Former England international Jo Yapp has been announced as the first full-time coach of Australia’s national women’s rugby union team, the Wallaroos.
With this trailblazing appointment, Yapp, 44, becomes the only female head coach of an Australian senior national team in a major football code.
Yapp is a former halfback, who earned 70 caps for England, including appearances at three Rugby World Cups – at the 2006 final she was captain for England.
Since retiring in 2009, Yapp has had an impressive coaching career. She spent five years as head coach of the England U20 women’s team, was director of women’s rugby at Exeter University for eight years and was the England women’s senior backs coach in the 2015 Six Nations.
As the new coach of the Wallaroos, Yapp is now tasked with narrowing the gap between the number five ranked team and other leading nations in women’s rugby.
“I am massively excited about the role, I’ve met with all the players and Super W clubs,” Yapp told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
She said the goal is to be a top four side and close the gap on England and New Zealand consistently. The ultimate aim will be taking the Wallaroos to the 2029 edition in Australia.
When it comes to her role as the ‘first female head coach’, Yapp said she recognises this as a chance to showcase the skills of female coaches, even though gender shouldn’t matter for the position.
“For me, the best coach is the best coach whether that’s male or female,” she said.
“But I also understand that I have got a role in terms of being a role model and seeing that there are opportunities for other coaches to come forward and to coach at an international level and also within Australia itself.”
Her first big test as coach will be at the Pacific Four Series when the Wallaroos take on Canada, the USA and New Zealand in May.
Growth of women’s rugby in Australia
Last February, Ruby Australia announced a $2 million investment into the women’s 15-a-side game. This included pay rises for the Wallaroos and Super Rugby Women players.
However, in August last year, the Wallaroo players issued a statement calling out Rugby Australia’s lack of respect for the women’s game when it comes to gender disparities in the sport.
Timed just before the Women’s World Cup, the statement drew numerous comparisons between how the men’s and women’s national teams are treated, the blatant inequality experienced by the women’s team, and the significant disparities in resources, funding and conditions.
Having been a former rugby player herself, Yapp’s appointment is an opportunity for the Wallaroos players to have a coach that can relate to their struggles in the sport.
“I’ve been there trying to balance training, work, family, so that definitely helps having those conversations because you can say ‘I know what it feels like but this is what we expect from you if you want to be an international athlete’ – so I can definitely relate to them,” Yapp said.
Last week, Rugby Australia revealed a $3 million investment into the women’s game in 2024, adding more tier one Wallaroos contracts and higher player payments.
The uptick in funding marks a 61 per cent increase in support over the 2023 package, which was a 60 per cent increase over the 2022 package.