Scottish Rugby adds international experience to Scotland Women coaching set-up

In December 2025 Sione Fukofuka was unveiled as the new Scotland Women 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 Rugby World Cup, where they faced Scotland in the same pool, and defeating Wales Women.

Prior to 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 the appointment Ioan 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.”

Scottish Rugby’s Performance Director, David Nucifora said: “Ioan brings significant experience from high-performance women’s rugby, alongside strong technical expertise and an understanding of what is required to deliver at international level.

“He has also worked across the men’s professional game and with international age-grade teams which, through the Senior Assistant Coach role, will help Sione lead a strong coaching group that will invest in both developing our player pool and driving the Scotland Women team to reach their full potential.”

Managing Director of Women’s Rugby, Gemma Fay said: “Ioan’s appointment is an excellent addition to the Scotland Women coaching team.

With the new global calendar marking the start of the next World Cup cycle, this is a pivotal period which will be providing consistent competition for our international players throughout the season.

“Working closely with Head Coach Sione Fukofuka, the wider performance team and our pathway — Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors within the Celtic Challenge — Ioan will help ensure strong alignment and continuity as we move towards the next phase of our Women and Girls Strategy in 2026.”

Ioan Cunningham takes up his role with Scottish Rugby this week and will be based in Edinburgh.