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Ex-All Black Liam Barry named Australia Men's 7s head coach
By Ian Cameron
Rugby Australia has confirmed the appointment of Liam Barry as the new head coach for the Australian Men’s Sevens team.
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Barry (53) succeeds John Manenti, who left the role in August. The former All Black brings over three decades of experience in professional rugby – both as a player and coach.
Barry’s career as a player included representing the All Blacks from 1993 to 1995, followed by stints in Japan with NEC and Kubota. Transitioning to coaching in 2016, he served as a coaching director for New Zealand’s Sevens programs before becoming an assistant coach for the All Black Sevens, a role he held from 2017 to 2022.
Most recently he worked in a high-performance leadership role with High Performance Sport New Zealand.
Australian Men’s Sevens coach Liam 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.
“I’m not looking to reinvent the wheel but rather build on what is already there. The players are fit, fast and skillful and I’m looking forward to working with them.”
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Director of High Performance Peter Horne said of the appointment of Barry: “We are delighted to welcome Liam to Australian Rugby as Head Coach of our Men’s Sevens side,” Horne said.
“Liam’s proven track record in winning environments, combined with his passion for developing young talent perfectly aligns with the direction we are taking.
“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.”
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The Australian Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams will begin their 2024/2025 season on November 30 in Dubai, with final squad selections to be announced closer to the HSBC SVNS series opener.
Surprised by this appointment. Liam Barry has been working with NZRs Coaching and Mentor programme for almost 4 years now, focused on ‘improving the New Zealand’s overall dominance in the coaching space’ as Mark Robertson puts it.
We train up up a coach in the highest halls of NZ rugby power and now he’s suddenly employed by Australia?
Why are NZR not upset about this?
Another nail in Australian rugby's coffin.
Why bother following the mens 7 team with a kiwi coach ?
Uh oh, still no fair dinkum Aussie rugby coaches to be found then?
I'll never get why Aussies are so obsessed with the nationality of their international coaches. They always claim they've got the coaching talent, yet they're never winning any competitions, and the ones that genuinely have the talent are never interested in coaching Australia.
Who do they expect to get picked then?
They are there but Rugby Australia is determined to strip Australian rugby of any pride and enthusiasm. They seem to have a death wish that will be fulfilled.