New Zealand Rugby has appointed Whitney Hansen head coach of the Black Ferns till the tip of 2027.

Hansen, daughter of former All Blacks head coach Steve, takes over from Allan Bunting to turn into solely the thirteenth individual to carry the place.

The previous Matatu coach can be solely the second lady to be positioned accountable for the Black Ferns, after Vicky Dombroski in 1994.

She is going to oversee 11 Exams subsequent 12 months adopted by a historic collection in opposition to a touring British and Irish Lions girls’s squad in 2027.

“It is an honour to be requested to guide the programme and an thrilling time to tackle the function of head coach,” Hansen mentioned.

“There may be generational expertise coming via in girls’s rugby in New Zealand, and the brand new worldwide calendar represents an enormous alternative to additional improve the legacy of the Black Ferns. I can not wait to get began.”

New Zealand, who had received six of the earlier seven Ladies’s Rugby World Cups, have been knocked out within the semi-finals of the 2025 version by Canada earlier than beating France to complete third.

Hosts England defeated Canada within the last to raise the trophy.

Nevertheless, Hansen did play an element in New Zealand’s Ladies’s Rugby World Cup triumph at Eden Park in 2022, as an assistant coach.

She will probably be joined by assistant coaches Tony Christie and former England centre Riki Flutey, with the broader teaching and administration group set to be confirmed within the new 12 months.

Hansen, who’s a trainer by commerce, represented Canterbury throughout her taking part in days and has held senior roles at each degree of the sport since taking over teaching.

She was assistant coach of Matatu’s 2023 Sky Tremendous Rugby Aupiki title-winning facet earlier than changing into the membership’s head of rugby for the previous two seasons.

From 2020 to 2023 she was accountable for Canterbury’s set-piece within the Farah Palmer Cup because the group received two titles in three years, earlier than changing into the inaugural head coach of the Black Ferns XV in 2024.