Selica Winiata

Selica Winiata (born 14 November 1986) is a New Zealand Rugby union player and referee. She plays for the Black Ferns, the Black Ferns Sevens and provincially for the Manawatu Cyclones. She was part of the Black Ferns 2014 and Champion 2017 Rugby World Cup squads. She won a silver medal with the Black Ferns Sevens team at the inaugural women's 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament and a gold medal at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens.

Selica Winiata

Winiata in 2017
Born	(1986-11-14) 14 November 1986 (age 38) Levin, New Zealand[1]
Height	1.55 m (5 ft 1 in)
Weight	58 kg (128 lb)
Rugby union career
Position Utility Back Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 2007–2024 Manawatu Cyclones 100 (598) Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 2022 Hurricanes Poua 1 (0) International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2008–2019 New Zealand 40 (195) National sevens team Years Team Comps 2008–present New Zealand 53 (269)
Medal record Women's rugby union Representing  New Zealand Women's Rugby World Cup 2017 Ireland Team competition Sevens World Cup 2009 Dubai Team competition 2013 Moscow Team competition

Rugby career

XVs

Winiata attended Freyberg High School and made her provincial debut for the Manawatū Cyclones in 2001, aged 14.^[2][3] She made her international debut for the Black Ferns in 2008 against the Wallaroos.^[4]

Winiata appeared in three Tests against England in July 2013.^[5] She scored a dramatic winning-try in the second test to help New Zealand clinch the series against England in Hamilton.^[5]

She competed at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup.^[6] She was included in New Zealand's squad to play at the 2015 Women's Rugby Super Series.^[7]

In 2016, She featured against the Wallaroos in the Laurie O'Reilly Cup where she scored four tries in the first test, and one try in the second.^[8][9][10] In November that year, She scored two braces, against Canada and Ireland.^[11] She was named New Zealand Rugby women's player of the year for 2016.^[11][12]

Winiata competed at the 2017 Women's Rugby Super Series.^[13] She was named in the squad for the 2017 Rugby World Cup.^[14][15] She scored two tries in the final against England.^[2][16]

On 18 August 2018, She appeared for the Black Ferns side against Australia in a Bledisloe Cup double-header at Sydney.^[4] She featured at the 2019 Women's Rugby Super Series in San Diego.^[17] In August, She scored a try in her sides 47–10 victory over Australia in the opening of the Laurie O'Reilly Cup.^[18]

Winiata signed with the Hurricanes Poua for the inaugural 2022 season of Super Rugby Aupiki.^[19]

In 2023, She made her 100th appearance for the Manawatū Cyclones against Otago in the sixth round of the Farah Palmer Cup in Dunedin.^[2][3] She has scored 77 tries for the Cyclones, 14 of those tries were in 2012.^[2][3]

Sevens

Winiata was a member of the Black Ferns Sevens side for eight years and appeared in 15 tournaments, scoring 32 tries.^[2] She has also won two World Sevens Series titles and was part of the Aotearoa Maori Sevens team that won four Hong Kong Sevens titles.^[2]

In 2013, she was a member of the champion New Zealand women's sevens team at the Rugby World Cup Sevens.^[20][21]

Referee

Winiata made her international officiating debut at the 2019 Oceania Women’s Sevens in Fiji.^[22][21] She was appointed as a match official for two rounds of the 2019–20 Women's Sevens Series, she officiated at the Dubai and Cape Town tournaments in December.^[22][21]

She was one of three Kiwis selected on the refereeing panel that officiated at the women's tournament of the 2020 Summer Olympics.^[23][24]

Personal life

Winiata is a New Zealander of Māori descent (Ngāti Raukawa descent).^[1] She was a Police officer in Palmerston North.^[25][26] In addition to being a Rugby Union player, referee and police officer (Senior Constable), she also works as a rugby commentator for Sky TV.^[1]