And the new coach is...

Will Allan Bunting have the golden touch?

The first time I met Allan Bunting, he made me cry.

It was the first time I’d heard what I needed to from someone that high up in the women’s game. The same was on display at the press conference today. Bunting knew more than anyone in the room about our history, our team and what is needed to take us forward.

Bunting was the change candidate, up against the long serving assistant, Wes Clarke. This appointment is a good sign. We are finally evaluating and selecting based on who is best for the job rather than rewarding length of service. I mean this as no disrespect to Clarke but Bunting is clearly the best person for the job right now.

He was embedded in the design of the modern day Black Ferns 7s team. First as an architect of the 2012 Go for Gold Programme which re-launch the short format in New Zealand then as an assistant before taking the reins and the gold at the Tokyo olympics. Bunting is uniquely placed to support the fifteens programme at this moment of growth. His insight into how to support players to walk the tightrope from amateur to professional athlete will be invaluable to our sport.

Trust is a foundational tenant of Bunting’s coaching style. It was noticeable in the loyalty he built in his player group and in the way he kept himself out of halftime huddles. It’s what will be needed as our programme for the most part, operates without direct oversight of Black Ferns coaches.

Starting with trust, the athletes he builds are greater than their on field performance. If you think of the biggest names in the women’s game right now, they come from the Allan Bunting school of rugby. You can see it in the confidence they carry themselves with. They are themselves, their whole beautiful selves and we love them for it.

When Bunting came into the role as the Culture and Leadership manager last year, I wondered why anyone would what to apply themselves as that bandaid in that toxic environment. The opportunity this has afforded us all now, to see what he can do as the director of this programme excites me.

Allan Bunting knows us. He knows exactly what he is getting into and how high the stakes and our expectations are of him. So I wish him the best of luck.

And good luck to England too, their head coach appointment just got a lot harder.

With you,

Alice