Woodman forces her way into world rugby team of the year

New Zealand women’s try‑scoring machine Portia Woodman has forced her way into a alongside five All Blacks.

Woodman is the only woman player to make the 2017 team of the year judged by Planet Rugby.

The 2017 Black Ferns wing Portia Woodman has been good enough to see herself ranked alongside the best in the men's game.

All Blacks captain Kieran Reid has been named at No. 8 and New Zealand's consistent openside flanker Sam Cane has also made the forwards pack alongside Sam Whitelock.

Woodman was also a finalist for the World Rugby try of the year award which was won by Argentina men's 15s player Joaquin Tuculet.

Planet Rugby’s 2017 Team of the Year

15 Stuart Hogg (British & Irish Lions, Scotland and Glasgow): An excellent campaign for club and country from Hogg as for the second successive year he picked up the Player of the Six Nations award. In between his impressive performances for Scotland he was a constant threat with ball in hand for the Warriors and looked set to wear the Lions 15 jersey in June. But unfortunately a freak injury ruled him out of the Tests and we’ll never know what he could have offered in the series. Still though, a fine 12 months as he edges Israel Folau as our full-back.

14 Portia Woodman (New Zealand): 13 tries meant Woodman was not only the top try scorer but also the top points scorer at the Women’s Rugby World Cup, helping her side to the title. She was a dominant force in every game except the final but the Black Ferns managed to come out on top without her scoring, beating England in Belfast. Woodman won the World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year award and rightly so after an incredible campaign.

13 Jonathan Davies (British & Irish Lions, Wales and Scarlets): The Scarlets and Wales centre was one of the stars of the British and Irish Lions’ trip to New Zealand and was rightly named by his team-mates as their player of the tour after playing in every minute of the drawn three-Test series with the world champions. He impressed with his ability to straighten the line against the All Blacks and was defensively sound throughout that series. Davies rejoined the Scarlets at the start of the 2016/17 season and played a prominent role in the Welsh region’s triumphant PRO12 campaign.

12 Owen Farrell (British & Irish Lions, England and Saracens): Farrell plays at fly-half for his club but impressed at inside centre for England and the British & Irish Lions this year. His combination with George Ford was instrumental in helping England win the Six Nations for the second successive year. He also impressed as the second playmaker alongside Johnny Sexton for the Lions in New Zealand and played a leading role in helping the famous touring team claim a drawn series with the world champions.

11 Rieko Ioane (New Zealand and Blues): On current form the best wing in the world after delivering a string of impressive performances for club and country in 2017. It’s hard to believe that Ioane is just 20 years old as he played like a seasoned professional. Was arguably the Blues’ best player during their Super Rugby campaign and finished that tournament as one of the leading try-scorers with 10 scores. Also impressed for the All Blacks and he has now scored 11 tries in 13 Tests. His feats were rewarded when he walked off with the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year award last month.

10 Beauden Barrett (New Zealand and Hurricanes): Picked up the World Player of the Year award for the second year in a row and rightly so as he was once again at the heart of everything that was good about the Hurricanes and All Blacks in 2017. His playmaking skills helped New Zealand win another Rugby Championship title and even though the Hurricanes bowed out at the semi-final stage of Super Rugby, it wasn’t through a lack of trying from Barrett. He certainly entertained throughout that tournament and also played well for his country against the Lions and on their end-of-year tour to Europe.

9 Conor Murray (British & Irish Lions, Ireland and Munster): Another Lions hero who edges out All Blacks number nine Aaron Smith to make our team. Murray’s half-back partnership with Sexton was a key component in helping Ireland and the Lions win matches at various stages of the year. Murray’s tactical awareness, decision making and game management was superb throughout while the accuracy of his box kicking is unrivalled in the game. It was a feather in his cap that he was amongst the nominees for the Six Nations Player of the Year award.

8 Kieran Read (New Zealand and Crusaders): There were concerns as to whether the 32-year-old would be in top shape leading into the Lions series given his injury struggles, but the New Zealanders needn’t have worried. The number eight was quite exceptional throughout and continued that form into the Rugby Championship as the All Blacks went unbeaten. His injury issues returned in November and raise doubts over his ability to compete at the highest level for the foreseeable future, but the All Blacks’ captain had another outstanding year.

7 Sam Cane (New Zealand and Chiefs): Quite simply, 2017 was Cane’s best ever season. In fact, Richie McCaw’s heir was perhaps unfortunate not to be nominated in World Rugby’s Player of the Year category, considering how brilliant he was. Destructive tackling and work ethic is synonymous with the openside but, at a time when the laws of the game have somewhat negated the role of a fetcher, the openside dominated the contact area. Michael Hooper, Sam Warburton and Sean O’Brien all had their moments, but the All Black stood the tallest.

6 Siya Kolisi (South Africa and Stormers): A tough decision here but eventually we settled on the Springbok. He played on both flanks this year and his performances were always of a high standard, despite his international team’s struggles. In Super Rugby he was everywhere in terms of workrate while his skillset and attacking qualities also made us sit up and take note, taking on the captaincy with consummate ease.

5 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand and Crusaders): What a rock he was for the Crusaders in 2017 as he led by example as captain, inspiring them to an eighth Super Rugby title in Scott Robertson’s debut season in charge. He backed that up with consistent showings for his country and was recently handed the Kelvin R Tremain Memorial player of the year and Super Rugby player of the year gongs at New Zealand’s awards night.

4 Maro Itoje (British & Irish Lions, England and Saracens): Another strong year from the maturing Itoje as he helped lead Saracens to back-to-back European crowns and England to the Six Nations title. His performances for club, country and the Lions saw him earn a nomination for World Rugby Player of the Year, which is a fine achievement. Still only 23 and with versatility now to boot, his progress will continue on an upward curve.

3 Tadhg Furlong (British & Irish Lions, Ireland and Leinster): The ever-consistent prop enjoyed another fine season. It may not have eclipsed, or perhaps even matched, what he achieved in 2016, but the Leinster player still set himself apart from pretty much every other tighthead. Only Owen Franks really came close but the New Zealander’s unfortunate injury put pay to any chance of getting into this side, which is a shame considering he had such an impressive Lions series.

2 Malcolm Marx (South Africa and Lions): Marx’s talent has been known for a while but this was the hooker’s breakthrough season at international level. It began in June as the front-rower’s breakdown work and power in the loose caused all sorts of problems for a poor France outfit before he took that momentum into the Rugby Championship. The 23-year-old South African was outstanding and was a one-man wrecking ball in Cape Town against New Zealand, a game which cemented his position as one of the best in the world. Although that form, much like his team-mates, tailed off in November, it was still a very impressive year for Marx.

1 Mako Vunipola (British & Irish Lions, England and Saracens): Apart from that brain fade in the second Lions’ Test, where he temporarily lost his cool and spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin, the Saracens and England loosehead had an outstanding 2017. He may have missed the opening two matches of the Six Nations but came back to make significant contributions off the bench. After helping his club to a second successive Champions Cup title with a series of excellent displays, Vunipola starred for Warren Gatland’s men in New Zealand as they claimed a 1-1 draw. The 26-year-old then finished off the year by standing out in the Red Rose’s November fixtures, claiming a man-of-the-match award against Argentina.

Source: Stuff.co.nz and Planet Rugby