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Portia Woodman-Wickliffe reacts to winning RugbyPass Top 50 crown
By Lucy Lomax
As the RugbyPass Top 50 final ten players are revealed, who other than Portia Woodman-Wickliffe could take the throne?
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In the face of incredibly tough competition, the winger’s accomplishments in the sport are unparalleled, and despite taking time away from the game, on her return Woodman-Wickliffe continued to excel and shine in the international arena.
On hearing the news, Woodman-Wickliffe reacted: “It’s honestly amazing, you don’t go out looking for these accolades or these moments, you just play a game of rugby, and you just love playing alongside your mates, and to be recognised by RugbyPass is amazing and really means a lot.”
The 34-year-old made her international return in this year’s Pacific Four Series, playing her first game of 15s since the 2022 World Cup final, and seeing her back in a black jersey did not disappoint, with the World Cup in England cited as a big reason for her come back.
“The small time that I was retired, I missed the girls and I missed the high performance environment. I enjoyed it and celebrated, had some amazing food, and well deserved drinks but coming back out of it was hard and I’m grateful that I went through the process that I did, going to play in Japan, playing in Super Rugby Aupiki, and then deciding to come back for the Black Ferns, there was a really nice progress back in to it,” said the try scoring sensation.
“It wasn’t expected, obviously, if you had asked me this at the beginning of the year I would have said ‘absolutely no’ to the Black Ferns but now that I’m here I’m really grateful and really excited. There are so many young girls, young rugby players in the programme, and I’m grateful I get to play alongside them and see their growth.
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“It’s going to be the biggest World Cup that women’s rugby has ever seen, and to be a part of it is going to be amazing.
“We got to see a glimpse of it in Aotearoa (in 2022) and that was amazing, so beautiful, and every game I was crying because of how proud I was to be from New Zealand and I feel like we did a pretty good job putting on the World Cup here.
“But to know that (the 2025 tournament) we’re in England, it’s so accessible to so many countries, we have such an amazing rivalry with England’s Red Roses, so if we were to get to the final and play at Twickenham with the Red Roses, that would be incredible.
“Obviously we’ve got a lot of work to get to that point but this World Cup is going to be out the gate- the talent, the actual legends that are still playing in the game, the atmosphere, the crowds.
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“England and the UK and Europe just support rugby in a totally different way to how we do here in New Zealand, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
The dizzying array of talent in New Zealand’s ranks from both a 15s and a sevens perspective is a daunting prospect for not just the Black Ferns’ pool C opponents but for whoever awaits them should they make the knockouts.
“Seeing some of the sevens players switch over to 15s and absolutely thriving in the 15s environment is really cool even within our own team. Jorja Miller and Risi Pouri-Lane, are both really young, amazing, talented players and it’s going to be an amazing showcase of women’s rugby and women’s sport.”
Jorja Miller is a name many will be watching at this year’s tournament after putting on impressive displays since switching from the shortened format of the game. And Woodman-Wickliffe argues she could have been another option in the RugbyPass Top 50, even the top 10.
“Without a doubt Jorja Miller (should be on the list), she is a breath of fresh air, she is a beast on the field, her footwork, her hips!
“I’ve had to try and tackle her so many times in training, and it’s impossible, she just runs away from you, her hips- she’s there, and then she’s gone.
“Watch out for her within the next five to ten years, she’s going to be absolute beast of the game and a legend of women’s rugby.”
Read the full RugbyPass Women’s Top 50 list here.
We've ranked the best women's rugby players in the world, from 50 - 1! View the Top 50 now