Portia Woodman celebrates following the Black Ferns' pool match against Wales on October 16. Photo / Phil Walter, Getty Images
Portia Woodman celebrates following the Black Ferns' pool match against Wales on October 16. Photo / Phil Walter, Getty Images
MC201022NADFERNSTRAINING4.JPG Portia Woodman can't wait to run onto the field in front of her whānau and friends at home on Saturday evening. Photo / Michael Cunningham
If you've missed seeing rugby powerhouse Portia Woodman in action so far this Women's Rugby World Cup, there won't be such disappointment for Northlanders in the knockout stages this weekend.
The 31-year-old, who whakapapas back to Kaikohe, is starting in the unfamiliar position of right wing for the Black Ferns in their quarter-final clash with Wales at the Northland Events Centre in Whangārei on Saturday.
Kaitāia's Krystal Murray has been named on the bench while fellow Northlander Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu, who captained the team against Scotland in Whangārei last weekend, drops out of the matchday 23.
Portia Woodman performs the haka during the opening game of the Women's Rugby World Cup against Australia on October 8. Photo / Getty Images
Woodman didn't play in the big 57-0 win over Scotland but Black Ferns coach Wayne Smith has named her on the right wing and Ayesha Leti-l'iga on the other wing.
"A lot of people said to me they came here to watch me play but you weren't playing. I said 'oh well, hopefully next time'," Woodman said.
That time has come and all Woodman wants is to get the ball, run hard and just have fun.
"I haven't played on the right wing for a while so it [selection] was a little bit of a shock but I am absolutely excited. All the Ngāpuhi [iwi] is coming down. They tried to come down last weekend but I wasn't playing."
Portia Woodman can't wait to run onto the field in front of her whānau and friends at home on Saturday evening. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Pressure was always there no matter whether or not one played in front of family and friends, she said.
"For me, whether it's playing a club game or in the World Cup, it's always there. Just being here in Whangārei, it's like a privilege pressure," Woodman said.
"Not many people get to play in front of their home crowd, in their home town at a World Cup, let alone a quarter-final. For me, I just take it as an absolute pleasure."
A bumper crowd is again expected this weekend in Whangārei, where the Black Ferns take on Wales in the World Cup quarter-finals. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Woodman said bringing the Cup games to Whangārei would excite Northland girls to take up rugby, given the calibre of games played throughout the tournament with the backing of the local community.
"My nieces and nephews, they may not like rugby but I think for them to see women pursuing their dreams on home soil is a really awesome moment.
"Last weekend, just to see the crowd and the way the girls talked about it, they said it was probably one of the highlights because it was such a smaller crowd but people were literally there just to see us.
"I was a little bit disappointed but I knew we also had another opportunity to possibly come around this weekend. I had whānau come from up north, my uncle's not healthy or mobile but they made the trip down and I was really fortunate for that," Woodman said.
Switching from sevens to the 15-a-side game was not easy but having the support of teammates and partner and fellow Black Fern Renee Wickliffe made that switch easy, Woodman said.
"Originally when I started playing sevens, I wanted to switch to 15s and said 'oh yeah, it's the same sport' but it's the same field, same ball but completely different laws, completely different tactics and I think that's the best thing about 15s in that I come in and it's all new or it's all fresh, I am starting at the bottom of the chain, I am learning all over again."
On her future in the game post the global tournament, Woodman was unsure but the body was holding up well, she said.
Portia Woodman heads for the tryline in the Black Ferns' pool game against Wales, who they will meet again in the quarter-finals. Photo / Andrew Cornaga, Photosport
Black Ferns and Wales were in the same pool and met in Auckland two weeks ago. The hosts won 56-12 but centre Stacey Fluhler said Wales tested them in a few areas.
"The scores don't reflect the challenge we've had in the pool games. I think if you really dive deep into each game, there's been areas like dropped balls, scrum areas we know we can fix so when we come up against sides like France or England, we feel confident in the belief we can do that."
First five Ruahei Demant will captain the Black Ferns on Saturday. The match kicks off at 7.30pm, after the France and Italy clash at 4.30pm.
