The WXV Tier 1 tournament finished on a high for the Wallaroos with a gutsy win 25-19 over Wales. The weekend also saw Canada defeat France in a bit of a surprise and, in the clash of the Titans, England defeated New Zealand. All three games lived up to expectations except the England win was a lot bigger than most would have expected. England took out the tournament being undefeated.
Apart from the wins, a highlight for the Wallaroos in this WXV tournament was finishing third above New Zealand and France on the table. Not many outside the team would have seen that coming.
The Wallaroos season review
It was an interesting, intriguing and exciting season for the Wallaroos both on and off the field.
On the field:
The final two wins over France and Wales turned what would have been called a tough season with some big losses into a successful season. The Wallaroos had four wins out of eight games. It is worth noting eight matches is the most matches the Wallaroos have had in a season outside of last year’s World Cup year.
The Wallaroos season is always a bit of a start stop affair over the last six months. The season started in May against the Fijiana, a month off, then three games in June/July for the Pacific Four Series in Canada. Then two more months off, another match against the Kiwis, then three matches in October/ November to round out the season in the inaugural WXV Tier 1 tournament.
Cohesion is a term regularly highlighted and the Wallaroos had in bucket loads. Of the 23 players in the Welsh game, 17 played in the first game against Fijiana. (Noting Emily Chancellor, Anabelle McKenzie, Kaitlan Leaney and Lori Cramer had yet to return from their UK stint for the first game of the season.)
Maya Stewart (L) and Lori Cramer of Australia celebrate victory in the WXV1 match between Australia Wallaroos and Wales at Go Media Stadium Mt Smart on November 03, 2023 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images)
One of the concerns for the Wallaroos has always been depth. Under coach Jay Tregonning one of his legacies has been the number of players that debuted under his tenure. This has been highlighted by the strength of the bench when they come on in games.
While the Wallaroos could get into the grind they also attempted to play and played an expansive game. There was always the potential in the back line, in the last two games the women put on some terrific tries.
Obviously it is not possible to review all the players but the player who really made a huge difference in the last two games was Eva Karpani. She scored three tries against France and the game changing-try against Wales.
It has always been known she is potentially a star even from as far back playing for the Adelaide team in the AON Sevens.
Interestingly when asked after her player of the match performance what had changed she replied ‘fitness’. No real surprise, more time together, more training results in improved performance. Karpani’s value equates to what we all know the tighthead prop is the most important player in the team.
The on field season review cannot be complete without a mention of stand-in captain Michaela Leonard. She was an absolute stand out on the field in the way she plays and leads the team.
Similarly Jay Tregonning who has finished up as the Wallaroos coach deserves many thanks for all his efforts and the team’s success. There were no doubt some tough times and tough losses over the last couple of years.
Eva Karpani of Australia is intervewed following the WXV1 match between France and Australia Wallaroos at Forsyth Barr Stadium on October 28, 2023 in Dunedin, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
Off the field:
Off the field was a mixed bag. The year started with some great progress with the announcement at Kirribili House of Rugby Australia’s $2 million investment in women’s rugby. This included the introduction of central part-time contracts for the Wallaroos. This saw a list of up to 35 players in 2023. It also saw Super W players receive a payment from RA, with further payments to coming from the Super clubs.
The discussion continues for more investment but currently Rugby AU is financially challenged. The players recognise this too. So whilst not comparable to the big teams like England and New Zealand or AFLW and NRLW, it is a start.
The performance of the women this season no doubt supported RA’s decision to invest and what the future could look like.
In the latter part of the season the players publicly raised a range of concerns and issues they had via posting their concerns on social media platforms. Whilst it was unfortunate that the players felt they needed to do that it was a significant indicator that they were not happy with how they were being treated by RA.
Interestingly it appeared an issue was the lack of recognition they were receiving from RA and were not seen to being valued. While RA still has a long way to crack the mainstream media, credit where it is due it has upped it social media content creation 1000 per cent.
Sera Naiqama of Australia charges forward during the WXV1 match between France and Australia Wallaroos at Forsyth Barr Stadium on October 28, 2023 in Dunedin, New Zealand. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
The Wallaroos’ Instagram account following has increased by 25 per cent in the last five months. Still a way to go to most of the other national teams but again it is a good start.
It would be remiss not to mention the work done by the RA communications team. They produced a huge number of articles not just on the games but also profiling players. One thing the last few weeks has highlighted is the opportunity RA has next year to profile players more broadly, outside the traditional rugby fan bubble. The Wallaroos are full of very articulate players and a few with great personalities such as Maya Stewart and Lori Cramer to name two.
It should also be mentioned that Phil Waugh, just back from France, and a lot on his plate did make the trip to New Zealand to watch the Wallaroos play Wales. Some will say that is his job and he should attend, but in light of all the major issues coming out of the Wallabies World Cup campaign it could have been a reason not to attend. From the players perspective it must have been a bit of recognition. It was especially important with Eddie Jones’ comments that the Wallaroos were not a priority for him.
Some other good news in 2023
– Rugby AU appointed a full-time women’s High Performance Manager Jaime Fernandez as part of World Rugby’s Accelerate program.
– The Wallaroos coaching role will be a full-time from next year.
– Western Force have announced Dylan Pat as their full time Super W coach. A first in the Super W.
– NSW Waratahs have recently announced Michael Ruthven as the new Head Coach of the NSW Waratah Women’s side and the Director of Women’s High Performance.
– While unfortunately the Super W competition is not expanding next season RA is introducing a women’s Super Rugby U19s competition.
So the Wallaroos season is now done. It has been a good season.
Wallaroos season results
WXV Tier 1 tournament
Australia 25 vs 19 Wales
France 20 vs 29 Australia
England 42 vs 7 Australia
Laurie O’Reilly Cup
New Zealand 43 vs 3 Australia
Pacific Four Series
Canada 45 vs 7 Australia
Australia 58 vs 17 USA
Australia 0 vs 50 New Zealand
International
Australia 22 vs 5 Fiji
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Little late to the party but good article. For me the big issue for the Wallaroos is the number of games they played at home. They had two games. Not alot to get in new fans. When most 6N sides are are playing 3-4 it becomes an issue. The team can't do anything about and this year has been a successful one.
Hugh_96
Roar Pro
All I will say is RA have an interesting marketing/Comms/media strategy
Hughi
Roar Rookie
There we are again with RA. As with the Matilda's results, RA needs to be a bit more aggressive to take advantage of results like France and Wales to reap the benefits like the Matildas generated in the World Cup. Is RA running a marketing company to support interest in the code? Do they push media to run success stories? They could miss the boat over the next 6 years. The point I feel is important is that done right RA can reap the benefits down the line, it isn't an overnight thing. Jones is correct in one point regarding RA, that they need to be highly proactive and get finance organized, work through their issues with centralization or whatever they want to call it.
Hugh_96
Roar Pro
The reality is interest & awareness of women’s rugby is still low not just on the Roar but also more widely, the community, main stream media & social media. It’s a catch 22 from a main stream media perspective, articles etc need clicks/reads but without them how do people know about women’s rugby. & develop an interest. On the Roar there is an interest from the NZ readership with Black Ferns articles. At this stage RA hasn’t been able to leverage a high level of interest via social media or cultivate a women’s rugby community. Compare the interest in AFLW/ Matildas which has a big online community. Worth noting it’s the same on the League page on the Roar there is minimal interest in the NRLW, very few comments on articles. It will just take time. Importantly RA needs to raise the profile of the women players to get more engagement.
ols
Roar Pro
The Wallaroos are the shining light of Australian Rugby at the moment
Hughi
Roar Rookie
I miss when rugby was fun. The last time the Wallabies really looked like they really enjoyed themselves was in Perth against the ABs in 2019. It would be great to see the Wallabies going to a few Wallaroos matches and vice versa to stimulate the support. Unlike the Wallabies, the Wallaroos are competing at a comparatively higher standard this year and it seems totally blinkered to not back them for a good return on their investment. You have 13 comments on the Roar and hundreds of comments on Eddie on the Roar, maybe the experts like Harry need to take more interest to.
Hugh_96
Roar Pro
Cheers. They seem to be a good bunch of players just enjoying playing, no doubt it makes a difference that they a pretty full season of games.
Hugh_96
Roar Pro
The Wallaroos have been fun to watch. Yes Eddie’s comment was pretty annoying, it came across as pretty dismissive. In reality I think RA has missed the boat compared to the other sports & even if they wanted to do a lot more and recognise the opportunity the lack of $$ is an issue. But as we have seen over the last couple of weeks they can generally compete & punch above their weight with less resources than the other nations. Importantly it looks like they are having fun.
Hughi
Roar Rookie
Thanks, Hugh, a nice summary of the year. I watch the women's game just as much as the men's. Generally very entertaining and the skill level goes up year by year. Players like Wong are great to watch. Eddie's comment at Coogee got under my skin largely because the potential for RA to gain from Women's rugby in Australia needs cultivation now. I keep pointing out the Women's Soccer World Cup. With 50% of our population women and a good male population following sports, there is so much available to promote the code. One thing to keep in mind is that our team is not professional yet these are part-timers beating professional teams. AFL, soccer, rugby league let alone netball, and basketball are well advanced in women's sport, RA could miss the boat if they don't really get behind them. It would be great to see the financial support move rapidly up to the men's level as quickly as possible. If Hamish can do his job and get substantial financial backing it would be a sound investment with the exposure over the next 5 to 6 years.
JC
Roar Rookie
Great season review, Hugh. Fantastic to see the women get a full season of Tests and a number of part-time pro contracts, and the positive impact that had on skills, experience, performance and results. The WXV was a great finish to the year. Whoever the incoming coach is, they must get the Wallaroos genuinely competitive with NZ and England. Anyway, thanks again for your committed coverage of women’s rugby.
East Coast Aces
Roar Rookie
same. as a gen Y I'm too old for tiktok
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Perhaps RA will find more sponsorship dollars for the Wallaroos, & yes I agree the coaching is great!
Hugh_96
Roar Pro
The Wallaroos really seem to improve significantly, not surprisingly, the longer they are together training just like in last year's World Cup. Tend to agree re the Black Ferns, missing Wayne Smith and the 7s players. We have a few weeks rugby free before the 7s start.
Hugh_96
Roar Pro
That I don’t know. Don’t have TikTok, Instagram and Twitter enough for me. But did wonder what the impact of the TIkTok sponsorship would be for 6Ns. Just have to have a good social media presence these days.
Hugh_96
Roar Pro
Cheers. Have to keep writing these articles, waving the flag. They are a good news rugby story but the media doesn’t really cover them. So my little 2 cents worth. They are just an enjoyable team to watch
John DRYSDALE
Roar Rookie
They were well-coached and showed core skills equal to their male conterparts. They just need some more $ and games to be up there with the top teams.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Interesting read Hugh! Well done. Yes as far as the Wallaroos went, they did improve with every outing in this recent W.XV tournament, as it was noticeable. I can't say the same about our Black Ferns who IMO are missing, or seemingly missing, their Sevens stars & obviously the current coach is no Wayne Smith. Yes there is talent there, but it needs to be improved upon. The Wallaroos with their young talent, were ' humming' I'm picking next seasons women's rugby tournaments on both sides of the ditch, we'll see far more young talent stepping up. Now for the World Sevens Series to commence on the 2nd of Dec. as we'll see both men & women back in action.
East Coast Aces
Roar Rookie
The Wallaroos’ Instagram account following has increased by 25 per cent in the last five months I wonder how their tiktok is going? I reckon a bit part of why the women's 6N is so popular is because it's sponsored by TikTok and the players really leant into the different trends and no doubt the algorithm was adjusted
DJ
Roar Rookie
Congratulations to the Wallaroos for their play this year. Some exciting young players and some of the older ones stepping up too. I hope RA keeps increasing the $ and profile for this team. Enjoy your articles in this space Hugh, thanks.