Portia Woodman names former coach as her favourite to succeed Wayne Smith

Black Ferns superstar wing Portia Woodman has revealed who she’d put her money on as the Black ferns’ next head coach after the departure of Wayne Smith.

Smith steered the team to a remarkable turnaround over his brief 10-month tenure as the Ferns’ head coach, ultimately seeing the side win the 2021 (played in 2022) Rugby World Cup on home soil.

The Black Ferns’ resurgent win and the fandom that came with it leaves Smith’s replacement with big shoes to fill and so Woodman hazarded a – presumably educated – guess for who might be in line for the role.

“My money’s on … wouldn’t it be great (to have) Allan Bunting,” Woodman told Stuff.

Bunting’s success as a coach spans both the 15’s and sevens codes, having coached the Black Ferns sevens to Olympic glory in Tokyo in addition to three further titles amassed during his five-year reign as head coach in the sevens format. Bunting’s Super Rugby Aupiki career kicked off with the launch of the competition in 2022 where he led his Chiefs Manawa side to victory in the tournament’s debut season.

The Black Ferns environment wouldn’t be new territory for Bunting, who was involved in the squad’s 2022 campaign in a newly created role, Manager of Culture and Leaderhip.

When taking up the job, Bunting told RNZ:

“If we get our connection right,” Bunting started. “Who we are and what our identity is, it will drive on-field performance.

“My role will be making sure there is real alignment and connection because a light is going to shine on this team like never before, and we need to decide what we want to be in that light.”

Another member of the Black Ferns coaching staff in 2022, Wes Clarke, is viewed as Bunting’s hottest opposition for the job while wildcard options Sir Graham Henry and Kendra Cocksedge told Stuff they were too late and too early into their respective coaching careers to take on the role.

Woodman and co answered the questions while meeting fans on the Wellington stop of the Black Ferns’ victory tour. The star left winger issued an update on her recovery from the head injury she received in the World Cup final, saying she’s back to light training and hopes to be fit and ready for the Hamilton sevens tournament in mid-January.

Now the leading try scorer in World Cup history, Woodman admitted she didn’t believe New Zealand would turn out and support the team to the extent they did. Once she saw the sold-out crowds, she expected the experience of playing in those games to be the highlight of her career, only to go on to win the tournament and be crowned World Champions in front of another record crowd.