Little-Known Facts about Portia Woodman
Without a doubt, Portia Woodman is one of the most distinguishable players in women’s sevens because she is the leading try scorer on World Series. Having moved from wing to a strike prop, Woodman has speed, strength and determination which all make her a world-class rugby player.
Woodman has been distinguished on the world arena with the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Player of the Year Accolade in 2015. In addition, in 2017 she was named World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year. In 2020 Woodman was lauded as the top women’s sevens player of the decade.
In XVs, she was part of the World Cup and won Black Ferns in 2017 and has the track record for the greatest number of tries in a Farah Palmer Cup rugby match, scoring six tries against Taranaki for Northland in 2020. She was an integral part of the team that took home Gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Woodman’s father, Kawhena, and uncle, Fred, played for the All Blacks in the 1980s. In 2022, she made her 200th try on the World Sevens Series, which was a history-making feat.
Her Early Life
She was born on 12 July 1991 in Kawakawa, which is north of Whangarei on New Zealand’s north island. As we said before, Woodman comes from a family with an amazing sporting bloodline. Her father – Kawhena – and uncle Fred are both ex All Blacks. Her aunt – Te Aroha – is an ex netballer with the Silver Ferns.
When she was small, Woodman dreamed of becoming an Olympic sprinter. Having switched to sevens from netball when she was 21, she played in five tournaments prior to becoming top scorer at the 2013 Sevens World Cup. Woodman scored 12 tries to assist New Zealand with taking home the trophy.
Awards
Woodman has netted a total of three Rugby World Cup titles – two in Sevens (2013, 2018), one in XVs (2017), a Commonwealth gold medal from 2018 as well as an Olympic sevens silver medal from 2016 and a gold medal from Tokyo in 2021. For a sportswoman, that’s like winning big playing the slots NZ offers.
Personal Life
In 2022 Woodman got engaged to her partner. They have a baby daughter, Kaia. The couple has been together for almost 10 years as they are on the same squad of female New Zealand rugby union players. In the same breath, they have managed to cope with their responsibilities as rugby union players and mothers.
Wickliffe was chosen for her maiden start in her fourth 15s World Cup on the right flank in 2022. However, as she mentioned on an Instagram post, this was her last game wearing the Seven’s jersey. Wickliffe confirmed her retirement before the historic World Cup at home, saying she would hang up her boots once their campaign is done.
Her performance for Bay of Plenty in 2022’s Farah Palmer Cup that earned her a spot on the World Cup roster. She is commended for it given the calibre of the team’s wingers, which included champion sevens players Woodman, Ruby Tui, Stacey Fluhler, and midfielder Theresa Fitzpatrick.
