New Zealand Rugby have officially appointed a trio of World Cup-winning men’s coaches to lead their women’s side in the wake of a damning report which saw former head coach Glenn Moore resign.

Wayne Smith has been unveiled as director of rugby with Sir Graham Henry, Mike Cron and Whitney Hansen, the daughter of former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, also part of the coaching set-up.

This coaching restructure from New Zealand Rugby suggests they are finally waking up and smelling the coffee. They host what is expected to be the biggest and most competitive women’s World Cup in October – the first of its kind to be held in the southern hemisphere – but to put it bluntly, their women’s team is drastically underprepared. Having been twice demolished by England and France last autumn, they have a mountain to climb after barely playing during the pandemic.

Smith, Henry and Cron is no shoddy coaching club. These are some of the most prestigious names in world rugby. It will be fascinating to see whether the trio can work their magic on the Black Ferns, which is the most successful Test nation in the women’s game, having won five World Cups in their history. It would no doubt be one of the most remarkable transformations witnessed in women’s international rugby given their recent struggles.

But this is about more than being highly respected coaches. The majority of New Zealand’s women’s players have been amateur their entire playing careers – only last month were they upgraded onto professional contracts. For three male coaches who have largely known only professional performance environments, they will have to adapt pretty quickly. 

Smith, who was part of the All Blacks set-up for 16 years and played a major role in the side’s 2011 and 2015 men’s World Cup triumphs, has been promoted just two weeks after he was drafted in as a technical coach. Nicknamed the ‘Professor’ for his rugby brains, Smith will work alongside 2011 World Cup-winning head coach Henry, who will undertake a supporting role.

Hansen will act as Smith’s assistant, having been promoted from the intern coaching role that she has held within the team for the past two years. Hansen, 33, moved into coaching in 2017 and has been the New Zealand Barbarians assistant coach for the past two years.

NZR also confirmed on Thursday that the Black Ferns will draw on the expertise of Cron, who will also act as a supporting coach throughout the year. Cron is regarded as one of the game’s best scrummaging coaches, having also been involved with the All Blacks’ 2011 and 2015 victories.

NZR have certainly thrown the kitchen sink at their women’s side in a bid to salvage the Black Ferns’ hopes of defending their own world title on home soil.