New Zealand rugby legend Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who shone in both sevens and 15s, has announced that the Paris Olympics will be her last competition.
“After twelve incredible years representing New Zealand at sevens and 15s, the Paris Olympics will be the last time I wear the black jersey.” With these words, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe announces her retirement from rugby, after the Games this summer. And this is a legend in question. Although she started out as a professional in netball (a sub-genre of basketball), she turned to rugby, and was part of the first Black Ferns Sevens team for the World Series in 2012. No surprise, considering her father, Kawhena Woodman, and her uncle, Fred Woodman, were both All Blacks.
And what a success! The winger has won the XV World Cup twice (2017, 2022), the Sevens twice too (2013, 2018), won gold and silver at the Games, and gold and bronze at the Commonwealth Games. On a personal level, she can boast of collecting awards, with that of Sevens player of the year (2015), a place in the world XV of the years 2017 and 2020, and above all, the title of best Sevens player of the decade. “Rugby has given me much more than a careershe says. He offered me my second whanau (extended family in Maori)the opportunity to explore the world and experiences that I would never have had otherwise.” One more reason for her to take care of her exit: “One last dance with my sisters in Paris.”
