A trailblazer for women’s rugby in Sacramento, Leka Green heading to nationals one last time

One of the most impactive members of the local Sacramento club sports scene is hanging up her cleats after this weekend.

Leka Green will suit up as captain for the Sacramento Amazons on Saturday as they travel to Austin, Texas, to be among the final four teams competing in the USA Club Rugby Division II Championships, capping a playing career that began in 2001. Green will retire from playing the sport after the Amazons try to win their second national title since 2019.

Beyond her 23 years playing rugby, Green stands out for helping to create one of the capital region’s strongest club programs, which has provided an outlet to hundreds of athletes in south Sacramento. She was among the founding members of a high school club which, over time, created a path for roughly 50 girls to receive scholarships or financial aid for college through playing rugby, according to Green and her teammates.

“When you put it in that perspective, I’ve been in denial,” the mother of one said, holding back tears, before heading to the tournament. “I’d say it’s just been such a blessing. I’m so proud of the program that it is today. I feel accomplished in the fact that I’ve helped.”

Green, 39, began playing rugby in high school in 2001, somewhat by accident. She spent three years playing prep volleyball as a setter for Luther Burbank High School but didn’t make the team as a senior because she missed an early-season practice.

Leaving that sport behind, she took up rugby because of her Tongan family’s history with the sport — which is popular across the Pacific islands. After years of watching the sport with her family, Green started a team with her brother, Sefesi, and close friend, Lani Maafu.

Green and Maafu began recruiting girls from nearby south Sacramento schools and churches. They started the team for high school girls in 2001 before expanding to an adult team in 2003 after some of the players graduated. The adult team became the only senior women’s team in the area not affiliated with a college. Green’s brother served as coach and her sister, Shamila Matapula, was team president.

Emily Persson, a co-captain with Green and current team president, credited Green for creating a community around rugby that has helped many teenagers. She also said the adult team has created long-lasting friendships among its team members. Persson said Green is leaving “an incredible legacy” and has helped the community in ways she’d never know.

“She’s created and maintained a safe community that empowers and uplifts girls and women from all walks of life,” Persson said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

The Amazons on Saturday will play the Phoenixville White Horse. The winner will advance to Sunday’s championship game against the winner of the other semifinal between the Tampa Bay Crewe and South Buffalo Rugby.

“It just brings so much pride to my heart to see the program it is today because of the good people that are still involved in the program,” Green said. “I’m proud of family for creating such a pivotal role in our community by giving girls a place to use as an outlet. These girls, they come from nothing, and so to play a sport that gives them the confidence to be able to take on life — so many girls from our program have gone on to do such great things, become great mothers.

“Some of these girls, their daughters are playing for our team. And just seeing that history and that legacy that I leave behind just makes me choked up because I wouldn’t be able to be the person I am today without the sport.”

Sacramento advanced to the national championships by beating Las Vegas Rugby 60-7 in the Pacific Super Regionals. The team won its only other national title in 2019 when Green earned MVP honors.

The high school team, called SacPal as part of the Sacramento Police Activities League, is also playing in national championships this weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. The team has been ranked first in Northern California 13 times over the last 22 years and has placed in the top five nationally 13 times, according to Green.

Green said after this weekend’s championships she will maintain an organizational role with the Amazons.

“It’s time for this old dog to take a rest,” she said.

The championships will be streamed on The Rugby Network, which is free to watch.