Wolves Women announce new head coach

Ged Ginty has been appointed as the new head coach of Warrington Wolves’ Women’s Rugby League team.

He is taking over the reins from Armani Sharrock who stepped down at the end of last season after just 12 months in the hot seat.

Wigan-born Ginty, who will celebrate his 46th birthday on Monday, has a wealth of experience under his belt and was assistant coach to Sharrock for a spell last year.

He will be working closely in conjunction with Gary Chambers, Director of Rugby at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, and James Machin, Women’s Head of Rugby, and has a clear vision about the type of team he wants to build over the next three to five years.

The former Wigan Women’s coach said: “I’m a big believer in the girls being connected as one team so it’s all about individual review of your own performance, your skillset, attitude and personality.

“We want the girls to work together to become one big, connected unit so we know who we are, we know our identity and create our own DNA.

“It’s a great opportunity for us all to work together and build on this not just for one or two seasons, but we have plans in place for three to five years and more.

“We have a resilient bunch of girls here and they want to achieve. Some of the girls are at university, some have full-time jobs and others have children but they are a resilient bunch and this has been built within them over the last few seasons.

“We want to take this forward into next season.”

Ginty has also been working closely with Sam Burgess, first team men’s head coach, over the past couple of weeks.

He said: “It was a great opportunity for me to work with Sam and the rest of the first team coaches. It was good to share their knowledge and the support they have given me straight away has been fantastic.

“They want to see a successful women’s team and they also want that integration – the love of playing rugby and playing for Warrington is very evident among our girls.

“Sam has created a real strong team bond as we want to replicate that with the girls this season.”

Ginty’s first challenge is to rebuild then team after losing several players to retirement, injury and other teams in the off season.

He said: “I see it as a great opportunity to bring in new personalities and create a different environment. It’s going to take a little time to create a connected unit but the girls all want to work together.”

It’s a vision that’s shared by Machin, who’s role is to bridge the gap between the women’s first team and the Academy players and bring through the next generation of young players.

The 24-year-old former head of women’s youth development said: “It is really important to have an established Academy. We need to train them as if they are already Super League players, so that by the time they reach the end of their Academy journey with us they are ready to step straight into that environment.

“And the important thing is that when they do, they have to look like a Warrington Wolves player, not just a rugby league player.

“I’m really excited to work with Ged. He’s got some really exciting ideas, and he’s thought a lot about what he wants from his Warrington team.”