Aussie Women’s Sevens Rugby Team are winners on and off the pitch

UPDATE: GOLD! As of 9th August 2016. Congratulations to the Australian Women’s Rugby 7s Team for winning Gold at Rio. They did it!

We were absolutely honoured when the Australian Women’s Rugby Sevens squad approached us with a fundraising idea for Cancer Council NSW.

The women’s team took out the HSBC Sevens World Series title in Clermont, France, last month, giving Australia its first World Series title – men or women – since the competition’s inception. How’s that for an achievement?! The series was part of the build-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics, where Rugby Sevens will feature for the first time, and the women’s team are tipped to bring home gold.

But it’s not just on the pitch that these ladies are winners. Lightning fast Ellia Green convinced her team mates to model for a calendar, after her mother Yolanta was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 and again with lung cancer last year. This week, the ladies presented Cancer Council with a cheque for almost $13,000 from the proceeds of the calendar at their home training ground in Narrabeen, NSW – an absolutely fantastic fundraising effort!

Ellia told us that she credits her mother and wanting to help other families affected by cancer as inspiration for organising the calendar. She said that cancer affects everyone, not just the patient, and that’s why she’s happy to be involved and work closely with Cancer Council NSW to ensure that the money goes where it’s needed the most. The team’s fundraising will mean that we can continue to fund vital cancer research, prevention and advocacy programs and support services for everyone affected by cancer.

Australian Women’s Sevens coach Tim Walsh told us that the team’s commitment to the game and Cancer Council NSW is a testament to how hard they have worked to increase the profile of women’s rugby and make a difference for people with cancer.

The support of our community is vital to our mission of beating cancer. We are so proud to be working with Ellia and the Australian Women’s Sevens team. They are full-time professional athletes and are competing on a world stage not only with their World Series win last month but right through to August when the Rio Olympics commence.

They’ve very clearly shown us that they are never too busy to make a difference and we thank them for their generous support of Cancer Council NSW.

Rest assured, Cancer Council NSW will be backing the Australian Women’s Sevens Rugby team 100% of the way to Rio. Go for Gold girls!