Captain Michaela Leonard reflects on Wallaroos' memorable 2024

After beating Scotland at Cape Town’s Athlone Stadium, Australia captain Michaela Leonard joined an exclusive club of one after leading the team to a title. Wins over Wales, South Africa and Scotland saw the Aussies claim the first major trophy in Wallaroos history.

It hadn’t all been smooth sailing for the Wallaroos under coach Jo Yapp in 2024 after being caught on the wrong side of big scores more than once, but they showed resilience, character and potential to round out the year in style in World Rugby’s WXV 2.

“It was a really nice way to finish the campaign,” Leonard said with a smile. With a Women’s Rugby World Cup in England just around the corner, the Wallaroos have taken plenty of confidence out of their hat-trick of wins in the Western Cape.

Australia had finished last in World Rugby’s Pacific Four Series and suffered some other tough defeats to New Zealand, Ireland and Wales outside of that competition. Desiree Miller’s four-try haul in the win over Fiji was a shining light from an otherwise tough season up to that point.

After a tough 31-24 loss to Wales at Rodney Place, the Wallaroos prepared to take on the same foe in WXV 2 – winning that Test 37-5. The women in gold then got the better of tournament hosts South Africa 33-26 at Scotland 31-22 which brings this tale back to the start.

The Wallaroos won WXV 2.

It was the first major piece of silverware in team history.

“It was a really nice way to finish the campaign last [season]. At the start of last [season], through coaching staff changes, we had a lot of new faces coming into the group, out of the group. There were challenges through that year for us, whether it was wins, losses, whether it was adjusting to those changes,” Leonard told RugbyPass last week.

“It was a year of immense work from everyone involved, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of time, and unfortunately earlier in the year results just hadn’t come out way. It’s often tough to watch from the outside when you’re seeing things aren’t always successful but within the group we knew how hard we were working and how strong our bond was getting.

“To come into WXV 2, although not where we wanted to end up at the start of the year, the ability [and] the professionalism the group showed to come off the back of a few losses coming into the tournament to then turn around and put three back-ot-back really strong performances out there. It was an incredible thing to be part of.

“There was a lot of pride for the group of just how far we’d come in that 12-month period… first time getting to hold the silverware as a group is pretty exciting to be a part of as well. Anyone who’s played sport and won a premiership or won a final knows how good that feeling can be post-game, celebrating with all those people you’ve worked so hard with.”

But that success is in the past, and the Wallaroos want to build on going into a Rugby World Cup year. The group reassembled for a brief camp “not long after WXV 2” to go back over ideas and topics before pulling on their Super Rugby Women’s club’s jerseys early next year.

Leonard headlines a talented roster at the Westen Force, although the club has bid farewell to some regulars including veteran scrumhalf Kendra Fell. As for the other Australian SR Women’s teams, they’ve been boosted by some marquee recruits ahead of the new campaign.

Maddison and Teagan Levi, Charlotte Caslick, Isabella Nasser and Khali Henwood have all joined the Queensland Reds, with nine stars from Australia’s HSBC SVNS Series side linking with SR Women’s teams.

Sariah Paki is off to the NSW Waratahs, while the trio of Demi Hayes, Tia Hinds and Bienne Terita will play for the ACT Brumbies. It’s understood they’ll all be able to play up to two matches in March during a four-week block between SVNS Series stops.

These sevens players could bring their own unique skillsets to a Wallaroos side hungry to grow, develop and learn before the showpiece event in England. It’s all part of the journey for the Wallaroos who will play five Tests on home soil in 2025.

“Incredible finish to the year from us. I think [it’s] huge for us as a group, building in confidence, and I guess having that experience of three back-to-back wins under our belt which is something I think was a first for us as well,” Leonard added.

“It’s huge for the group in learning how to win and learning how to bounce back from a big high to then focus and go into the next week. For us, finished the year at a really good point.

“Really excited and I have no doubts that we’re going to be starting off in a really strong position next year moving forward.”