Wallaroos playmaker Faitala Moleka is drawing off the days playing Sevens with Waiaria Ellis in Western Sydney as the pair look to guide the team into the future.
Moleka has been a revelation since moving into the centres, and the pair have guided the Australians to back-to-back wins over Scotland ahead of Friday's series finale in Canberra.
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The two grew up playing Sevens together for Blacktown Scorpions and have taken that partnership to the world stage.
They put it on full display last Saturday when the two combined for a stellar try, Ellis putting Moleka through a hole with an inside ball and shifting it back to the flyhalf for the five-pointer.
"She was always the nippy one, the fast one, so I kind of just gave her the ball," Moleka told the media about their history.
"I'm able to just be a bit more experienced in that 10 role, and having me right next to her at 12 allows me to give her that little guidance that she needs in terms of experience and seeing what's in front of us.
"She's a confident player and she knows what she's looking for in those spaces, just being there gives her the confidence to do her own thing."
Ellis treasures the relationship, shifting from the wing into the main playmaking role after a brilliant season for the NSW Waratahs.
"Fatala's been like such a massive help with me, both on and off the field," Ellis told Rugby.com.au last week. "We're both from the area out west.
"Having her on the field and her confidence in me is huge and just also having her as another set of hands and a ball player. Knowing how much experience she has and what she brings to the team helps me and everyone around us as well."
Moleka is getting used to her own position shift, having been thrust across the backline for the Brumbies and Australia.
But the 21-year-old has thrived most recently in the midfield, splitting open Scotland in Edinburgh with a brilliant crash ball to help guide the Aussies to victory.
"I think I've played every position except wing. I'm never going to get there; more likely to go forwards next," Moleka joked.
"I've had such good learnings off Cee [Smith], who's a very well-versed inside centre. I don't think I have the kind of aggression that she brings to the game, but she's teaching me everything she knows...She leads by example. Every Test Match Tuesday, which is our contact days, I get hit in the ribs every now and then just for her to remind me who's boss.
"I've had to step up and I think that's a good thing for me in terms of my own professional career. Having G-Fred [Georgina Friedrichs] alongside me as well, I'm learning so much off these girls. 12 is a new position for me and G-Fred is so experienced and I've been asking her those questions."
