Portia Woodman-Wickliffe sees Dubai Sevens as first step in latest quest for Olympic gold

Flying wing was part of Black Ferns side who won at Tokyo 2021

New Zealand's Portia Woodman-Wickliffe was named women’s sevens player of the decade in 2020. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Portia Woodman-Wickliffe says Dubai is the first step of a journey she hopes will end with another Olympic gold medal with New Zealand at the end of this season.

The flying wing was part of the Black Ferns Sevens side who won the event in Tokyo back in 2021. Growing up, Woodman-Wickliffe had always aspired to be an Olympian, initially as a sprinter.

She says playing at the first Olympic sevens event in Rio in 2016 felt like the “pinnacle” of sport, even if they had to settle for silver behind Australia.

However, the next Games did not pan out quite how she had envisaged it, even if they did win gold, because of the effects of the pandemic.

“Because of Covid, with no spectators, it kind of felt like we were ripped off,” said Woodman-Wickliffe, who was named women’s sevens player of the decade in 2020.

“We had done all this work for five years to get to this competition and we win, but there is no one there to celebrate with.

“We had to go straight home, then we were in quarantine, then we were in lockdown. It is amazing to have that gold medal, but it felt like we had missed this the first time round, then we did it this time, but next time we will have our family there, and it will be all about celebrating with our whanau.

“That is how Rio 2016 was supposed to be, but we didn’t quite get that. Hopefully 2024 [in Paris next summer] can be that.

“We have a lot of jobs to do between now and then, starting with Dubai.”

The Olympics was far from the only sports event that Covid set out of kilter. Until then, New Zealand and Australia seemed to have settled into a weird ritual of winning alternate Dubai Sevens.

Since the onset of the coronavirus, though, Australia have won three times in Dubai, including twice in the space of a week when New Zealand were absent two years ago.

New Zealand, though, are focused on regaining their title. The Dubai leg was the only world series tournament they failed to win last season, as they won the remaining six legs.

Sarah Hirini, their captain, said they are happy to be back in the city.

“If someone asks what tournament do you like the best, it is Dubai, No 1,” said Hirini, as her side won the first Abu Dhabi Sevens festival in the capital last weekend.

“You come to Dubai and it is completely different to anywhere else in the world. You don’t get this anywhere else.

“Yes, all the tournaments are well run, but here there are thousands of people and the atmosphere around the tournament is always amazing.”