'It's about maximising our talent': How the Wallaroos are approaching success at a home World Cup

A new-look Wallaroo squad and coaching staff departed Sydney on Thursday morning, and ahead of their historic 100th Test match against the Black Ferns in Auckland, a theme has quickly emerged: embracing alignment and combining experiences.

Following the squad unveiling and announcement that Sione Fukofuka will sign on as head coach from 2027, a chance for Director of Women’s High Performance Tim Walsh to supercharge Sevens/XVs alignment emerged with the remaining six Test matches this year.

Walsh will step into a coaching role to be accompanied by Super Rugby Women’s winning coaches Mike Ruthven and Duncan Chubb, former Wallabies captain turned Brumbies assistant coach Ben Mowen, and Head Coach of the Australia’s Women’s 7s Reg Tayler.

The merging of many different heads of experience has been reflected in the squad too, with prominent sevens stars spearheaded by Maddison Levi, Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea and Bienne Terita.

Speaking before departure at Sydney Airport, Walsh made it clear the new blood is done with a clear intention of bringing all the best in player stocks and coaching perspectives into alignment ahead of Fukofuka’s arrival.

“It’s a real mix of expertise,” Walsh said.

“You’ve got Rutho there who’s come off the back of a wonderful super season with Duncan Chubb; Benny Mowen, ex-Wallaby captain, a technical coach who just loves and sees the game.

“Reggie, of course, brings some sevens expertise. You’re sort of moulding all that together to get a performance out of the team.

“It’s about maximising our talent. When you’ve got a home World Cup coming up, we’ve got some big things happening within the women’s game.

“[We’re] just getting everything aligned and in place for an assault on the World Cup.”

The messaging has been well-received by the likes of Kaitlan Leaney, the lock having had a huge couple of years in the Wallaroos since making her debut in the first match of the decade, against Fiji in 2022.

Since then, the Wallaroos have gone on to play 45 Tests in less than five years, with Leaney playing in 39 of those games and holding an incredible statistic of having played in 40 per cent of all Wallaroo Test matches.

“[Doing that] at the age of 25 is unbelievable,” Leaney acknowledged.

“It just shows that we’re a young country in the women’s space of rugby union, it’s been a while to get to this 100 compared to other countries. But, it’s so incredible to think back to the women who played before us, who laid this path to continue the journey.

“It shows how much we’ve grown in the last couple of years. World class players are being produced in this environment, and it’s really exciting to see that growth continue.

“It’s a unique environment, but an exciting one. We’re grateful as a group to be able to have so many different calibre of coaches that we can each learn something different from.”

Leaney is particularly excited by the appointment of Fukofuka to the head role, the head coach having served as an assistant during the Wallaroos successful WXV 1 campaign in 2023, which saw them defeat international heavyweights France.

“I’m really excited to have Sione in for 2027, he’s known a lot of us girls and staff members from his time here back in 2023,” Leaney added.

“He would have gained a lot of experience [from USA and Scotland], playing different styles of rugby in different competitions.

“[We’re] excited for him to come in and just be sponges, pick his brain and learn what we can off him. I’m confident he’s going to lead us into a really good place for the 2029 Rugby World Cup.”

The arrival of the sevens players in the squad also feels like a watershed moment for the team, with Lefau-Fakaosilea, Terita and Tia Hinds part of a group of stars who have enjoyed time in both the sevens and XVs camps.

 

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Walsh aims to use success on the SVNS Circuit as a key element both the sevens players and coaches can bring to the group, giving the side much needed confidence against stronger opposition.

It is also set to be a two-way street, with Maddison Levi, despite her quality skillset, having never played at XVs at international or Super Rugby level.

“BB, Tia, Alysia, they’ve played the game before,” Walsh added.

“For Maddi, it’s an opportunity to expose herself to the XVs game in preparation for the future. Hopefully, she can take as much as she can out of this.”

“Having them [sevens players] in the environment brings confidence in the girls around them,” Leaney added.

“Their talent on the field, it’s going to be great to play with and learn alongside them.”

It is clear the merging of both formats has already started to yield results, with the Super Rugby Champions Final being a notable step up in intensity by the Waratahs from 2025, despite going down 24-17 to the Blues.

For both Leaney and Walsh, it proved that not only can alignment bring confidence, but as the programme transitions to full-time can lead to results quickly – and playing New Zealand serves as a good marker for the side to build upon.

“It’s a confidence thing. The more games we play like that [against the Blues], the more that we show people we can compete,” Leaney added.

“We’re closing that gap. It’s confidence to go in against these top-tier nations and show that we can be a top-tier nation as well.”

“You look at that last game with the Tahs and the Blues, and you look at that game last year,” Walsh added.

“The idea going forward [is] the more you play, the better you get. The more you train, the better you become. The more you play and train together, you’ll become unstoppable.

“We’re trying to get more opportunities to play together, whether it be Test matches, Super Rugby, or Sevens.

“I’m really looking forward to this final week of prep and then into the Test match – playing a Test match against New Zealand, in New Zealand, I don’t really need to get too much more motivated for that.”