and Evan Green were holidaying in Fiji when they were told about a child in the village who needed to be taken care of. They adopted Ellia and returned to Australia to raise her in Melbourne. Her late mother is her hero and Ellia wears her name written on her wrist underneath her strapping for each game. Says Ellia of her mother ‘…she was the greatest gift on earth’. There is a real appetite for Rugby Sevens following the success of the Australian women’s Rugby Sevens team, and Ellia is leading the way by setting a new standard of high performance in the women's game. Ellia acknowledges that the side’s ability to make a mark on the next generation of women is more important than material goals. And it seems their global feats are proving to be a source of inspiration to many. More than two million females worldwide regularly play rugby, making up 25% of the global rugby playing population. Last year, participation in women’s Sevens in Australia rose by 33%. That increase is largely due to the captivating talent and unmissable star power of Ellia Green and her Australian Rugby Sevens teammates. Invest in your career. Invest in yourself. Invest in the MEAG Success Summit All Content Copyright © Melbourne EA Group .

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