WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s rugby icon Portia Woodman-Wickliffe has declared her definitive retirement from professional rugby at age 34, concluding one of the most decorated careers in women’s rugby history. The two-time World Women’s Player of the Year, who previously came out of a brief retirement, made her final departure official on Thursday.
Woodman-Wickliffe’s extraordinary journey includes Olympic gold medals in rugby sevens from both Tokyo and Paris, along with World Cup victories in 2017 and 2022. Her decision follows a celebrated return to competition during last year’s Women’s World Cup in Britain, where she represented New Zealand’s Black Ferns for one final campaign.
In an emotional statement, the athlete expressed profound gratitude: “I am deeply thankful for the privilege of representing my country, my iwi (tribe), my hapū and my whānau (family) one last time on the World Cup stage—a moment I will treasure indefinitely. While I approach this new life chapter with both excitement and nervousness, I feel prepared for what lies ahead.”
Before transitioning to rugby in 2012, Woodman-Wickliffe demonstrated exceptional athletic prowess in track and netball. She competed in the inaugural Olympic rugby sevens tournament at Rio de Janeiro 2016, where New Zealand secured silver. Throughout her career, she accumulated 241 appearances for New Zealand in the World Sevens Series, scoring a remarkable 256 tries. In 2020, she received recognition as the women’s sevens player of the decade.
Carrying a rich rugby legacy, Woodman-Wickliffe follows in the footsteps of her father and uncle, who both represented New Zealand as All Blacks. Her retirement marks the conclusion of an era for one of the sport’s most influential figures.