2026 WXV Global Series preview: The Wallaroos

Of all the teams taking part in the WXV Global Series, the Wallaroos come into September in one of the most intriguing positions in all of international women’s rugby.

These eight weeks will mark the final time the Wallaroos take the field as semi-professional athletes – with XVs players joining their sevens counterparts in a full-time, high-performance environment from November.

Led by the new Head of Women’s High Performance, Tim Walsh, morale on the ground is high: with the Australia Sevenss winning the 2026 HSBC SVNS World Championship and the governing body having one eye on the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 on home soil.

Yet, while the future looks bright off the park, 2026 has been a year that has seen a Wallaroos side in transition – going through two different interim coaching groups following the Jo Yapp era, and the rotation of staff has been reflected in mixed results.

These short term issues will be resolved with the forthcoming arrival of Sione Fukofuka as the long term head coach in 2027, and Walsh has wisely decided to use the remaining Tests of the year to jumpstart the alignment of sevens and XVs.

This has been reflected in the new staff led by Walsh. Established XVs coaches Mike Ruthven and Duncan Chubb, the new head coach of the Australia Sevens women’s team, Reg Tayler, and former Wallabies captain-turned ACT Brumbies assistant coach Ben Mowen.

However, it is clear this new coaching group has a lot of work to do after their most recent result against the Black Ferns – with Walsh making it clear the transition needs to happen sooner than later.

“[The sevens girls] They’re full-time athletes, some of them have been for seven years,” Walsh said after the match. “That’s why they’re able to do what they do. That’s what we have to provide for every athlete.

“That’s where the future is bright: is that we give them the opportunity, give them the environment to be able to perform at a high level. Then they will perform at a high level.

“We’ve got to provide the opportunity for our players to be at their best, that’s the goal going forward. The exciting thing is that, having not been with these players very long, [I see] the desire and the eagerness and the attitude to be better is unheralded.”

The Wallaroos, with this transitional coaching staff, come into this inaugural tournament preparing to enter into life as a fully professional team. Making this WXV Global Series an opportunity for a line-in-the-sand moment in their history.

Recent form

So far in 2026, the Wallaroos have played five test matches, starting the year under former interim head coach Sam Needs retaining the Women’s Vuvale Bowl with a 33-15 win over Fiji in Canberra.

The 2026 Pacific Four Series proved a significant challenge, slumping to a 24-0 loss to Canada before a second half capitulation against the USA in Kansas City led to a 33-12 defeat.

Needs’ final match in charge resulted in a 40-5 loss to the Black Ferns on the Sunshine Coast, the result seeing the Wallaroos finish the 2026 Pacific Four Series with the wooden spoon.

With the players enjoying a competitive May to July domestic season of Super Rugby Women’s, and sevens stars joining the program fresh off the SVNS World Championship, hopes were high it would lead to improvement under the new coaching staff.

 

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Unfortunately, these hopes were dealt a swift reality check in their second Laurie O’Reilly Cup match in August, the Black Ferns winning 66-19 and shutting the Wallaroos out with several blitzes in the 20 minutes either side of halftime.

Biggest Tests

The women in gold will have one of the hardest tours in the WXV Global Series, kicking off their campaign against current world champions England at CorpAcq Stadium in Salford.

Things won’t be much easier when they take on Les Bleues at Stade Maurice David in Aix-en-Provence. Surprisingly, the French haven’t defeated the Wallaroos since 2017, the women in gold famously defeating France 29-20 in their 2023 WXV 1 campaign in New Zealand.

They will then conclude the year with three key test matches against Scotland: one concluding their European tour in Edinburgh, with the Scots coming down to Australia in October for a two-match series in Sydney and Canberra.

These three closing matches will likely be key targets for both sides given their similar positioning in the world rankings.

Star Players

The Wallaroos squad will see seven key players return and three potential debutants, but there are several notable sevens players who have not been named in the European tour squad.

Five sevens players were initially included in the Laurie O’Reilly Cup squad, headlined by Maddison Levi, who made her debut in XVs off the bench.

However, Levi, Bienne Terita and seven more stars have been confirmed to play in the Ultimate Sevens, which is kicking off in Cardiff the same day the Wallaroos face England, making their chances of being parachuted into the side unlikely.

However, all those stars could be potentially available for the Wallaroos come Scotland’s tour in October, the series likely to be handy game time for their 2026/27 SVNS preparations.

Of the key stars returning, one of the most promising in fly-half Waiaria Ellis. Partnering brilliantly with Tia Hinds and Samantha Wood, Ellis has been enjoying a positive 2026, delivering promising signs in gold, and against the Fijian Drua and Auckland Blues.

With Maya Stewart set to miss out with an Achilles injury, the door also opens for the likes of potential debutant Amelia Whitaker.

This youngster is a player who has delivered in both the NextGen 7s tournament and Super Rugby Women’s, scoring a double in the grand final. A debut is likely before the end of the year, with Whitaker an ideal candidate to jump across both forms of the women’s game.

Then, there is the Australian pack, which has huge potential to find another gear: from barnstorming props Eva Karpani and Faliki Pohiva to Emily Chancellor, who recently captained the Barbarians Women against Wales at Allianz Stadium.

However, a player primed to return for a big tour is 2025 Wallaroos Player of the Year, Tabua Tuinakauvadra.

A persistent knee injury has kept the dangerous loose forward out of the side in 2026, but her brief cameos in Super Rugby Women’s suggests that she’s ready to hit the ground running – a much needed weapon for the women in gold to utilise.

Prediction

The Wallaroos have a lot of growth ahead of them, and while the side has the coaching staff and the talent in their ranks to flourish in a professional environment, such development will take time.

A win over England is unlikely, but a competitive performance against the world champions would go a long way to building the side’s confidence.

France are a more developed side than the outfit of 2023, and will be heavy favourites too, if the Wallaroos are to spring a win over one of the top four sides in the world right now, France is their best opportunity.

Against Scotland however, losses won’t cut it. These three matches are an opportunity the women in gold can’t afford to miss.

Walsh will want a three-win sweep to finish the year, and the fact Scotland have never defeated the Wallaroos before will also help their mental game.

Should they achieve that, it puts the Wallaroos in a prime position – both mentally and in the world rankings – to hit the ground running heading into 2027; perfect timing with the program transitioning into full professionalism while a new head coach enters the building.