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 out to be solely the thirteenth particular person to carry the place.

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

She is going to oversee 11 Exams subsequent yr adopted by a historic sequence in opposition to a touring British and Irish Lions ladies’s squad in 2027.

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

“There’s generational expertise coming via in ladies’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 am unable to 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 remaining to carry the trophy.

Nonetheless, Hansen did play a component 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 yr.

Hansen, who’s a instructor by commerce, represented Canterbury throughout her taking part in days and has held senior roles at each stage 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 in control of Canterbury’s set-piece within the Farah Palmer Cup because the workforce received two titles in three years, earlier than changing into the inaugural head coach of the Black Ferns XV in 2024.