Simply outclassed by England in the quarterfinal, the Wallaroos ended their World Cup campaign in tears. Despite the scoreline and exit, the future appears bright for a squad that unearthed some impressive new talent and displayed passion, grit, and determination throughout the tournament.
The Wallaroos headed to New Zealand with a goal to reach the quarterfinals, and with a dream to push into the semis and beyond; they achieved their goal by downing both Scotland and Wales in tough encounters in Whangerai, and setting up a showdown with England, who had won 28 straight games, in the quarters.
Victory over England simply proved a challenge too great for the self-titled 'giant slayers' but what was seen on the pitch throughout their four-week campaign only underscores the Wallaroos' potential and what they can achieve in the future with time and investment.
Reflecting on the year that's been -- the Wallaroos played more Test matches in 2022 than in any other previous calendar year -- the growth in the squad has been incredible. From their opening Tests against Fiji and Japan, their Pacific Four Series campaign, and then the epic battle that played out against the Black Ferns at Adelaide Oval.
With a jam-packed schedule for 2023 and beyond being planned out, the future for Australian women's rugby is bright. If their efforts in New Zealand are a baseline for the talent and skills that can be developed, Australian fans should be excited about where the Wallaroos and women's rugby in general can go.
With the 2025 World Cup only three years away -- the 2021 tournament was delayed a year due to COVID -- Rugby Australia [RA] has already devised plans to turn the Wallaroos from a semi-professional to fully professional outfit by the time the tournament kicks off as they look to overhaul the Super W competition and streamline pathways from club level into the professional setup.
ESPN understands RA has begun the process of getting stakeholders such as the RA board, Rugby Union Players Association (RUPA) and the Women's XVs Rugby Advisory Group aligned on the next steps for 2023 and beyond, with RA chief executive Andy Marinos expected to announce plans as early as the end of the month.
RA has also advised the full 2023 Super W draw and the Wallaroos' Test schedule will also be made public before the end of the year.
While it will take time for Australia to catch up to the professional setups enjoyed by England, New Zealand and France, these first steps are vital as RA looks ahead to a World Cup on home soil in 2029.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of the World Cup, Marinos warned there was no silver bullet for the issues facing the national women's program but hoped a measured approach would strengthen their ranks and give the Wallaroos every chance of winning a title at home.
"I'd certainly like for us as a game to be in a position where we have a contracted base by the time we get to 2025," Marinos told the Herald.
"I can't emphasise enough how important it is to build the foundation of the structures around the Wallaroos and the Super W competition. That's certainly what our longer-term thinking is. We ultimately want to make sure we can raise the standard and get the game up to a professional level in the future."
The Wallaroos squad that contested the World Cup in New Zealand is made up of teachers, engineers, students and other women who are forced to balance their work and family life with their rugby aspirations, while their coach Jay Tregonning was already preparing to return to the classroom as a teacher following their quarterfinal defeat. Players relied on per diem payments and the good grace from their employers for their five-week stint in New Zealand, so too for the training camps and seven Test matches from earlier in the year.
Hopefully by the 2029 World Cup, this will be a thing of the past.
Despite the setbacks the team faced in the lead-up to the tournament, including several COVID lockdowns and satellite training sessions, the Wallaroos finished the tournament having done their family, friends and country proud, knowing they'd put their bodies on the line to play an exciting brand of rugby that will have hopefully inspired generations of girls and boys to come.
Tregonning held back tears during his on-field post-match interview on Sunday, saying how proud he was of his squad and what they'd accomplished throughout the tournament, while Wallaroos veteran Sharni Williams called for more support for the women who'd dared to dream big.
"The thread we put on is professional, but for these amateurs - every single day they get to put it on is a reward," Williams told Stan Sport after Australia's quarterfinal loss on Sunday.
"They are obviously playing for their country, but they're also working really hard. We've got teachers, physios, all of that outside of here.
"We came into this as the underdogs and we're still underdogs within rugby. Let's just hope that we can find some sponsors out there, find a bit of money, and reward these girls for what they're doing.
"We're out there sacrificing our bodies, putting bodies on the line for each other, but mainly for Australia. We love representing our country and sport is massive in Australia, so let's get around them.
"It doesn't stop here though, right? We really need everyone around Australia to continue to support the Wallaroos. Not just at World Cups, not just at little events, but it's all that Super W as well, it's really important."
Twenty Wallaroos players made their Test debuts this year, with many more adding to previous singular appearances. What was evident in the young players' performances was a thirst to succeed and the raw talent that will only improve as the years roll on; the likes of Grace Kemp, Piper Duck, Bienne Terita and Layne Morgan proving they have a bright future ahead.
Meanwhile, proven stars such as Grace Hamilton, Bella McKenzie and Georgina Friedrichs showed they could mix it with the best on the international stage.
The launch of World Rugby's WXV competitions will provide the Wallaroos more international exposure in 2023, the tournament dovetailing with the Laurie O'Reilly series against the Black Ferns; there is also the potential for trans-Tasman Super W matches.
It all adds up to more time out in the middle.
"The most exciting thing about the women's game is the potential we're doing so much with so little at the moment and we have this great opportunity to keep growing. There's so many girls playing really good rugby and we just need to retain the talent," Wallaroos flanker Em Chancellor told Stan Sport.
"I wanna say to any girl that's thinking about it or hasn't really thought about it, but looks at someone else playing rugby and think 'I can do it' try it. It's so cool to be able to do something that you know the stereotype says it's for boys and I reckon girls do it just as well."
The impact the Wallaroos' performances have made on young girls in Australia won't be seen for some time, and will likely be immeasurable. But what they've achieved so far is worth celebrating and with much of the squad likely to push their case for the 2025 World Cup it's clear this Wallaroos team can only get bigger and better.
For now, the ball is in RA's court. The potential and talent is there, the thirst for women's 15s is growing, and now it's time for the governing body to give these women and the girls of the future the chance to be the best they can be, to compete on an equal playing field and no longer be rugby's underdogs.