A few months ago, Jo Yapp was helping herd sheep across the family farm in Shropshire.
Now, she is preparing to marshal the finest talent from across all four home nations as Head Coach of the first-ever British & Irish Lions Women’s team.
From navigating muddy fields and early mornings after leaving her role with Australia’s Wallaroos following the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, to leading a Lions project that has been decades in the making, the 46-year-old’s route to the top job hasn’t been a traditional one.
But the Shrewsbury native, whether on or off the field, has always led from the front, and that is a quality synonymous with the great Lions bosses of yesteryear.
Prior to her coaching career, Yapp won 70 caps from scrum-half during a stellar England career which saw her compete at three World Cups and captain her country to the final in 2006.
After hanging up her boots in 2009, Yapp made a seamless transition from playing to coaching.
Yapp guided Exeter University to multiple BUCS national titles in an eight-year spell as head coach, including championship success at Twickenham in 2013 and a national sevens crown the following year.
Yapp also spent five years as head coach of the England Women Under-20s programme, helping nurture a generation of players who would later become established internationals. Future Red Roses stars such as Zoe Stratford, Abby Dow and Holly Aitchison were just some of the players who emerged during that period.
Alongside that, Yapp gained senior international experience as England women’s backs coach during the 2015 Women’s Six Nations campaign and has twice coached the Barbarian Women’s side.
Her most influential domestic work came with Worcester Warriors Women. Having returned to the club where she spent her playing career, Yapp initially joined as skills coach before being promoted to director of rugby in 2019. Over the following years she helped establish Worcester in the Premier 15s despite operating under limited resources.
Despite administration issues, Worcester still managed a sixth-place finish in the league during the 2022/23 season – which reflected the resilience and culture Yapp had built within the group.
With Worcester ultimately going on to be disbanded, Yapp’s efforts did not go unnoticed internationally.
In December 2023, Rugby Australia appointed Yapp as the Wallaroos’ first full-time head coach, which was an historic moment for the women’s game in Australia. The appointment was viewed as a major statement of intent as it looked to accelerate the professional development of the national side ahead of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
During her tenure, Australia won the WXV 2 title in 2024 – the Wallaroos’ first major international trophy – before leading the team to the quarter-finals of last year’s World Cup having progressed from Pool A alongside England.
Yapp was one of just three female head coaches at the tournament.
Yapp described her pride at the way her family, consisting of husband Alan and children, Megan and Jack, fully embraced Australian life after they emigrated Down Under. But the pull of home was too strong for her to commit to another World Cup cycle, and she left her role at the helm of Australia following their defeat to Canada in Bristol.
Having coached the local girls teams at Clee Hill RFC, in the Shropshire village where she grew up upon her return to the UK, Yapp once again found herself on the books at the RFU after she was appointed England Rugby's Head of Women's Pathway – a new role that is tasked with crafting the next generation of Red Roses – in January 2026.
Now as boss of the Lions, Yapp will bring her wealth of experience and knowledge to the role as she looks to steer the outfit to victory in New Zealand next summer.
Between her playing and coaching days, Yapp has had a first-hand view of the transformation of the women’s game, and is only too aware of how big a moment this inaugural Howden British & Irish Lions Women’s Series will be.
And at her unveiling at the offices of Royal London, founding partner of The British & Irish Lions Women’s rugby team, Yapp said: “It’s hugely important, on the back of the World Cup, which was a massive moment, to have an historical moment that is about to happen again.
“There are a lot of players who have paved the way for women’s rugby and didn’t get the chance to pull on a red jersey. Now, to be able to do that and this new generation to be able to do that is something really special. We have to acknowledge what came before because without those players, we wouldn’t be getting these opportunities today.”
Yapp found out that she had got the nod back home on the farm in Shropshire, with Lions CEO Ben Calveley delivering the good news.
And having taken her family halfway around the world for her spell with the Wallaroos, it was only fitting that they were the first people to find out about her new gig.
She explained: “It’s a massive honour and a privilege. When I received the call from Ben to offer me the role, I was overwhelmed with emotion.
“Where I live the signal is really poor and the first time answering, I couldn’t hear the phone, so I ran into the house and they (her family) were kind of aware that I was taking this call.
“Finally, on the third time of trying, we managed to speak and I got told the news. I was overwhelmed but they were all at the door listening to see when I came out. It was amazing to be at home and share that with them immediately.”
That news that Yapp is making history as the first-ever head coach of the first-ever British & Irish Lions Women's Team has now been shared with the world. It has been quite the journey to this point.
