Former Wales coach lands new job with Scotland
NEWS: Scottish Rugby has further bolstered the Scotland Women coaching group with the addition of former international head coach, Ioan Cunningham.
In December 2025, Sione Fukofuka was unveiled as the new Scotland Women’s Head Coach, joining from USA Rugby.
Cunningham takes on a newly created Senior Assistant Coach position, working with Fukofuka as Scottish Rugby progresses towards its ambition of securing one of the leading women’s coaching groups in international rugby.
The move for Cunningham brings a wealth of international women’s rugby experience to Scotland, with the Welshman leading the Fijiana team to the 2025 World Cup, where they faced Scotland in the same pool, and defeated Wales Women.
Before that, he was the Wales Women’s Head Coach from 2021 to 2024, following several years as Scarlets forwards coach in the United Rugby Championship and Head Coach of the Wales U20s team.
With the creation of a new centralised high-performance programme based at Oriam in Edinburgh and the appointment of leading sports service providers supporting the women’s group, Scottish Rugby has started the new rugby world cup cycle with both investment and intent.
This was reinforced through the contracting of a record number of players to the supported high-performance programme in October 2025, alongside a cohort of development players who access the training and support services as part of the preparations for the current Celtic Challenge competition.
Speaking on his appointment, Cunningham said: “I am really honoured and excited to have the opportunity to work with Scottish Rugby, especially working with the Scotland senior women’s team.
“I’m really looking forward to working with such talented players and staff, adding to the continued growth and development of women’s rugby in Scotland.
“I have a personal connection to Scotland as my grandfather was from Kilmarnock, which makes having this opportunity a proud moment for me and my family.”
