Portia Woodman made an explosive start to last night’s World Cup final before her game ended with a bang. Then, the Detonator blew England away.
Ayesha Leti-I’iga stepped off the bench to replace a player she had long admired, lessening the impact of Woodman’s loss by crossing twice and grabbingthe game’s decisive try in the 72nd minute.
The 23-year-old had been the unlucky omission in the Black Ferns’ talent-laden back three, replaced by Renee Holmes at fullback before the semifinals and unable to edge either Woodman or Ruby Tui on the wing.
Leti-I’iga never thought she would play such a significant role in the final; she had enjoyed only 25 minutes of action after being introduced in last weekend’s win over France.
But when Woodman was knocked out of the match by an ugly yet unfortunate head clash with Lydia Thompson - for which the English wing received a red card - Leti-I’iga seized her chance and lived up to her nickname.
“Wayne Smith calls me the Detonator, and I know that when I’m going on that field I’m there to make a difference,” Leti-I’iga said. “I didn’t expect to come on that early but I’m just so proud of the girls so I wanted to go out there and give it my all. We’ve spoken about no second chances, and that was our last game.”
It was an unfortunate conclusion for Woodman, who had looked determined to play a decisive role in search of her second World Cup crown.
The crowd had barely taken its seat before Woodman was outpacing England on the outside, scything through the defence on the inside and being injected into the game at first receiver.
In 18 minutes, the left wing racked up 75 metres while beating five defenders, showing why she was the top tryscorer in the World Cup for the second tournament in a row.
But Woodman’s night would end in equally destructive fashion, allowing a less-expected star to shine.
“I definitely had big shoes to fill - coming on for Portia Woodman,” Leti-I’iga said. “She’s been someone I’ve always looked up to in that winger position. But she gave me the confidence before I went on.”
Portia Woodman leaves the field after her head clash. Photo / photosport.nz
Woodman failed her head-injury assessment after the unseemly collision but Smith later revealed the 31-year-old had been able to take part in the celebrations.
“Last time I saw Portia, she was jumping all over me,” the coach said. “But I don’t want to trivialise that because she wasn’t great. She didn’t pass her HIA; I don’t know if she’ll remember much of the game.
“She was playing so well, too. It was really disappointing. She’ll recover but she’s not a hundy at the moment.”
Woodman’s pain would have at least been softened by the performance of her replacement. Leti-I’iga followed Woodman’s lead in stretching the English defence, putting the Black Ferns in front for good after Stacey Fluhler had collected Theresa Fitzpatrick’s pinpoint grubber before popping up an outstanding pass.
Until that moment, England had led for all but eight minutes of the final, but Leti-I’iga never doubted her side’s ability to overhaul the favourites and cap what became a dream night.
“We were calm from the beginning and we knew that we would be able to come back if we just all stayed together and trusted each other,” she said.
“This has always been a dream not only for me but for my grandad, who’s no longer here, and my mum as well. So to see my family in the stands, representing my mum and my grandad, was special.”
