Rugby Australia's new women's high-performance boss sets lofty goals

Tim Walsh (left) pictured with Rugby Australia president Kristy Giteau (centre) and CEO Phil Waugh. (Supplied: Rugby Australia) Tim Walsh has been appointed Rugby Australia's director of women's high-performance. Walsh will oversee both the Wallaroos and sevens programs in his new role. He says there is no reason why the Wallaroos cannot improve rapidly before the 2029 Women's Rugby World Cup. Link copiedShareShare articleTim Walsh has a habit of finding ways to win. He was not afraid to take matters into his own hands as a rugby player, such as when he represented Australia in an under-19 international against New Zealand in 1998. With just five seconds left in the match and Australia trailing by one point, Walsh slotted a field goal off his left boot from 48 metres out to clinch a gripping 25-23 triumph in Christchurch. As a coach, Walsh has a proven track record in plotting the downfall of rivals. He enjoyed significant victories with the Australian women's sevens squad, including Olympic and Commonwealth Games gold medals, and the recent World Championship. Maddison Levi ignores a knee injury to score a superb double as Australia wraps up the women's rugby sevens World Championship in France. As of next month, Walsh will be tasked with delivering more success when he begins the role of Rugby Australia's (RA) director of women's high-performance. He will oversee the alignment of the Wallaroos (15-a-side) and sevens programs, which is considered crucial as it will allow Australia's players to be used across both formats of the game. Another key responsibility of this process will be facilitating the Wallaroos' transition into a full-time program, which RA hopes to achieve later this year. With Australia hosting the 2029 Women's Rugby World Cup, RA is desperate for the Wallaroos to be competitive against the fully professional England and New Zealand squads. They are ranked ninth in the world and bowed out in the quarterfinals of last year's tournament, hosted by eventual champions England. The Wallaroos are also without a permanent coach, with Walsh to be heavily involved in finding the best candidate to fill the vacant position. The Wallaroos program is set to become full-time later this year. (Getty Images: Andrew Matthews) RA chief executive Phil Waugh acknowledges it "will be a sprint" to get the Wallaroos up to speed by 2029. But Walsh is not concerned time may be running out. "When you have a program where you're full-time, you can do that at an accelerated rate," said Walsh, who is stepping down as women's sevens coach. "I think once the Wallaroos get into that environment, their ability to take on new challenges will increase exponentially." Given the priority placed on making the Wallaroos program full-time, Walsh is an ideal choice for the newly created role. He was coaching the Australian women's sevens squad when it went through the same process of becoming fully professional in 2014. While the sevens players had already achieved success on the global stage, RA's decision to introduce full-time contracts was regarded as a major stepping stone on the way to winning gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Walsh is confident the Wallaroos can make similar progress in the build-up to the World Cup. "The next three years will be pretty critical and there will be different benchmarks and measurements along the way to make sure we are hitting targets and that we are on target to perform," Walsh said. When it comes to attracting talent, rugby has no shortage of competition in Australia. The popularity of Women's State of Origin and NRLW makes rugby league a constant threat, which was illustrated last month when sevens star Teagan Levi announced she was joining the Gold Coast Titans. Levi and her older sister Maddison have been targets of the NRLW for some time, although the younger sibling's code switch does not mean she cannot return to rugby in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the following year's World Cup. Teagan Levi will play for the Gold Coast Titans in the upcoming NRLW season. (Getty Images: Paul Kane) Walsh is not resentful of the NRLW, as he welcomes the opportunities it provides women to play sport at a high level. But he believes rugby is a more attractive offer to players in both codes, given Australia is staging the World Cup and the 2032 Olympics. "When you have a product that we have and the benchmark events that the world are going to be watching, I think it's a real positive," Walsh said. Hosting the World Cup and Olympics will give RA an opportunity to enjoy its 'Matildas moment'. Football took grip of the nation when the Matildas advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, which was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Interest in football reached new heights, especially among girls who were drawn to the game. Rugby Australia hopes the Wallaroos attract similar support to what the Matildas enjoyed in 2023. (AAP Image) Thi

Rugby Australia's new women's high-performance boss sets lofty goals

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