Analysis - She came, she saw, she conquered yet again.
While the week's build up to the Black Ferns' test against the USA had been dominated by the presence of bronze medal winner Ilona Maher, once the ball was kicked off it became very apparent, very quickly that having a lot of social media followers doesn't count for anything when you're trying to stop someone who deals in exclusively in gold.
The stage belonged to Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who scored seven tries in the 79-14 win that won back the Pacific Four title. If you think that's impressive, that figure isn't even the highest amount of tries she's ever scored in a test match. Nor the only time she's ever terrorised the hapless USA Women - Woodman-Wickliffe now averages 5.5 tries per game against them.
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe of New Zealand scores a try, New Zealand Black Ferns v USA Eagles Women, match 6 of the Pacific Four Series women’s rugby union tournament at North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday 24 May 2025. © Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Photosport Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Then there's the World Cups, gold medals and Super Rugby titles…you get the picture. But what makes this performance just that much more astounding is that Woodman-Wickliffe wasn't even supposed to be here. She retired last year, citing a desire to "lounging on the couch, eating Maccas and KFC and popping out babies".
Thankfully for the Black Ferns, who now turn their attention to an upcoming World Cup campaign, she decided that Colonel Sanders can wait and pulled the boots back on.
"I'm extremely grateful, those tries were a result of what the team puts out," she said post match.
"The scrums, lineouts, the handling skills. We're not happy with our first couple of games, it's been a clunky start to the season and we know there's a lot to work on…(but) it's really exciting for where we're heading off to."
Woodman-Wickliffe's haul moved her into first place on the Black Ferns all time try-scoring list, a fact she was blissfully unaware of as she'd even lost count of how many she'd scored in the match itself. What makes it even more astounding is that she's achieved it despite spending the majority of her 13-year career playing Sevens, so the 45 tries she's racked up have been across only 26 tests*.
"I don't actually know, most tries ever? I knew I had the World Cup (record) but I didn't know the other one. But like I said, I'm grateful because of the work the girls did through the midfield, all I had to do was put the ball down."
The test was built around the presence of Maher, however the fact that she did her media appearance during the week alongside Woodman-Wickliffe was a smart move. The pair joked it up for the big turnout of journalists, radio hosts and influencers, but it also meant that while what Maher is doing to promote herself and by association the sport can't be underestimated, Aotearoa was reminded that we very much have our own superstar who got to that status simply by being a phenomenal player.
Ilona Maher. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Because really, the gulf between the two in rugby ability can be summed up in the fact that Woodman scored more tries than Maher's total carry or tackle count, with the American spending most of her energy trudging back behind her own posts to watch Ruahei Demant or Hannah King line up another conversion attempt.
As for the game itself, it was certainly an overall performance to raise spirits as the World Cup looms, especially after last weekend's draw with Canada. However, it wasn't quite perfect - the Black Ferns' discipline let them down more than it should have and while it didn't matter too much in a 65-point win, it's certainly going to be an issue in a knockout game in August.
Jorja Miller offloads for a Black Ferns try. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
But there was far more good than bad, most notably that Katelyn Vahaakolo scoring four tries on the other wing would be a player of the match performance any other day. The set piece was strong, Jorja Miller looked right at home in an openside flanker role and causes a good problem for the coaching staff to have around the makeup of the loose forwards, and the bench kept the foot on the gas right the way through to full time.
A very positive sign, and Maher can certainly be praised for playing her part in creating, was the very good crowd that showed up to watch. It was the latest of several big sports weekends in Auckland lately where fans have been spoiled for choice, this time there was Auckland FC's big semi-final and a Warriors home game to contend with.
It's fair to say that Woodman-Wickliffe's heroics, the latest in a long list of excellence to the Black Ferns, made those who made the trip to North Harbour Stadium feel like it was well worth it.
*The previous record holder, Waikato's Vanessa Cootes, scored her 43 tries in only 16 tests. This included nine in one match against France in 1996, which remains a women's test world record.
