Black Ferns rugby legend Portia Woodman-Wickliffe is used to carving it up on the field, but she’s facing a whole new challenge as one of the castaways on Celebrity Treasure Island. Photo / Dean Purcell
In February, Woodman-Wickliffe (Ngāpuhi) announced her retirement from international rugby for the second time, finally drawing the curtain on a career that had her at the very top of the game for more than a decade.
Now she is stepping into the unknown, signing on for reality TV show Celebrity Treasure Island, proving champions don’t stop when the game does.
Before filming, and standing just shy of where she was raised in Kaikohe, Woodman‑Wickliffe pauses and takes it all in, momentarily at a loss for words. Returning home, surrounded by familiar whenua, brings the scale of her journey into focus.
“I’m speechless because I’m just the girl from Kaikohe who chased her dreams and loved sports, and I’ve gone off and done some amazing things and inspired some people. So to come back here on this beautiful land of Māori whenua makes me so proud.”
For the rugby star, the connection to the land is deeply spiritual, and she hopes her story can light a path for others growing up in the Far North.
“I’m proud of where I’m from, and I want to shine some light on the people of the Far North because they don’t always have a good rep. But it’s so important to have big aspirations and dream big so that you have a pathway or have a vision to go somewhere,” she says.
“I think of my nannies, my grandparents, and I hope they’re just extremely proud of what I’ve been able to achieve. I think of all my nieces and nephews and my babies that are yet to come, and how much inspiration, hopefully, they can get from me as well. Not just to chase rugby, but just to chase our dream.”
As part of the Black Ferns, Woodman-Wickliffe won Rugby World Cup titles in 2017 and 2022, World Cup Sevens crowns in 2013 and 2018, Olympic gold and silver medals, and Commonwealth Games gold and bronze.
She’s also rugby’s ultimate record‑breaker – the all‑time leading try scorer at Rugby World Cups with 20 (yes, more than any man), the holder of the most tries in a single Black Ferns Test with eight, and the Sevens Series’ greatest try scorer with 256.
To top it all off, Mattel even made an official Barbie doll in her image, which featured her signature curly hair and tā moko.
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe was immortalised in the form of her very own Barbie. Photo / Supplied
Growing up in a small town, Woodman-Wickliffe says her mother had a clear vision of the life she wanted for her “princess”.
But despite the rugby star finding success in rugby – and love with sevens player Renee Woodman-Wickliffe in 2013 – her relationship with her mum was in turmoil.
“My biggest challenge was coming out to my mom, with my wife, and the challenges that came with that were disownment and shame from my mum,” she explains.
Woodman-Wickliffe says she believes the estrangement was rooted in her mum’s fears about what her daughter might miss out on – including the chance to have children.
The couple married in 2022 and together are raising Renee’s daughter, Kaia, forming a blended whānau that Portia speaks of with pride.
Eventually, she reached out to her mum, explaining that she wanted her in her life, but if she didn’t accept her partner, there was no future for their mother-daughter relationship.
Portia and Renee Woodman-Wickcliffe on their wedding day. Photo / Supplied
“I had to have a conversation with her and talk to her about the whole thing. That seemed really hard at that time. We got through it and with persistence, love, passion, and resilience.”
With time, wounds healed and new bonds formed, but it remains a formative chapter in her story.
“Now my wife and my mum are like the same person – same personalities, same star sign, I have the same arguments with both, and they are best friends now.
“Sometimes I’m like, ‘oh s***, I married my mother’,” she says with a laugh.
While she and partner Renee are used to being apart because of her busy rugby schedule, this separation is different: while on Celebrity Treasure Island, the pair won’t be able to communicate at all.
Woodman- Wickliffe says she knows she’s going to struggle without her wife’s support.
“But she’s proud because she knows I’m here doing a really good thing for charity.”
The rugby star is playing for Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora – the Māori Women’s Welfare League – which she says uplifts and supports women and their whānau. Grounded in kaupapa Māori, Woodman-Wickliffe says she was drawn to the charity because it empowers wāhine to find their voice and step into leadership, no matter their background.
“I’m proud to represent Māori and specifically wahine and to be able to give back to a charity, a community like that, speaks so much,” Woodman-Wickliffe explains.
She says being Māori and drawing inspiration and strength from her culture has grounded her wherever she’s gone, proudly representing Māori on the world stage.
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe makes her mark on Celebrity Treasure Island. Photo / TVNZ
Woodman needed to harness that strength once more as she was revealed as a secret captain on the show, alongside radio host Simon Barnett. The former Black Ferns Sevens leader admits she’sapprehensive about playing captain again.
“I don’t like being a leader and I didn’t consider myself a leader throughout rugby,” she says.
“So to be a captain of this thing projected all across the world, I’m so nervous.”
But she plans on harnessing over a decade of experience being in a team to get the best out of those around her.
“Being in a team environment, you’re used to having different characters and different personalities, and you may not enjoy what they do sometimes, but you’re going to believe in them and you back them 100%.
“My job as a captain is to get that connection going and understand who we are as people and make them feel that they belong.”
But the competitive spirit that served her on the pitch is still burning bright. Woodman-Wickliffe says, even if it breaks her heart, she’s willing to make enemies to bring home the $100,000 prize for her charity.
“If I’m going to have to do it, I will do it because I want our team to win and I want to win for my charity. But I will do it in the most loving and passionate and caring way possible,” Woodman-Wickliffe laughs.
“But when it gets to game time, we’re on.”
Celebrity Treasure Island is streaming now on TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+