Olympics-NZ's Woodman named in sevens squad but injury concerns linger

Portia Woodman is expected to play a key role in New Zealand's women's rugby sevens campaign at the Tokyo Games but the former World Player of the Year is taking longer than expected to return to action after more than a year out with leg injuries. Woodman was named in a 22-player squad for the Olympics on Wednesday which will eventually be whittled down to 12.

The 28-year-old ruptured her Achilles' tendon in 2018 and spent a year on the sidelines. She returned last November at the Oceania Championships in Fiji but injured her hamstring in the final and has not played since. "It has definitely taken longer than we anticipated (to get her back)," Black Ferns sevens co-coach Cory Sweeney told TVNZ on Wednesday.

"I think the important thing for Portia is when she's ready is when she returns. "(But) we have two World Series events ahead of the Olympics and we'd like to see her at one of those."

The last two stops of the series will be in Langford, Canada on May 2-3 and Paris on May 30-31 before the July 27-Aug. 1 competition at the Tokyo Games. The Hong Kong tournament that was due to be held from April 3-5 was postponed until October because of the coronavirus outbreak.

 

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