Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp has named the most experienced Rugby World Cup squad the Wallaroos have ever had with the outgoing coach determined to make a statement in England and finish her tenure on a high.
Announced as the first ever full-time Wallaroos coach at the end of 2023, the former England player hit the ground running and has overseen a mix of results including hammering defeats at the hands of New Zealand and Canada as well as multiple impressive performances, with big wins over Wales -- including a 36-5 demolition job in Sydney in their World Cup farewell -- a bounce-back victory over the USA earlier this year, as well as winning Australia's first major trophy with the WXV2 title at the end of 2024.
But none of those results will matter come Saturday Aug. 23 when the Wallaroos take on Samoa in their World Cup opener in Manchester, with Yapp making her ambitions clear that only getting out of their stacked pool of tournament hosts England, USA and Samoa, and reaching the quarterfinals, will it be deemed a successful campaign.
"We recognise it's a tough pool, but you know we want to get out of the pool and then give ourselves the best shot in quarterfinal potentially against either Canada, Scotland or Wales," Yapp told reporters in Sydney.
"We've definitely got to hit the ground running; we're not taking anything lightly with Samoa. We know that there'll be some new faces in there from what we faced with the [Australia] A team and -- as cliche as it is -- it's taking it one game at a time, and we have to be up for Samoa.
"It is a big game [taking on England] but having obviously played in New Zealand a couple of times over the last couple of years, the girls are used to coming across that type of opposition. We've played New Zealand, we've played Canada, they're in the top three as well, so from a mindset perspective, the girls in will step up for the challenge.
"We are fortunate because we have played them [USA] and we know what they're like as a team, so we'll continue to review, and we know that when we're at our best we've got a real shot."
It's been far from the perfect build up for the Wallaroos with the side winning just two of their last five matches including a shock loss to Wales in Brisbane in a two-Test series as part of their World Cup preparations, while injuries have played havoc with captain Siokapesi Palu and sevens star Charlotte Caslick racing the clock to be fit for the Wallaroos' second pool match against the USA.
But Yapp is determined to see the positives with Australia showcasing a depth of talent they've never possessed previously.
"Yes, Ballymore was disappointing, but in New Zealand for 15 minutes we stepped up, and the girls did really well," Yapp said. "Yes, we've had to adjust the team, we've had a few injuries, especially in that back line with players like G-Fred [Georgina Friedrichs] unavailable, and then Charlotte's injury, and then Maya being out, so we've had to give other players an opportunity, but that's just created depth within the squad.
"The depth going into Friday we had players like Eva Karpani out, Cheetah [Bree-Anna Browne], Brianna Hoy out -- these are really established front-row players, yet we could still put other props who we've developed over the last couple of years and we still dominated that area of the game, so the depth in that was absolutely massive for us.
"Just seeing some of the youngsters come through like Caitlyn Halse, given the opportunity, she's gone from strength to strength over the last 12 months and you know she's got a massive future ahead of her. Seeing those players come in and develop both as people and players has been really rewarding."
Despite the constant chop and change Yapp is confident she's found her starting 15 to take on Samoa in the tournament opener.
"In terms of a starting 15, depending on who we're playing, we're in a really strong position now," she continued. "With the front row, we can play different combinations depending on [who we're playing], like somebody like Faliki [Pohiva] did exceptionally well in that type of game against Wales, but you know it's horses for courses as well, but we're really, really confident with the whole 30 on tour."
With at least three matches remaining in her time as Wallaroos coach, Yapp hasn't allowed the emotion of the occasion to get to her just yet, with a quarterfinal berth front of mind until the final whistle in Brighton.
"It's still a while away [my farewell]," Yapp said in Sydney. "We had we had some time together with the families on Saturday morning and that's hard because you've connected with this group and I've connected with their families, so for some of them that was sort of the last time I will see some of those families that aren't travelling and that's always sad. You kind of walk away from that and that's hard.
"We've obviously got a job to do and that's the big focus right now."