--- description: Find out why Portia Woodman-Wickliffe was selected for TIME‘s 2026 list of the most influential people in sports. title: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026: Portia Woodman-Wickliffe image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8598b23e4f0c793d/6a208abe6c0c2c4dda791f76/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Portia-Woodman-Wickliffe.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jun 09, 2026 # Portia Woodman-Wickliffe by Scott Allen  Jack Thomas—World Rugby/Getty Images After leading the Black Ferns to a second rugby sevens gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, New Zealand legend Portia Woodman-Wickliffe retired—only to come back and compete for a third consecutive Women’s World Cup title in England last summer. New Zealand lost to Canada in the semifinals en route to a third-place finish, but Woodman-Wickliffe added to her legacy by becoming the all-time leading try scorer in New Zealand rugby history—men’s or women’s. (A try is rugby’s equivalent to a touchdown.) The winger’s 50th international try in a rout of Japan broke the record held by All Blacks great Doug Howlett. A two-time World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year, the 34-year-old Woodman-Wickliffe, whose father and uncle played for the All Blacks, announced her second retirement in February. “As I step into this next chapter of my life,” she said in a statement, “I feel both excited and a little nervous, but I’m ready.” Portia Woodman-Wickliffe: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/portia-woodman-wickliffe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/portia-woodman-wickliffe/"},"headline":"Portia Woodman-Wickliffe","datePublished":"2026-06-09T12:00:50.645Z","dateModified":"2026-06-09T12:00:50.850Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/portia-woodman-wickliffe/","keywords":["list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8598b23e4f0c793d/6a208abe6c0c2c4dda791f76/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Portia-Woodman-Wickliffe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Scott Allen"}],"creator":"Scott Allen","articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8598b23e4f0c793d/6a208abe6c0c2c4dda791f76/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Portia-Woodman-Wickliffe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/portia-woodman-wickliffe/","name":"Portia Woodman-Wickliffe"}}]}] ```