Rugby Australia has appointed Olympic-winning coach Tim Walsh as the new Director of Women's High Performance.
Walsh departs his role as Australian Sevens coach to take up the position, finishing his tenure as the most successful Women's coach in Australian Rugby history.
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This includes Olympic, Commonwealth and Rugby World Cup Sevens gold, along with multiple World Series victories, most recently claiming the SVNS World Championship at the start of the month.
The coach will oversee the integration of RA's High Performance blueprint, which will see the Wallaroos join the Sevens in a full-time combined program.
"I am thrilled to continue my career at Rugby Australia and thank Phil and the Board for entrusting me with steering the future direction of our women’s High Performance programs," Walsh said in a statement.
"The opportunity to harness Australia’s elite rugby talent and align the Sevens and XVs formats into one successful system moving forward is a huge step for the organisation.
"We want to retain, recruit and develop players for sustained success in the global game and the upcoming LA Olympics in 2028 and Rugby World Cup on home soil in 2029 are benchmark events I strongly believe we can achieve great results in."
Walsh's first job will involve appointing the new Sevens and Wallaroos coaches, whose appointments are set to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
The full-time Wallaroos program will be based in Sydney alongside the Sevens team, brought in ahead of the home World Cup in 2029.
"In a milestone year for Australian Women’s Rugby, marking a decade since our historic Olympic Gold in Rio and the 100th Test for the Wallaroos, we are delighted to appoint Tim to the position of Director of Women’s High Performance," RA CEO Phil Waugh said.
"Tim has a strong track record of driving high standards, building cohesive squads and achieving success on the field. And with a home Rugby World Cup (2029) and Olympic Games (2032) on the horizon, it is an exciting time to bring a leader of his calibre into a role that will accelerate the growth of Australian Women’s Rugby at both the Sevens and XVs levels.
"Tim’s appointment is a critical component of a broader plan to ensure our future professional framework is athlete-centred and built for success and sustainability."
"I had the privilege of being coached by Tim during the early stages of his Australian Sevens coaching journey more than 10 years ago, and even then, it was clear he was building something special. He united the group around a shared vision and created a culture of accountability, innovation and belief," RA President Kristy Giteau.
"Seeing Tim lead both the Wallaroos and the Australian Women's Sevens program is incredibly exciting. His results speak for themselves, and I can't wait to see what our women achieve on the road to LA 2028 and the 2029 Rugby World Cup at home."
