Australia’s first queen of sevens rugby Emilee Cherry has announced her retirement just two months out from the Tokyo Olympics.
In truth, Cherry made the emotional call after sleepless nights and tears in February when she decided her body would not make it to Tokyo in the right shape.
Missing Tokyo does not trim the thinnest coat of varnish from Cherry’s wonderful achievements over a decade.
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She will always be a member of Australia’s gold medal-winning team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, a matchwinner in Australia’s first World Series triumph in 2015-16 and the first Aussie to win World Rugby’s gong as World Sevens Player of the Year in 2014.
Powerfully, she was a pin-up for how skilful, versatile, elusive and successful a female footballer could be before AFLW, NRLW or Super W even existed.
One-year-old daughter Alice was happily chatting to herself in the background throughout this interview.
Being the best mum possible for her daughter weighed into her decision but ultimately long seasons had taken their toll.
“I cried lots and, at the time, it was heartbreaking but I’m content now. I have a smile. My body had definitely given up,” Cherry, 28, said.
“International sevens can be brutal on the body. My hips, lower body niggles, little things...they’d built up.
“Schedules changing every week, quarantine changes...there was the start of a mental toll too when, obviously, caring for Alice is the biggest part of my life.”
Cherry scored a staggering 131 tries across her World Series career, including one hat-trick in just 181 seconds with her stutter-step and pace. She was “one in a million”, according to 2016 Olympic sevens coach Tim Walsh.
Cherry was pivotal to eight tournament wins by the Aussie women’s sevens team from Sao Paulo to Atlanta, Dubai to London and, finally, Sydney in 2018.
“It’s been an amazing 10 years. I’ve made some amazing friends, experienced some amazing things,” Cherry enthused.
“Whether I’m 28 or 68, I’m always going to miss the feeling of those big events or the current girls kicking things up a notch playing in New Zealand.”
Cherry has a reminder in her own house of how the perception of women in the footy codes has changed from being invisible a decade ago to inspiring young girls everywhere.
“When we are watching sevens or the NRL and Alice sees someone in headgear she says ‘mum’,” Cherry said.
“She’ll put on my headgear and run around the room a bit.
“That’s something I love.
“Being pioneers in changing the landscape of women’s professional sports in Australia is one of the coolest things our rugby sevens team has achieved over 10 years.
“We were one of the first national teams to centralise as a professional squad.
“The profile of the sport was lifted and we see talented 16-year-old girls everywhere taking rugby sevens ahead in leaps and bounds.
“When I started there were really only males in footy. Now, there is a variety of wonderful women in all different sports as role models.”
Cherry was a founding member of the full-time sevens program in 2012 and won the Player of the Year gong at just 21 after coming from a representative touch background.
The Olympic gold in Rio is a soaring high but moments apart from the on-field action are just as strong in the memory for the Roma product.
“By brother Rian wanted to be sober enough to lift me on his shoulders if we won the gold. He did behind the grandstand. He was sober enough,” Cherry said with her trademark laugh.
Cherry is confident the current Aussie sevens squad, with a mix of 2016 Rio stars and new faces, can make a major impact on the Tokyo Olympics.
“The girls are bigger, faster and stronger than a year ago. It’s going to be very hard to pick 12 girls from the larger squad of 18,” Cherry said.
Australian women’s sevens coach John Manenti said: “Emilee has given so much to the team, program and jersey. It’s sad to see her go.
“On behalf of the entire Rugby Sevens program, I would like to thank Em for everything she has given and her legacy will continue to give.”
They don’t forget their own in Roma.
Her photo now hangs in The Royal in a gallery of stars that includes her own childhood hero, Darren Lockyer, the Queensland and Brisbane Broncos star.
Just as Lockyer inspired her, Cherry will continue to inspire the current crop of ambitious sevens players in Australia.
Emilee Cherry OAM Date of Birth: 2nd November 1992 (age: 28) Hometown: Roma, Queensland Cap No: 14 Debut: 2012, Dubai UAE World Series Caps: 31 Olympic Games: Rio, 2016 (Gold Medal) Commonwealth Games: Gold Coast, 2018 (Silver Medal) RWC Sevens: San Francisco, 2018 (Bronze Medal) World Series Title Wins: San Paulo (2014 & 2016), Dubai (2013, 2015 & 2017), London (2015), Atlanta (2016) and Sydney (2018)
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