Four hundred and forty-four days. That's how long it took Rugby Australia to announce its new Wallaroos coach Sione Fukofuka for 2027. By the time he takes on the role though, the team will have been without a permanent head coach for 475 days. It goes without saying, this would never have happened in the men's game.
In the 332 days since former Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp left her position -- she announced she would leave her role in May last year -- the team have attended multiple training camps, defeated Fijiana in Canberra, lost to both Canada and the United States in their Pacific 4 campaign, were smashed 40-5 by the Black Ferns on the Sunshine Coast; while Yapp herself was named the first-ever coach of the inaugural women's British and Irish Lions team to tour New Zealand next year.
How could RA let it take so long?
So poor has the sporting body's handling of the situation been, it garnered the attention of several rugby commentators around the world who have commented on the laughable situation, with New Zealand rugby podcaster Alice Soper questioning RA's process just 12 hours before they finally announced Fukofuka's appointment and just 11 days before the Wallaroos take on the Black Ferns in Auckland.
The appointment hasn't come without its own controversy, either.
Fukofuka was previously coaching Scotland's women's team after signing with Scottish Rugby following last year's Rugby World Cup. He saw the group through this year's Six Nations tournament before he approached the sporting body for an early release last week citing compassionate grounds: "the stress and the strain on my family... proved too much to continue to go on and to do this role the way it should be."
A week later he was appointed Wallaroos head coach for 2027.
The timing of the signing only raises more questions.
Did RA approach the former Wallaroos assistant coach before his contract release? Or was it all just coincidental timing? (It should be noted that ESPN is not questioning Fukofuka or his reasoning for leaving Scottish Rugby.)
Scottish Rugby officials were certainly a little mystified.
"Whilst we always expected Sione to work again and would never wish to hold anyone back, we were surprised to learn of this news so quickly," Scottish Rugby said.
"We have a release agreement in place with Sione, which will allow him to take up his post at the start of 2027, and an agreement in place with Rugby Australia who will pay Scottish Rugby an agreed fee."
It only adds extra spice to the two side's fixtures in Sydney and Canberra in October.
Even worse, though, is if the timing was coincidental. The sporting body has had over a year to interview and secure a Wallaroos head coach, and yet it's taken until the 47-year-old's departure from Scotland to finally lock one in?
Were there truly no standout applicants in Australia or across the world game for RA to sign? Given reports that former interim coach Sam Needs had not even been considered for an interview -- and has since handed in his resignation -- RA must have clearly had someone in mind for this position.
Or are the best candidates in world rugby unwilling to come to Australia? Christy Doran reported on ESPN Scrum Reset just last week RA had actively pursued Canada coach Kevin Rouet, only for the Frenchman to reject the offer and remain in Canada with the World No.3 ranked side.
With a World Cup on home soil in just three years' time, and the difficult task of matching the spectacle England produced with sold-out matches throughout the 2025 edition, RA has won itself no fans over their bungled handling of the coaching appointment.
Add too the growing threat of NRLW and RA continue to find itself in a precarious situation in the women's game. Already they've witnessed dozens of players switch to the 13-player game, including some from last year's World Cup squad, many of whom will never come back despite the carrot of a home World Cup. No doubt many more will follow over the next few years.
And the drawn-out process has brought into question RA CEO Phil Waugh's repeated assurances that the women's game is a top priority. The sporting body has been taking steps towards making the game fully professional by next year, but what that looks like is yet to be divulged.
Super Rugby women's has grown stagnant, and it's unclear if the competition will expand to a full home-and-away season or include more than the yearly one-off trans-Tasman fixture in the future. Meanwhile expectations from RA are that the Wallaroos produce the results befitting a fulltime program from next season, despite a domestic competition that features just seven fixtures.
Given the delay in naming former women's sevens coach Tim Walsh as Director of Women's High Performance for several months, and now the nearly year-long search for a Wallaroos coach, Waugh's assurances of a better structured and funded women's game are wearing thin.