Olympic gold medallist Ellia Green has revealed how he recently rediscovered one of the loves of his life almost three years after going public with his decision to transition from a woman to a man.
The 32-year-old called his transition ‘the best decision of my life’ when he revealed it in an inspirational video in August 2022.
Now he is riding the high of another great decision – returning to the rugby field with the famous Sydney Convicts team, which bills itself as Australia’s first gay and inclusive union club.
Green ran out for the side recently as they won their first match of the season by beating Epping 29-5 – and declared he’d rediscovered his love for footy.
‘It’s given me so much more than just the experience of playing rugby again, it’s given me that feeling of family that rugby has always given me,’ he told Fox Sports.
‘The feeling of, like, adrenaline every time I get the ball, feeling of excitement when I’m running into contact. Like, this is everything that I love.’
Ellia Green (pictured) has returned to the rugby field after transitioning – and he couldn’t be happier with his footy comeback
Green (pictured middle row, third from the right) is running out for the Sydney Convicts side
Before making his official debut, Green revealed how his first taste of rugby action left him elated.
‘First trial games against Manly and Mosman before the season kicks off playing 15s with the boys,’ he wrote.
‘Had so much fun out there even though I was so unbelievably nervous with the fear of failure, expectations and pressure on myself.
‘Then I was quickly reminded of much I love this game the rugby community and hitting bodies … As well as being so lucky to have my crew there to support me doing what I love best.’
Green won gold with the Aussie women’s rugby sevens team at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and represented his country in 149 games, as well as starring for the New Zealand Warriors NRLW side in 2020.
He scored an incredible 141 tries – the fourth-most in history – and 739 points over the 149 matches, and was almost impossible to stop once he had a full head of steam.
But despite that, Green was controversially left out of Australia’s rugby sevens squad for the Tokyo Olympics last year, something coach John Manenti described at the time as the ‘toughest call of his career’.
It led to a downward spiral of sorts, with Green, like many athletes, linking a disappointment in the sporting world to some sort of blight on her character – a devastating reality many athletes experience that can lead to serious mental health issues.
The Olympic gold medallist said his return to the sport he loves has ‘given me that feeling of family that rugby has always given me’
Green is pictured scoring for Australia in the Women’s Rugby Sevens World Cup final in 2018
‘This is what happened to me. Pretty much my rugby career ended and I had been in and out of mental health facilities for serious issues. My depression hit a new level of sadness,’ Green said.
‘I spent a lot of time after I finished up my career with Australian rugby just in the house, in a dark room, I didn´t have the confidence to see anyone.
‘I was ashamed of myself, I felt I had let a lot of people down, especially myself and my mom. I felt like a complete failure, it was heartbreaking,’ he added, explaining the feelings that lingered after being left off the Olympic team.
‘The one thing that did keep me positive is that I had already planned my surgery and treatment towards my transition. It was something I was counting down the days with my partner.’
‘I just knew it was going to be the most liberating feeling when I had that surgery and to be in the body I knew I had to be,’ Green said in the video announcing the transition.
‘That was a bright spark in my mind during these dark times facing demons, but I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel.
‘I knew something that would make me really happy is that, No. 1, I am going to live the rest of my life with my partner and my daughter (Waitui). And that I am going to live the rest of my life as her dad,’ said Green.
