Before the World Cup, the head of women’s rugby praised Yapp’s appointment as Australia’s coach.
Ahead of a “generational” World Cup in England next year, World Rugby’s president of women’s rugby believes that the hiring of Jo Yapp as head coach of the Wallaroos is a significant staging post for the female game.
Yapp, a three-time World Cup player and former captain of the England women’s national team, has been coaching since her retirement in 2009.
She played rugby with the Worcester Warriors, where she was named director of rugby in 2019. She remained in that role until the club disbanded in February of last year.
But she took over as manager of the Australian women’s squad, the Wallaroos, last month.
As the global governing body begins the next phase of the Gallagher High Performance Academy, a leadership program that began in 2023 with the aim of increasing the number of women in high-profile roles, Sally Horrox, head of women’s rugby at World Rugby, hopes Yapp will prove an inspiration to a new generation.
During a conference call video from Los Angeles, Horrox told AFP in London, “I believe it’s really significant to see one of the top nations like Australia investing in full-time roles.”
It’s also quite inspiring to see a player with Jo’s stature and leadership qualities make the move into coaching.
“I’m thrilled that her skill has been acknowledged, and I’m quite enthusiastic. It’s critical that the female leaders in the game are represented.
“You see it in Jo; you see it in this program because young girls and women find it extremely inspiring to see people like Jo in these roles around the game; they believe it’s something for us (women) and that they can participate in.”
Horrox continued, saying, “There is some evidence that more women coaches support more access for girls, but when you are talking about coaching the female game, both men and women can be brilliant trainers… It is quite significant.
With the backing of Gallagher, an international risk management, insurance brokerage, and consulting services company, organizers have established a goal of having 40% female coaching staff in a 2025 World Cup that will feature 16 teams instead of 12.
“The results of our labor are beginning to show,” Horrox remarked. “This is a youthful (women’s) game.”
The two titans of the women’s game, New Zealand and England, faced off in a thrilling final in Auckland, with the hosts winning 34-31. The 2022 World Cup was delayed because of the COVID pandemic.
Horrox thinks that the introduction of competitions like WXV, a worldwide three-tiered league that began in October, will make the World Cup more competitive overall.
“WXV is here to make it possible for us to play more competitive games,” she stated. “We observe a tightening of those winning margins…
“We still need to put a lot of effort into being ready for lower-ranked clubs. It will require some time. By 2025, it won’t be an easy repair. You should consider relocating to 2029 and then 2033.”
“Creating an iconic sport with great players” was Horrox’s additional off-field objective in the lead-up to the 2025 World Cup. The Englishwoman stated, “We’ve been a touch shy of that because of the team-first mentality of rugby.”
Having a sell-out audience of more than 80,000 people at Twickenham for the final on September 27 is another goal for the event.
Horrox predicted that the stadiums would be full. It’s among the global media markets that are the largest as well.
“It will be truly great to be able to demonstrate the commotion, the enthusiasm, and that kind of generational rugby moment for the ladies, the families, and the supporters.”
