Legendary Woodman-Wickliffe bids farewell at peak of her powers with Olympics triumph

Head coach Cory Sweeney admits there's an extra dose of sentimentality to the Black Ferns Sevens’ triumphant Olympics title defence that makes this time just a touch more meaningful.

In a tense final against Canada on Wednesday morning (NZ time), the NZ women rallied late to clinch gold with a try for the ages, sending their host of departing greats out in the most fitting of fashions.

That unique element combined with the sold-out crowd at Stade de France made for an occasion that Tokyo and its COVID restrictions could never match.

"I've been with this group for eight years and Tokyo was great, but this one was special," Sweeney told SENZ Mornings.

"We had 66,000 people in the crowd for women's rugby and we had some legends of the game that have paved the way for so many women in rugby.

"For them to have the twilight of their careers on such a stage - it was an unbelievable moment."

Among the veteran greats stepping away after Paris 2024 is Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, a cross-format great who has won everything the game has to offer across both the seven and 15-women codes - most of them twice.

She brought the curtain down on her 12 years at the pinnacle of the sport with a trademark tournament in France, cementing her legacy as one of rugby's GOATs.

Despite her long list of accolades over her decade-plus career, Sweeney believes she's probably only now reaching the peak of her powers, which makes bidding her farewell at 33 years of age all the more difficult.

"She's a special lady and we're going to miss her," Sweeney told host Ian Smith. "The program will miss her, the world will miss her, I will miss her.

"Watching her over the last 12 years in her career, not only has she gone on a journey like everybody's career, but she gets to this point, and she's probably almost the full package as a player.

"She's fast, she's powerful. She's great in the air. She's a leader, she knows the game. And all of a sudden, she decides to retire.

"But I guess it's the learning and the growth. Rugby's not the end of Portia Woodman. She's getting on to great things, whatever that will be. And we'll remember it forever.

"I'm just so proud of her and the legacy she's left. There's so many young girls in New Zealand that want to be just like her, and I'm just privileged to be part of it."

Alongside linchpin Tyla King, Sweeney concedes the pair will leave a significant void in the women's sevens programme.

But he's confident they've laid the foundations for a bright future for women's sevens over the next cycle, before they attempt to claim a place in NZ sports history by earning a three-peat at Los Angeles 2028.

"We've got 20 contracted athletes in this programme and all 20 have played a huge role in the success tonight," he said. "I'm really proud of every single one of them.

"We've got players that have been in the program for one year, two years… learning off the best in the world.

"I'm really encouraged by the group of players that we've got. Yes, we will lose the likes of Portia and Tyler over the next few months. But they've left such a legacy that inspires and motivates the young players that are walking into our program and I think sevens is healthy in New Zealand."

But for now, it's time to celebrate for Sweeney and his squad, who will enjoy the spoils Paris has to offer. It certainly beats heading immediately back into quarantine, as they were forced to do in Japan three years ago.

"The one thing that we missed out on in Tokyo was a celebration because we went straight back into lockdown," he explained.

"There's a lot of players that will celebrate and travel around Europe. It's a great opportunity to do that.

"But when we get home, we'll make sure we celebrate with the full squad and everybody involved and, we'll make sure we do it right this time."

*Listen to the full interview below: *