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New Black Ferns coaching team revealed as assistants appointed

The Black Ferns sing the national anthem prior to the World Cup semi-final. Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has revealed a star-studded coaching team for the Black Ferns, announcing the addition of Tony Christie, Steve Jackson, and Mike Delany, who will work alongside Black Ferns Director of Rugby Allan Bunting.

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Christie, who led Matat? to the Sky Super Rugby Aupiki title this year, will focus on defence and counter-attack, while Jackson, a former Manu Samoa and North Harbour Head Coach, will turn his attention to set-piece and restart. Delany, a former All Blacks first-five, will lead the Black Ferns’ attack.

Bunting expressed his excitement at working with such a high-quality group of coaches, saying, “We are fortunate to have such an abundance of quality coaches putting their hands up to coach the Black Ferns, which is hugely exciting for our women’s game. The trio of coaches we have had the privilege of appointing are all committed to enhancing the Black Ferns legacy.”

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Christie said he was honoured to join the Black Ferns coaching group and was looking forward to adding to their legacy. Jackson also expressed his excitement at the opportunity, stating, “The Black Ferns are a team that enjoys what they do, and their team culture and environment are really authentic. It has been a driver for me to coach a national side, so it means a lot. I am looking forward to bringing plenty of energy and a few different ideas to the table.”

Delany described his appointment as a privilege and expressed his gratitude to Bay of Plenty Rugby and Bunting for the opportunity to be part of the next chapter for the Black Ferns.

In addition to the coaching team, former Black Ferns Sevens Team Manager Jenelle Strickland has been appointed as Team Manager for the Black Ferns. Strickland brings a wealth of experience, having managed the Tasman Mako in the Bunnings Warehouse NPC for four years before her appointment with the Black Ferns Sevens.

New Zealand Rugby Head of Women’s High-Performance Hannah Porter said the calibre of applicants for the new Black Ferns coaching roles was exceptional, adding, “We are exceptionally pleased with the calibre of the coaches selected to support Allan and look forward to seeing what they will achieve as a group.”

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The Black Ferns will assemble early next week for their first camp following last year’s Rugby World Cup success. The team will work together to build on their legacy and achieve even greater success.

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Mike 580 days ago

Congrats to all the new coaches. I know Tony Christie very well and am excited to see what he can bring to the team. He was a big factor in the Matatu winning their title this year so can't wait to see how he and the other new coaches improve the Ferns game.

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Hellhound 15 minutes ago
France put World Cup pain behind them with unbeaten run in November

France is starting to look like they are finally over their WC headache, although they were lucky that NZ had a very bad game. The Argies as usual is one game good, the next bad. If they can sort that out and be more consistent, they could become contenders for the WC.


NZ, Argentina (if they are more consistent), and now the Wallabies too is in an upward curve (can they be consistent?), as well as Fiji(as inconsistent as Argentina) looks like possible contenders. The Boks will be as usual a huge threat to defend their title. Things are looking up for the South, so the North should rightfully beware of the Southern Hemisphere threat.


With the French looking dangerous, the English with their close runs (mostly a mindset problem) and the Scottish seems to be the NH main contenders. The Irish is good, but not excellent anymore. They are more overbearing and with their glory days mostly gone with old players hanging on by a thread, by 2027 if they don't start adding in the younger players, they won't make it past yet another WC Quarter final. The problem is that their youngsters, while good is nothing special.


That is just 8 teams without the Irish that can become real WC contenders. Lots of hickups to be sorted still for these teams, excluding the Boks to become a threat. Make no mistake, the top Tier is much closer than people realise and the 2027 WC will be a really great WC, possibly the best contended WC ever.

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