Sione Fukofuka named new Scotland head coach

Scottish Rugby has confirmed that Sione Fukofuka will be the new Scotland women’s national team head coach from the start of 2026.

Most recently Fukofuka led the USA Women’s Eagles at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup where his side exited at the group stages.

He brings a decade’s worth of experience across the international men’s and women’s games. This started with a coaching role with the Australian Youth Women’s sevens team and then the Australia men’s sevens team in 2019.

In 2021 Fukofuka joined the Wallaroos as an assistant coach in 2021 before his appointment with the USA in 2023. He will begin his new role, subject to visa, in January and will be based in Edinburgh.

Appointed at the conclusion of a global search for Bryan Easson’s successor, Fukofuka will hope to capitalise on Scotland’s quarter-final exit at this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup.

A trained teacher, his appointment aligns with the countdown to the 2029 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Australia and the beginning of a new groundbreaking women’s rugby calendar. This new calendar includes home and away matches in September and October, alongside the Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

Fukofuka’s first game at the helm of his new side will take place on Saturday 11 April when Scotland visit Cardiff’s Principality Stadium to take on Wales.

Sione Fukofuka said: “I am honoured and privileged to have the opportunity to lead the Scotland Women’s programme. Scottish Rugby’s vision and direction for the future of the women’s programme is one that drew me to the role.  

“An aligned domestic pathway and emphasis on the increasing professionalism of the senior programme through the Celtic Challenge and the senior Scotland Women team is exciting.

“I look forward to connecting with the talented players, quality staff and invested stakeholders across the program to drive a high-performance environment that develops the players to their potential and produces a style of rugby that can be successful.”

Alex Williamson, Scottish Rugby Chief Executive, said: “I am delighted to welcome Sione to Scottish Rugby at such an exciting time for the development of, not only our national team, but the whole of the girl’s and women’s game in Scotland. Sione brings many years of experience within women’s international rugby and we want to build the strongest possible coaching set up to take us forward at this crucial time.

“In the months since our Rugby World Cup quarter-final, we have contracted more players than ever before with many of them benefiting from our first ever Central Programme at Oriam. Gemma Fay has taken up her new role as Managing Director of Women’s Rugby and her strategic direction will complement the skills Sione brings. With Head of Women’s Performance and Pathways, Andy Rhys Jones also starting in the new year, we now have a highly talented leadership group for the whole women’s game for the first time 

David Nucifora, Director of Performance, said: “After a competitive recruitment process, it is great to be able to welcome Sione into our Women’s programme. The experience that he brings from coaching international women’s teams was what we were looking for take our women’s programme forward.  

“In October we announced an increase in contracts and with additional players also joining them in our Central Programme in Oriam, which is fully underway, Sione is joining at a pivotal time. Our national team is in a strong position after the Rugby World Cup and with Sione able to bring in new experience the journey towards Australia 2029 looks exciting.” 

Gemma Fay, Managing Director of Women’s Rugby, said: “Sione’s appointment is key to the next step in the development of our Scotland Women national team.

“It is an exciting year with the new global calendar set to begin the next world cup cycle in earnest and give our international players a higher level of consistent opposition throughout the season. 

“Sione’s experience in different women’s high performance environments and coaching knowledge make him a excellent fit for the next chapter of our women’s team and new high performance programme. 

“Our new Women’s High Performance and Pathway Manager, Andy, also starts in January and will be key to ensuring the alignment between the on field aspects and the development of our Pathway.  

They both will be working closely with all players in the programme, as well as our Celtic Challenge teams, Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors and we look forward to working with them as we move into our new Women and Girls Strategy in 2026.”