Portia Woodman-Wickliffe: Rugby sevens legend chases another ...

When Woodman-Wickliffe walked into the Olympic village in Rio, it was “absolutely more” than she’d dreamed of. “It was unforgettable; something I’ll hold with me forever,” she says.

Growing up in Kaikohe, she idolised the sprinters she saw on the TV screen – like American Marion Jones who won five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics (who, scandalously, was then stripped of them for using steroids).

“I remember watching her line up and run, then be named the fastest woman in the world, and thinking ‘She’s unbelievable’,” Woodman-Wickliffe says.

“So to actually be at an Olympics, walking past Serena and Venus William, and Rafael Nadal in the dining hall, then passing Michael Phelps casually walking back to his apartment, was incredible. You’re standing next to some of the greatest athletes in the world – it was more than I expected.”

Rugby sevens made a spectacular Olympic debut at those Games. The rugby field at Deodoro Stadium was a half-hour drive from the centre of Rio; built inside a military zone with temporary scaffolding stands. It also hosted the modern pentathlon during the Games.

“We visited the site the year before, and there was nothing there,” Woodman-Wickliffe says. “But they created an amazing space outside, with food and drinks and entertainment. The field was great too.”

But it was on the pitch Woodman-Wickliffe’s expectations fell achingly short.

One of the original Sevens Sisters, she’d been drawn away from a promising netball career by the Go for Gold campaign in 2012, which aimed to find the right women to win the first sevens gold medal in Rio. In the lead-up, Woodman-Wickliffe worked as a teacher aide at a daycare, training with the sevens squad either side of her workday.

Although the team eased their way through pool play in Rio (scoring 109 points and conceding just 12), the quarterfinal against the USA was an arduous 5-0 victory. “But there were unreal TV viewing numbers for that game. And the people in the crowd loved it,” Woodman-Wickliffe remembers.

After dominating Great Britain in their semifinal, the New Zealand women lost the final to Australia, 24-17. It was little consolation, but Woodman-Wickliffe scored a try after the final hooter.

“The disappointment was just that we didn’t play to our potential,” she says. “That was the hardest part to deal with.”

As inconsolable as the women appeared on our TV screens, gradually they were able to take pride in winning silver.

“We were some of the first athletes to finish competing in the New Zealand team, along with shooter Natalie Rooney, who also got silver. So we celebrated with her,” Woodman-Wickliffe says.

“Then as other athletes started to finish their events, either with medals or without medals, it made us realise how fortunate we were to come away with that silver medal. So from that point on, that helped us celebrate and enjoy it and just make the most of those Olympics.”

Although used to travelling around the world with a team, it was a highlight for Woodman-Wickliffe to be part of a wider team of 199 athletes (it was also the first time New Zealand was represented by more women than men at an Olympics).

“It was unreal, something absolutely different,” she says. “And being the first New Zealand team to go to the Olympics for sevens was amazing.” But she left Rio feeling she had unfinished business.

But did Woodman-Wickliffe finally get to watch the Olympic 100m sprinters live? Well, kind of.

“In Rio, you could use your accreditation to jump on the athlete bus and go to whatever event you wanted. So we jumped on the bus to watch Val Adams throw,” she says. “We didn’t realise we’d arrive in the athletes’ warm-up area.

“And there was Usain Bolt on the other side of the track warming up. We were like ‘We should not be here! The fastest man in the world is right there’. Unreal, unreal.

“Then we got to watch Val do her thing [winning silver] which was unbelievable, too.”

The build-up to the next Olympics was both painful and frustrating for Woodman-Wickliffe.

She ruptured her Achilles tendon in training late in 2018, then in her comeback a year later, she injured her hamstring.

Sidelined for two years, she then struggled mentally with trusting her body again. And then Covid-19 delayed the Tokyo Olympics for a year.

“It was a bit anti-climactic,” she admits. “We had to wait five years to try and win that gold medal. Then we get to Tokyo Stadium [which can hold 50,000 fans] and there’s no one in the crowd. Our whānau are all back at home.

“But all our minds were set on ‘We have to win gold – there’s no other option’.”

This time the Black Ferns Sevens were professional athletes who’d all lived and trained in Tauranga. The three-day women’s sevens tournament in Tokyo was played after the men’s competition, with their final on ‘Super Saturday’ – one of the biggest days at the Olympics.

Great Britain and Fiji both threatened to spoil New Zealand’s party – the talented Fijians dramatically pushing them an extra-time victory in the semis. The Sevens Sisters beat France, 26-12, in the final to claim their gold.

“We finally did the one thing that we set out to do eight years before,” Woodman-Wickliffe says. “It doesn’t seem that long when you think of other athletes who’ve been to three or four Olympics and come out with one medal. I totally get what other athletes experience.

“But it was just in that moment, we were like ‘We finally did what we we’re supposed to do five years ago; we achieved it’. But then it was like ‘Dammit there’s no one around’. It was all a bit awkward.

“We weren’t allowed to have some celebratory drinks in the changing room, because they changed the rules. It wasn’t how we pictured winning the gold medal. And we had to leave Tokyo straight away.”

Back at home, Woodman-Wickliffe spent a fortnight in MIQ before walking straight into another lockdown. “It wasn’t fair. I was trying to get back to my whānau to celebrate,” she says.

“It was definitely weird, but it made me appreciate the experiences we had in Rio and those we will hopefully get in Paris.”

At these, her last Olympics, Woodman-Wickliffe’s goal is to celebrate with her family in the stands.

This will be her sevens swansong. “And what a beautiful place to do it – Paris, France,” the 32-year-old legend says with a broad smile.

Her wife, world champion rugby 15s player Renee Woodman-Wickliffe, and daughter Kaia will be there for the first time; her parents and a legion of her whānau and friends will be in the stands, too.

“It’s amazing the number of people who’ve come out of the woodwork to be there, to support and show love for us,” she says.

But before Woodman-Wickliffe calls time on her international rugby career at the end of the Olympic sevens tournament on July 31, she’s likely to add to her world record of 256 tries. But she expects a highly competitive contest from the 12 nations this time.

“The sevens world has definitely grown in the last 12 years. At our first Olympics, everyone bar a few teams – us, Australia and the USA – were still learning the sport,” she says.

“Tokyo wasn’t a true depiction of how the sport was growing. In Paris, hopefully everyone is vying for a spot in the finals – Fiji, Canada, even China are coming through. There will be no easy games.”

The tournament will be played in the country’s largest stadium, the Stade de France, with a capacity of 80,000.

“I was lucky enough to go there for the opening game of the men’s Rugby World Cup between France and the All Blacks. It’s a beautiful stadium where you feel really enclosed and close to the game. It’s going to be hot and it’s going to be loud.

“I’m picturing turning up at the Olympic village, and it’s just immaculate – the French have pulled out all the stops. All the countries’ flags down the walkway and the Olympic rings; I’m thinking there will be some amazing freebies – something we always look forward to at an Olympics.

“When we walk in will be when the switch goes on; like, ‘Yeah, we’re in the zone now’.”

This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.