Portia Woodman-Wickliffe
Considered by many to be the most electric rugby player in the world, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe set the game alight from the moment she took up the sport in 2012. Blistering pace, incredible footwork and raw power have propelled her to the top of both sevens and 15s, and made her the only player to be named World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year in both versions of the game and recently named World Rugby Women's Sevens Player of the Decade.
Portia’s professional sporting career began on the netball court where she played for the Northern Mystics in the former trans-Tasman competition, before switching to rugby and making an immediate impact during her debut season in 2013.
A key member of the New Zealand sevens team which won the gold medal at recent Tokyo Olympics, silver medal at the Rio Olympics as well as gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Portia is a three time world champion. She won the 2013 and 2018 World Cup Sevens tournaments and the 2017 World Cup, where she set the tournament alight with 13 tries. Portia’s finishing ability is unparalleled with a staggering 195 tries on the Sevens World Series.
A proud Northlander of Ngāpuhi descent and member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Portia and her wife Renee are mums to daughter Kaia. Portia is a Te Reo speaker and passionate about growing the profile of women’s rugby and female sport, while inspiring young women to follow their dreams.
It’s this passion she brings to her new role as Mastercard Global Brand Ambassador, joining the likes of rugby stars Dan Carter, Sebastien Chabal, Michael Leitch, Bryan Habana, Piwokuhle Nyanda and Chanel Alberts.
As part of her new role supporting Mastercard at RWC 2021 and across several grassroots initiatives, Portia travelled to meet the rugby mad students of Te Puke Primary school as well as delivering a priceless™ experience to one very special student.
