WE’RE ALL HURTING SO BAD FOR OUR ELLI
WALES rugby player Elli Norkett was remembered by the rugby community this weekend after the talented player died in a car crash.
Players and fans held a minute’s silence before yesterday’s Cardiff Blues Guinness Pro12 clash with Munster in memory of Elli; and former Wales and Cardiff RFC player Lloyd Hugh Williams, who died on February 25, aged 83.
The gesture from the Blues came a day after thousands came together on Friday night at the Blues’ home ground to honour the memory of the Welsh international rugby player – at a match Norkett should have been playing in.
The 20-year-old, from Llandarcy, near Neath, died in a car crash on the A4109 Inter Valley Road between Banwen and Glynneath.
Players from Cardiff Met University – the young athlete’s team – shed tears as they took to the field against Loughborough Students Women’s rugby team on Friday night.
Other sports were also moved to remember Elli, with the Swansea City Hockey Club staging a minute’s silence for Elli – she was a hockey junior before becoming a rugby player.
Elli, who studied sport development at Cardiff Met, represented the team on a number of occasions, and had earned four caps for Wales, making her the youngest player at the 2014 Rugby World Cup.
On Friday, friends, family and the rugby community joined to pay tribute to the talented rugby player, in what was the first fixture her side had played since her tragic death.
Two of Elli’s shirts, with the numbers 14 and 12, were placed on the pitch, with members of the home side walking onto the pitch, each player placing a single rose onto the jerseys.
Around 50 people in total paid their respects during the ceremonial tribute before the referee blew his whistle for a minute’s applause, which was accompanied by an impromptu standing ovation from the packed crowd.
The Cardiff Met team then huddled together before the start of play.
Elli also represented her home region, the Ospreys, who paid their respects by holding a minute’s silence ahead of their Pro12 game against Edinburgh, also on Friday night.
Speaking before the match, Elli’s coach and Performance Director for Women’s Rugby at Cardiff Met, Rhys Edwards, said her death had brought his team closer together.
He said: “Elli was a hugely talented player, one of the most powerful players I have been fortunate enough to work with. She was bubbly and positive and such a compassionate and friendly person off the field.”
At a press conference earlier this week, Wales women’s rugby head coach Rowland Phillips described Elli as an “outstanding rugby player” and paid tribute to her values, the en- ergy that she would create in the room, and “how she would always bring a smile to people’s faces”. He said: “We’re all hurting bad. “What she would want is us to pull together tighter, to focus... if we can carry her values, her determination, her spirit, with us as a group, then that, to me, would be the perfect way for us to show our respect as a squad.”
Wales player Siwan Lillicrap said: “It’s affected every one of us and I think that’s just credit to the type of person Elli was.
“She didn’t have a bad bone in her body. She was a massive softie and she really cared about people.
“We won’t be playing any longer with 15 people, we’ll be playing with 16 because she’ll always be with us on that pitch.”