Former All Black with ‘proven track record’ lands top coaching job with Rugby Australia
Liam Barry has been named Australia sevens head coach.
Rugby Australia have confirmed the appointment of former All Black Liam Barry as the new head coach of the Australia men’s sevens team.
Barry, who has previously held roles within the New Zealand sevens programme, takes over from former coach John Manenti who left the post in August. The addition of Barry could improve his new team’s standings among the best betting offers for sevens rugby.
“Take the team into the next cycle”
Commenting on his appointment, Barry said: “I’m very excited to take the team into the next cycle off the back of what they’ve done at the Paris Olympics.
“It’s a great base to start from and it’s a credit to John and the management with what they’ve done in the last cycle.”
He added: “I’m not looking to reinvent the wheel but rather build on what is already there. The players are fit, fast and skilful and I’m looking forward to working with them.”
Barry represented the All Blacks between 1993 and 1995 and made his Test debut against France. He also enjoyed a successful career in the NPC as well as playing in Japan.
Previous to this role, Barry worked as an assistant coach for the All Blacks sevens team between 2017 and 2022. More recently, he has acted as a team leader at High Performance Sport New Zealand.
Rugby Australia’s Director of High Performance, Peter Horne, also commented on the appointment, saying: “We are delighted to welcome Liam to Australian Rugby as Head Coach of our Men’s Sevens side.
“Liam’s proven track record in winning environments, combined with his passion for developing young talent perfectly aligns with the direction we are taking.”
He added: “Our Men’s Sevens side had their best-ever finish at an Olympic Games in August and are consistently one of the teams to beat on the global stage.
“We believe Liam is the ideal person to build a strong connection and successful playing group in the future.”
The Australia men’s side finished fourth at the Paris Olympics, narrowly missing out on a medal after losing to South Africa in the Bronze Medal final.
They will begin life under Barry later this month, as the HSBC SVNS season kicks off in Dubai on November 30.