RA GM of Women’s High Performance Jilly Collins has confirmed a full-time Wallaroos head coach will be appointed after the Pacific Four Series as the squad prepares for their opening fixtures of the year.
It comes following the departure of Jo Yapp after last year’s World Cup, who has since joined England Rugby in a pathways role.
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Wallaroos forwards coach Sam Needs was named as interim head coach at the end of last year, taking over for the Fijiana Test and the Pacific Four series.
“Sam took with both hands the challenge of stepping into the interim role and we are really proud of the great job he's done with his coaching team through to where we are now and we're excited to see how the team performs over the next four Test matches,” Collins said.
“We always communicated that the interim group would be in place until post-PAC4, so we'll begin that recruitment process for the permanent head coach during the start of the Super Rugby Women's season.
“The plan is that it will all be wrapped up ahead our second O'Reilly Cup game in Auckland in August."
Needs said he was eager to stay involved in the program beyond the Pacific Four series, whether that is as forwards coach or permanent head coach.
He was embracing the challenge of the fixture shift that sees the Pacific Four series played earlier in 2026, with the Super Rugby Women’s competition to follow on June 6.
It leaves the Wallaroos with a limited runway compared to the USA and Canada, especially, with the majority of their players currently playing in the Premiership Women’s Rugby in England.
But Needs believes it could be advantageous for a new-look and fresh Wallaroos squad.
“We’re looking at it like we’re getting more time together as a team to work on our stuff,” Needs said.
“We're missing the actual individual time on feet and the match-fitness, but we think it’s going to allow us the advantage of more time compared to the Canadians and teams like that who have their players playing all over the shop in different teams.
“We think we've got the advantage there, around having our group together for a bit longer. We have the training game that we've got coming up next Saturday and then the Fiji test will really set us up for where we're at going into those three Pac Four Tests.”
The Wallaroos head into camp on Friday, with Collins hoping strong results can set the platform ahead of the home World Cup in 2029.
“What we know is it feels like a long time away, but before you know it, it's on your doorstep so we know we need to get all of these players playing really good quality rugby, and that's both domestically and internationally,” she added.
“We've locked in 10 Test matches a year over the next three years through to 2029, which is really exciting, and certainly we feel like we're in a really good place.
“There's plenty more to do, but we've definitely got that runway ready for 2029, and it would be remiss of me to say also the LA 2028 Olympics, which is hugely important for our women's sevens and the whole organisation that we see success there in LA.”
