Tim Walsh on the ‘bright’ Wallaroos future, impact of sevens stars

The 100th test match for the Wallaroos proved a frustrating one for Rugby Australia’s Director of Women’s High Performance Tim Walsh and his new coaching team, the Black Ferns running out 66-19 and handing the women in gold their second heaviest defeat ever.

However, speaking after the match, the result has made Walsh all the more determined to get the XVs stars into a full time, high performance environment, buoyed by the success and competitiveness of the sevens stars injected into the side.

While the result overall was a disappointing one, the match did come with small glimmers of promise.

The Tia Hinds-Waiaria Ellis combination in the halves showed enormous potential, while in her XVs debut, Maddison Levi managed several restart steals and asked several questions of a resolute Black Ferns defence.

It is this impact Walsh will now focus on, with the sevens high performance environment likely a blueprint for the forthcoming alignment of the Australian programs in November.

“I’m personally there with the Sevens girls,” the former sevens head coach said following the result.

“They’re full-time athletes, some of them have been for seven years. That’s why they’re able to do what they do. That’s what we have to provide for every athlete.

“That’s probably the frustrating [thing] is they’re walking off disappointed and broken to a degree, but you can only be as good as you can be.

“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.

“Yeah, the sevens girls were impactful… but they’re on a competitive advantage. They’re training more and playing more.

“Every loss is one closer to a win. I know it’s racking up, but it’s like a momentum or a swirl.

“It’s [a maiden win over NZ] going to happen.”

The impact of the sevens players was clearly noted by Wallaroos captain Siokapesi Palu Sekona, the side having commenced the alignment with a week long camp in Auckland leading up the match.

“Ultimately, success is measured by the results,” Sekona said.

“If we zoom out of that, success is those little milestones, right? The injection of those sevens girls, you could see the likes of Maddi Levi getting that ball back. It’s exactly what we need.

“It’s really important that we actually backpack off those sevens girls who know what it takes to take on those black jerseys.

So, it’s about, I guess, nitpicking their brains. That mindset piece, how can we overturn and rewrite history.”

The Wallaroos are expected to continue this alignment heading into the forthcoming WXV Global Series, with the full squad set to be confirmed ahead of their opening match of the tournament against England in Salford on September 12th.

The side will likely head into the tournament without several sevens stars, with Levi and Bienne Terita already committing to the inaugural season of Ultimate Sevens, kicking off the same day in Cardiff.

Several other Aussie sevens stars Faith Nathan, Isabella Nasser, Kaitlin Shave, Ruby Nicholas, Kahli Henwood, Heidi Dennis and Mackenzie Davis will also all be taking part in the Ultimate Sevens, making them unavailable for fixtures against England, France and Scotland.

Despite this, Walsh will utilise the opportunity to work closer with the wider squad, seeing huge potential for improvement as they face back-to-back games against some of the best sides in the world.

It will also prove a fruitful tour on the sevens front, with Australia 7s new head coach Reg Tayler also in the coaching staff and having an opportunity to see some potential crossover players on the XVs side for when the Wallaroos season wraps up in late October.

Of note are Maya Stewart and Desiree Miller, the latter scoring the first try on Saturday. Caitlyn Halse has also indicated an interest in sevens, while Ellis showed promise for the Australia A Sevens and the uncapped Amelia Whittaker stood out in Super Rugby Women’s and NextGen 7s.

“You’re always winning, or learning,” Walsh affirmed.

“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.

“That’s the opportunity. As disappointed as we are, we can see where it can get to.

“It’s going to put us in a better position because we’ve played more and we’ve learnt more.

“Whatever opportunities we get, we’ve got to play with intent and intent to action. We still have to be better.”