Aussie sevens star Lachie Miller is determined to go for gold, and there is one main reason 1000s of kilometres away

Rugby Sevens star Lachie Miller is adamant the Aussies are still hunting gold, as the playmaker’s main motivation rests thousands of kilometres away.

RUGBY Sevens star Lachie Miller is adamant the Aussies are still hunting gold, as the playmaker’s main motivation rests thousands of kilometres away.

Miller and his partner Ellie Gillard welcomed their first child, Billy, into the world on June 17.

Four days later the Aussie star flew out of Sydney to join teammates in Townsville ahead of the weekend’s Oceania Sevens.

The Australian players have been forced into a quarantine situation by Rugby Australia, and will remain in Townsville for the week before flying to Darwin for a two-week heat camp.

Miller will get two weeks back in Sydney before flying out again for Tokyo, if he is selected in the final squad of 12 by coach Tim Walsh.

Lachlan Miller of Australia kicks the ball during the Oceania Sevens Challenge match between New Zealand and Australia at Queensland Country Bank Stadium. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

It has been a major sacrifice of time with his newborn, but one Miller said needed to be made if the Aussie side had a shot at gold.

“It is tough but at the end of the day if you win gold, and your son can watch it in a couple of years, it is pretty special,” he said.

“Everyone in the team bought into the team-first attitude, we knew what we were getting into. Everyone has sacrificed a lot to get here.”

His ambition for gold has not been derailed despite the Aussie side failing to earn a win over the world’s top sides Fiji and New Zealand during the Oceania Sevens in Townsville.

The Aussie side were in the fight in each game but failed to match the physicality of the Fijians and skillset of the All Black Sevens.

But Miller said the hit out was still a good litmus test of their Olympic credentials and gave a clear list of what needed to be fixed in time for Tokyo.

Lachlan Miller of Australia runs the ball during the Oceania Sevens Challenge match between Fiji and Australia at Queensland Country Bank Stadium. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

“We are there. We are where we need to be and if anything (the results) fuel the fire for us. New Zealand you don’t need much to get up for those guys, there is a great rivalry and Fiji, we love playing them, they are the best in the world,” Miller said.

“I think we did really well, there is a lot of new blokes coming back from Super Rugby and we were missing a couple of key players. I think our blueprint was there, we just need to put it all together in the next few weeks heading into Tokyo.

“We know what we need to do and at times we were doing that (in Townsville). Execution let us down at times and we have a lot of new combinations so we need to work on that.”

Lachlan Miller of Australia is tackled during the Oceania Sevens Challenge match between Fiji and Australia at Queensland Country Bank Stadium. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

Miller said he was impressed with the level of the facilities at Queensland Country Bank Stadium and the Cowboys high performance facility at the Hutchison Builders Centre.

The Aussie sevens star has barracked for a Sevens World Series event to come to the region after the support the city showed for the Oceania tournament.

“It’s not up to me, but the facilities are here (for a World Series). The stadium is really good and the town buys into the sport. I think it would be really good personally, but it is not up to me,” he said.

Originally published as Aussie sevens star Lachie Miller is determined to go for gold, and there is one main reason 1000s of kilometres away