Portia Woodman was a crucial figure in the New Zealand team, winning three consecutive World Series titles from 2012/13 to 2014/15 and scoring two goals in the final of the victorious Rugby Sevens World Cup in Russia in 2013. The following year, Portia Woodman helped New Zealand win the Rugby World Cup 15 as a tournament player and starred in a seven-man team that won the Commonwealth Games. She plays 15 and 7 team rugby and is currently a member of the New Zealand Women’s Rugby Team.
Her performance in the 2017 season earned Woodman the Player of the Year award, the highest accolade for a rugby player. This high honour went to Woodman for her excellent performance as a left-winger and rugby sevens striker. Superstar goalscorer Portia Woodman’s lightning-fast reflexes and keen spatial awareness have earned her awards such as the 2015 Women’s Sevens Player of the Year award and the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Player of the Decade. Breakneck pace, incredible footwork, and brute strength propelled Portia Woodman to the top of the seventh and 15th teams and made her the only player named Women’s Rugby World Player of the Year in both versions of the game.
With an international team of seven against, the devastating winger has racked up a career-high 975 points and more World Series of Sevens titles, Rugby Sevens and Commonwealth Games titles, an Olympic silver medal and a 2015 Women’s World Rugby Sevens player. Award of the year. While most professional players focus on version 7 or 15 of the game, Portia Woodman is simultaneously one of the best female players in the world in both formats.
While rugby has many advantages, the charm and charisma of a player like Black Ferns star Portia Woodman go a long way in defending our cause. Black Ferns forward Portia Woodman is ranked ninth on a list published every two years by the respected Rugby World magazine of the top 50 players in the game, nominated by players, coaches, administrators, journalists and other prominent figures in the game all over the world.
The Black Ferns made international headlines earlier when 23 years after the men’s rugby league went professional, the New Zealand women’s rugby team announced it would be invited to sign a paid contract worth up to NZ$45,000 for the first time. In 2015, the global rugby community recognised Woodmans’ efforts in international rugby, receiving the World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year award. Woodman’s dominance continued for years, as she was the football team’s top scorer in 2012 and 2013, 2014-2015 and the following 15-16 seasons.
Rugby can be a mighty sport, but women’s rugby is proof that female players are no different from their male counterparts. Hong Kong Sevens women’s rugby was dominated by New Zealand, with the New Zealand team (from 1999 to 2001) or the Aotearoa Maori team (playing for New Zealand) winning the Hong Kong Sevens from 1997 to 2007.
