RUGBY MATCH TRIBUTES TO MUCH-LOVED ELLI
THOUSANDS of people have honoured the memory of Welsh international rugby player Elli Norkett – at a rugby match the 20-year-old should have been playing in.
Elli, from Llandarcy, near Neath, died in a car crash on the A4109 Inter Valley Road between Banwen and Glynneath on February 25, sparking an outpouring of grief from around the country.
Players from Cardiff Met University – the young athlete’s team – broke down in tears as they took to the field on a wet and blustery night at Cardiff Arms Park.
Emotions were running high as friends, family and the rugby community joined to pay tribute to the talented rugby player.
Last night’s fixture was the first her side had played since the tragic death – little under a week earlier.
As her team-mates made their way on to the pitch to face Loughborough University they paid a touching and poignant tribute to their fallen friend.
Two of Elli’s shirts, with the numbers 14 and 12, were placed on the pitch.
As members of the home side walked onto the pitch, each player placed a single rose onto the jerseys.
The unspeakably sad scene saw players visibly moved and breaking down in tears as they lined up to face the crowd.
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 assembled into a huddle before heading into their positions for the start of the match.
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.
Speaking before the match, Elli’s coach and Performance Director for Women’s Rugby at Cardiff Met Rhys Edwards said her death had brought the team closer together.
He said: “Elli was a hugelytalented player, one of the most powerful players I have been fortunate enough to work with.
“She was a huge prospect coming into the senior programme.
“She was a bubbly and positive person and such a compassionate and friendly person off the field.”
Rhys broke the news of Ellie’s death to the players on Sunday and since then they have spent
the week together as a squad.
He added: “It has brought the squad together and has reinforced rugby values.
“Watching the girls spend the week together has shown how much Elli meant to them and how she left her mark as a player.
“I think we are quite fortunate that we have got this game which Elli would have played a full part.
“She was a fundamental part of the team.
“We have this opportunity to celebrate Elli’s life and career by going out to show what the team is capable of and it’s something the girls are looking forward to, getting back on the rugby pitch and celebrating her life.”
Elsewhere last night a minute’s silence was held in Edinburgh who were hosting the Ospreys in the Pro12.
Norkett had represented Ospreys Women as well as the regional development Swansea Ladies during her all too short career.
Elli was the youngest player in the 2014 Rugby World Cup and had won four caps by the age of 17.
Her family said tributes have flooded in from far and wide.
Her grandfather John Smith said: “We’ve had over 40 cards, flowers and people keep bringing food over for us.”
For John and his wife, Elli was one of seven grandchildren: “I would call them the magnificent seven,” he said.
“She’ll be greatly missed, she was a fantastic, beautiful, wonderful girl. If you met her, you fell in love with her.”
On Thursday, members of the Wales women’s rugby team paid tribute.
Head coach of the Wales women rugby team, Rowland Phillips, said he and some of the members of the team visited Elli’s family.
He said: “The one thing they stressed as a family was how close we were as a rugby team, how important it was to Elli and the impact that the extended family had on her life and it’s clear to see the impact she had on ours too.
“What Elli would want is for us to pull together tighter to focus.
“We all show our grief and our respect in different ways, but if we can as a group collectively carry her values and her determination with us as a group that would be the perfect way to show our respect for her as a squad.”