With 40 minutes to play, the scores tied 10-10, and a spot in the semi-finals on the line, the Black Ferns' captain Ruahei Demant pulled her team into a huddle, while the Springboks trotted past them and in to the changing rooms at Sandy Park. The team talk, according to player-of-the-match Kaipo Olsen-Baker, was only three letters long: AFD which, Olsen-Baker just stopped herself from blurting out during a live TV interview afterwards, means all fucking day.
So much has been said about the wing, with the former Black Fern Kendra Cocksedge saying she isn't human and the New Zealand star Ruby Tui describing her as out of this world. Woodman-Wickliffe broke New Zealand's all-time try-scoring record as the Black Ferns secured their quarter-final place with a big win. Woodman-Wickliffe surpassed Doug Howlett, who scored 49 tries in 63 games while the Black Ferns legend reached the 50-mark in 30 Tests.
The then 16-year-old, at the ground with her school team, remembers the moment of relief when a last-minute French penalty goal attempt drifted wide, allowing the Black Ferns to scrape through to the final of the Women's World Cup. In another gripping contest against arch-rivals England, New Zealand went on to win the tournament. Now, Sorensen-McGee hopes to play a decisive role in retaining the title.
