Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 Sees an Increase in The Number of Female Coaches Involved

Of the 16 Women’s teams at the Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025, there are only three female Head Coaches: Japan, France, and Australia, but a total of 32% of the coaches particiapting at the tournament are female claim World Rugby, which is up from 15 per cent at the previous Women’s RWC held in 2021. 

Previously, a target had been set of having 40 per cent of coaches being female, but Sally Horrox, World Rugby Chief of Women’s Rugby, points to the success of the partnership with Gallagher in producing female coaching talent, and there has been progress in having increased female staffing at teams at all teams participating at the England WRWC 2025.

Horrox said: “These record-breaking figures are a clear sign of the momentum building for women in high-performance coaching. The Gallagher High Performance Academy is not just creating opportunities for the coaches involved; it is accelerating progress across the game, providing role models for the next generation, and ensuring that rugby reflects the diversity of the communities it serves. By embedding more women in leadership roles on the world stage, we are driving lasting change that will benefit the sport for years to come.”

• The number of female coaches has risen from six at RWC 2021 to 23 confirmed for RWC 2025*
• Of the 281 total staff across the management teams for all 16 unions, 40% are women.
• The USA and Samoa both have majority-female coaching teams; the USA will field 75% female coaches (three of four), while Samoa will have 60% female coaches (three of five).

*It is not clear if World Rugby has included the 14 female coaches selected for the Gallagher High Performance Academy as part of their statistics of the 32% of the female coaches participating at the tournament. The fact that some have previously been in other cohorts and none are full-time in their roles, you could argue that the data is slightly skewed if they have.

World Rugby and Gallagher Gallagher High Performance Academy Female Coaches – WRWC 2025

World Rugby and Gallagher announced the latest cohort of 14 female coaches selected for the Gallagher High Performance Academy, who are in coaching roles as part of the management teams of their respective national sides during the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.

Of this group, 11 are returning coaches, who have had the opportunity to build on their previous experiences; deepening their knowledge, refining their skills, and expanding their influence within the game.

Bella Milo – World Rugby and Gallagher Gallagher High Performance Academy Female Coaches

The group includes Hong Kong-based Bella Milo (with Samoa), who has played and coached in the HKCR domestic championship and was part of the coaching staff with Hong Kong China at the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2025. She was also part of the World Rugby and Gallagher today cohort that joined WXV 2024. As a player, she also represented Samoa in 15s and 7s.

Milo said, ” This was a great way for me to gain feedback from players and coaches that I’ve worked with, and continue to do so for the GHPA RWC 2025. Being able to continuously revert back to this, and work on it with the GHPA, is a huge part for me….I needed to develop the ability to evaluate the effectiveness on plans, training and competition programmes based on observation, analysis and feedback from a variety of sources.”

The second Asian representative is Noriko Taniguchi, who is with the Japanese team. She previously represented Japan 7s at the Rio 2016 Olympics and has won an Asian Games silver medal in 2014. She also represented Japan Sakura 15.

Noriko Taniguchi – – World Rugby and Gallagher Gallagher High Performance Academy Female Coach

She is currently the strength and conditioning (S&C coach for Japan’s national team, specialising in the return-to-contact area.

Taniguchi said, “I am perhaps closest to the players compared to other coaches, which allows me to support them mentally, and also have a better understanding of their feelings in multiple ways. Having experienced many injuries during my playing career, I believe I can have a significant impact on the return-to-rugby process.

I’m still unsure if I’m a good fit as a coach, but I find it rewarding when I see small growth from players while coaching them.”

Christopher Mead, Chief Marketing Officer for Gallagher, said: “Our key objective when launching the Gallagher High Performance Academy in 2023 was to provide a meaningful pathway and increase the prominence of female coaches, and other high-performance roles, at elite levels of the sport – increasing the competitiveness of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.”

This year’s programme will run alongside the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, providing coaches with the chance to work at the heart of the competition environment.

The cohort selected is:

• Noriko Taniguchi (Japan)
• Bella Milo (Samoa)
• Aroa González (Spain)
• Carolyn McEwen (Canada)
• Catrina Nicholas-McLaughlin (Wales)
• Gaëlle Mignot (France)
• Gill Bourke (Australia)
• Kelly Griffin (USA)
• Larissa Muldoon (Ireland)
• Michela Merlo (Italy)
• Nivia Ferreira (Brazil)
• Sarah Hunter (England)
• Tavaita Rowati (Fiji)
• Zenay Jordaan (South Africa)

Christopher Mead explained, “The Rugby World Cup is the pinnacle of the women’s game and will provide Gallagher High Performance Academy coaches with invaluable hands-on experience, in the ultimate sporting environment. Their involvement and success will help to inspire other female coaches, representing multiple Unions and across all formats of the game. We are extremely proud of this lasting impact on the women’s game.”

The Gallagher High Performance Academy, a joint initiative between World Rugby and Gallagher, was launched in 2023. To date, 43 female coaches have completed the Gallagher High Performance Academy programme.

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 News

• “We Want To Make It To The Knockouts at RWC 2025” – Sakura 15s Head Coach Lesley McKenzie.
• Sakura Fifteen Rugby World Cup 2025 Squad Announced.
• Japan Sakura 15 Attend Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Welcome Ceremony in Northampton.
• Strong Asian Representation at Grassroots to Global Connect Forum 2025 Ahead of WRWC Opening.