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After slipping into oblivion, Australia's women rugby players have been resuscitated with a new coach and
much-needed funding. The Wallaroos lost their Australian Rugby Union (ARU) funding in 2002 when they were downgraded from the elite program to the community rugby unit alongside school development. At the time, the ARU said, with only 1,200 female players registered, the money would be better spent at a grassroots level. But the ARU said registration numbers have now jumped to around 2,000 women and have provided funding for the Wallaroos through to 2010.
The ARU also announced the appointment of Steve Hamson as head coach of the national women's team for the 2006 IRB women's Rugby World Cup in Canada. Hamson, who was the 2003 Southern States Championship-winning coach, will be assisted by Sydney University second grade coach John Manenti. "Now that we have a national team for women to aspire to, let's hope that more women will be attracted to the game and will be encouraged to stay for longer, which is just what we need," coach Steve Hamson said. "Really, now the responsibility rests squarely with women to come and play to help us get even more funding."
Hamson said he intends to use his 35 years of coaching experience to get the Wallaroos above their fifth-place finish in the last Women's World Cup in Barcelona in 2002. "Manenti and I will be looking at players from across the country with a fresh set of eyes, so every player will have the same opportunity to push for selection as the next," he said. "I spent last year coaching in Canada, where I watched the top four women's teams - New Zealand, England, Canada and the US - complete in the Churchill Cup. "I've seen their standard of play and I know a top four finish is not out of our reach and it's exactly what we'll be aiming for," the 2003 Southern State Championship winning coach said.
Manenti and Hamson will be present at next month's ARU National Tournament to assess players before naming a training squad in September. Hamson said they will spend the next 12 months identifying the most capable squad to compete by attending club games, finals and future representative matches, including the 2006 ARU National Invitational tournament. Despite the Wallaroos' rocky past, Hamson says the future is looking a great deal brighter. "The future is now in our hands, to control and if we can put our best foot forward both on and off the field, we can play attractive football," Hamson said.
"We know we need to attract more women to the game. "If we can help in some small way as a national team, by putting a positive face out there for the right reasons, we can make those school girls who go off and play all those other sports realise there's not better choice than women's rugby."
The 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup runs from August 29 to September 18 in Edmonton, Alberta.
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