All Black joins Rugby Australia's coaching ranks

NEWS: Rugby Australia announced the appointment of Liam Barry as head coach of the Australian Men’s Sevens team.

Barry, a former All Black whose father Kevin and grandfather Ned also represented New Zealand, joins the Men’s Sevens program following the departure of former head coach John Manenti in August.

The 53-year-old brings a wealth of experience with over 30 years of knowledge as both a player and coach in the professional Rugby and high performance environments.

Barry represented the All Blacks from 1993 to 1995 before finishing his playing career with stints at NEC and Kubota in Japan.

He started coaching in 2016 as a coaching director with both New Zealand Sevens sides before spending five years as an assistant coach of the All Black Sevens from 2017 to 2022.

More recently, Barry has excelled as a team leader at 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.

*Article continues below…

“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.”

Director of High Performance Peter Horne said the appointment of Barry was pivotal for the team with the new Olympic cycle set to begin.

“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.”

Both the Australian Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams kick off their 2024/2025 seasons in Dubai on November 30.

Final squads will be confirmed in the lead-up to the HSBC SVNS series opener.