Show caption Portia Woodman was the top scorer in the Black Ferns’ successful 2017 World Cup tilt. Photograph: Billy Stickland Rugby sevens New Zealand’s Portia Woodman ‘more influential’ than All Blacks counterparts Black Ferns winger ranked ninth in top 50 list

World Rugby vice chairman Agustín Pichot tops list

Kate O’Halloran @Kate_ohalloran Wed 1 Aug 2018 03.36 BST Share on Facebook

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Black Ferns winger Portia Woodman has made the top 10 of a list of rugby union’s most influential people, ahead of any of her male All Blacks counterparts and two spots below All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.

Woodman comes in at ninth on the list, which is published biannually by respected magazine Rugby World and ranks the top 50 people in the game, as nominated by players, coaches, administrators, journalists and other important figures in the game worldwide.

The sevens star has enjoyed an excellent year for her country as the leading try-scorer in the Black Ferns’ successful tilt at the 2017 World Cup, and a member of the 2018 World Cup and gold-medal winning Commonwealth Games teams. The Black Ferns are now six-time world champions.

World Rugby vice chairman Agustín Pichot is top of the list, followed by Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus, Montpellier owner Mohed Altrad, chief medical officer for World Rugby Dr Martin Raftery and Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, also a Kiwi. The top 10 is rounded out by Siya Kolisi, Hansen, Johnny Sexton, Woodman and Doddie Weir.

All Blacks Beauden Barrett (25) and captain Kieran Read (43) are the other New Zealand-based players to feature in the top 50. All up, there were 10 Kiwis listed, including Raelene Castle (26), who now heads Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew (29).

Woodman was the highest-ranked woman to feature in the list, and one of five to feature overall.

Joy Neville, 2017’s World Rugby referee of the year and former Ireland captain came in 31st, while England player Danielle Waterman – the first female representative on the Rugby Players’ Association Board – was 46th.

Giselle Mather, the first woman to achieve an RFU level four coaching qualification and a 1994 World Cup winner with England, was the final name on the list at 50.

The news is not so good for England’s Australian coach Eddie Jones, who dropped 17 places from second to 19th, after his side lost five consecutive Tests in 2018, before breaking the drought with victory over the Springboks in June.



Five Australians featured overall, with other notable inclusions World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper (16) and mining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest (49).

Woodman’s Ferns made international news earlier this year, when, 23 years after men’s rugby union was made professional, it was announced that New Zealand’s national women’s team would be offered paid contracts for the first time, valued at up to NZ$45,000.