Australia national rugby union team

Not to be confused with Australia national rugby league team.

"Wallabies" redirects here. For other uses, see Wallaby (disambiguation).

Australia

Union	Australian Rugby Union
Nickname(s)	Wallabies
Emblem(s)	the Wallaby
Coach(es)	Ewen McKenzie
Captain(s)	James Horwill
Most caps	George Gregan (139)
Top scorer	Michael Lynagh (911)
Most tries	David Campese (64)
Team kit Change kit
First international
New South Wales (as Australia) 13 – 3 British Isles (24 June 1899)
Largest win
Australia 142 – 0 Namibia (25 October 2003)
Largest defeat
South Africa 53 – 8 Australia (30 August 2008)
World Cup
Appearances	7 (First in 1987)
Best result	Champions 1991, 1999

The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with Argentina, New Zealand, and South Africa in the The Rugby Championship, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the Mandela Challenge Plate with South Africa. Australia are currently ranked fourth in the IRB World Rankings and hold the Mandela Plate.

Australia have competed in all seven Rugby World Cups, and have won the World Cup on two occasions, in 1991 against England, and in 1999 against France. Australia also lost in the final after extra time to England in the 2003 competition. Australia are governed by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU). Seven former Australian players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, with one of those also having been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame. Another former Australia player is a member of the IRB Hall for other accomplishments in the sport.

History

Origins

Further information: History of rugby union

Further information: Rugby union in Australia

The 1899 Australia team.

In 1883 the Southern Rugby Football Union (renamed the New South Wales Rugby Union in 1892) toured New Zealand becoming the first team in the world to tour overseas. The New Zealand national team toured New South Wales in 1884 – defeating New South Wales in all three matches, and winning all nine matches on tour.

The first tour by a British team took place in 1888. A British Isles team toured Australia and New Zealand, though no Test matches were played. Although they had representatives from all four home nations, the players were drawn mainly from England and the Scottish borders. The tour was not sanctioned by the Rugby Football Union as it was organised by entrepreneurs and thus contravened the union's strict regulations pertaining to professionalism.

In 1899 the first officially sanctioned British Isles team toured Australia. Four Tests were played between Australia and the British Isles (three in Sydney and one in Brisbane, Queensland). Although all called "Australia", the teams were a representative of the colony in which the match was played. Accordingly the team wore the blue of New South Wales when playing in Sydney, and the maroon of Queensland when playing in Brisbane. The tourists won all their games except the first, which was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground and won 13–3 by Australia.

Early 20th century

The first Test between Australia and New Zealand was played on 15 August 1903 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Despite Australia losing 22–3 this tour greatly increased the popularity of rugby and large crowds started attending grade matches in Sydney and Brisbane. New Zealand winger Billy Wallace scored 13 of their 22 points.

The squad that went on a tour in 1908.

In 1907 the New South Wales Rugby League was formed and star player Dally Messenger left the Rugby union for the rival code. The next year the first Australian team to tour the British Isles left Sydney under the name of 'Rabbits'. The players thought this name derogatory and replaced it with 'Wallabies'. The 1908 tour coincided with the London Olympic Games at which rugby union was contested. The Australian team won the gold medal by defeating Cornwall, the English county champions representing Great Britain. When the team returned home more than half of them joined professional rugby league clubs.

In 1909, when the new "Northern Union" code was still in its infancy in Australia, a match between the Kangaroos and the Wallabies was played before a crowd of around 20,000, with the Rugby League side winning 29–26.

Australia's last Test before World War I was against New Zealand in July 1914. The war had a very negative effect on rugby union in Australia. The sports authorities decided it was unpatriotic to play rugby while thousands of young Australian men were being sent overseas to fight. This resulted in competitions all but closed down in New South Wales and Queensland. In Queensland regular competitions did not commence again until 1928. As a result players switched to rugby league in large numbers.

During the 1920s the only representative team available for international opponents was the New South Wales Waratahs; all thirty-nine internationals played by them in that period have since been accorded Test status. In 1921 South Africa visited Australia and New Zealand for the first time – winning all three tests in Australia. The most famous Waratahs' team was the 1927/28 Waratahs who toured the United Kingdom, France and Canada. They introduced a style of open, running rugby rarely seen before. They won 24 and drew two of their 31 official matches.

War hero Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop also played for Australia before World War II. He played on the side that was the first to win the Bledisloe Cup.

The re-emergence of the Queensland Rugby Union in 1928/9 immediately made a forceful impact on the performances of the Australian team, which that year defeated New Zealand in all 3 Tests for the first time. In 1931, the then Governor General of New Zealand, Lord Bledisloe donated a rugby trophy to foster sporting ties between Australia and New Zealand. Bearing his name, the Bledisloe Cup was established. The inaugural competition was won by New Zealand two games to one.

Australia made their first tour to South Africa in 1933 for a four Test series, which was won by South Africa three games to one. Australia won the Bledisloe Cup for the first time in 1934. The tour of the 1939 Wallabies was cancelled as war was declared a day after the team arrived in England; two weeks later they returned home.

Post war

Wallaby captain Solomon chaired by the Springboks 1953

The first Test to following World War Two was played at Carisbrook, Dunedin between Australia and New Zealand in 1946, which New Zealand won 31–8. Australia did not win on the three match tour; beaten 20–0 by New Zealand Maori, and then losing 14–10 to the All Blacks the following week. Australia embarked on a tour of the home nations in 1947–48. In the four Tests against the Home Nations, the Australian try line was never crossed. The successful tour fell short of an undefeated run when the Australia lost to France in their last match, in Paris. Players on the rise included Trevor Allan, Cyril Burke and Nicholas Shehadie.

After returning from the successful European tour, Australia hosted the New Zealand Maori in a three match series in 1949; both sides winning once, with one draw. In September of that year, Australia played the All Blacks twice in New Zealand, winning both games and taking back the Bledisloe Cup for the first time on New Zealand soil. The 'Number 1' All Black side was touring South Africa at the time and the wins by Australia against the B-team have sometimes been downgraded. However, in deference to the apartheid system then in operation in South Africa, the NZRU did not select any Maori players for the tour. Many of those regular All Black Maoris played against Australia instead and it could be said that the New Zealand team that played Australia was at least as good as the one on tour in South Africa. The British Isles toured Australia in 1950, and won both of the Tests against Australia. The following year Australia fell to a three Test whitewash to the All Blacks. Australia won in July 1952, defeating Fiji at the Sydney Cricket Ground – they then lost the second Test to Fiji by two points. Australia managed to beat the All Blacks at Lancaster Park after the Fijian series; however they lost the second Test.

In 1953 Australia toured South Africa for the second time and although they lost the series they were given a standing ovation after defeating South Africa 18–14 in the second Test at Newlands. Wallaby Captain John Solomon was carried off the field by two South African players. This was the first Springbok defeat for 15 years. On this tour they also drew against Rhodesia in Kitwe 8–8. In 1957–58 they became the only one of the southern hemisphere sides to have lost to all four Home Nations in one tour. They also lost to France on the same tour.

1960s

The first match of the new decade was the win over Fiji at the SCG in the first match of a three Test series during 1961. This was followed by a second win, but Fiji grabbed a draw in the third Test. Australia then headed to South Africa, where they lost to the Springboks in Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg. After returning home, they faced France at the SCG, who beat them 15–8.

In 1962, Australia played the All Blacks five times and lost all but a 9-all draw at Athletic Park. After defeating England 18–9 in 1963 in Sydney, Australia beat the Springboks in consecutive Tests in South Africa; the first team to do so since the 1896 British team.

Fewer tests were played throughout the mid-1960s, with Australia only playing the a three Test series against All Blacks in 1964. They won the third Test after losing the first two. The following year Australia hosted the Springboks for two Tests, winning 18–11 and 12–8. This was their first ever series win over South Africa and first over a major nation since 1934.

The British Isles came the following year, defeating Australia 11–8 at the SCG, before hammering them 31–0 in Brisbane. Australia left for Europe in that December where a 14–11 victory over Wales was followed by a slim 11–5 defeat of Scotland. The tour continued into the following year where Australia defeated England 23–11 before losing to Ireland 15–8 and France 20–14. Australia then hosted Ireland, who beat them again in Sydney. This was followed by a 20-point loss to the All Blacks. The following year, Australia lost to the All Blacks by just one point, and defeated France by the same margin for their last win of the decade. After losing to Ireland and Scotland on tour, Australia hosted Wales who also defeated them.

1970s

Australia played Scotland in 1970 and won by 20 points. The 1971 South African tour of Australia took place the next season. Protests were held around Australia and in Queensland a state of emergency was issued in advance of one of the Tests. Australia toured France in November of that year; defeating France in Toulouse, but losing the second Test in Paris. France then visited Australia in June 1972 and played a two Test series where they won one and drew one. Australia then played three Test series against the All Blacks in New Zealand—losing all three. They then stopped over in Suva to play Fiji on their return, where they won their only Test of the year.

The following year, Australia hosted Tonga, and after winning the first Test, they lost 11–16 at Ballymore in their second. Australia also had a short tour of the United Kingdom in November 1973 where they lost 24–0 to Wales, and 20–3 to England. In 1974, Australia hosted the All Blacks for a three Test series—losing two, but drawing in Brisbane.

In 1975 Australia defeated England in a two Test series at home. Australia then played Japan for the first time; defeating them by 30 points in the first of two matches, and then winning 50 to 25 in the second. They then travelled to the Northern hemisphere for matches against Scotland and Wales where they were not able to score a try in either of their losses. The tour of Britain and Ireland continued into 1976, and Australia lost to England at Twickenham, but were able to defeat Ireland at Lansdowne Road. On their way home Australia played one more match—in Los Angeles against the United States. Australia won 24–12. In June of that year, Australia hosted Fiji for a three Test series and won all three. Australia finished the year with their tour of Europe where the team played two Tests against France in France, but lost both of them. There were no Wallaby tests played in 1977.

Wales toured Australia in 1978, and Australia defeated them 18–8 at Ballymore, and then again by two points at the SCG. This was followed by a three match series with the All Blacks. Although New Zealand won the first two, Australia defeated them in the last Test at Eden Park with Greg Cornelsen scoring four tries. The following year Ireland visited Australia and defeated Australia in two Tests. Following this Australia hosted the All Blacks for a single Test at the SCG which Australia won 12–6. Australia then left for Argentina for two Tests. After going down 24–13 in the first, Australia finished the decade by defeating Argentina 17–12 in Buenos Aires.

1980s

In 1980 Australia won the Bledisloe Cup for only the fourth time—defeating New Zealand 2–1 in a three match series in Australia. This was the start of a successful era for Australia. In 1984 Australia toured the Home nations with a young side and new coach Alan Jones. The 1984 Wallabies became the first team from Australia to achieve a Grand Slam by defeating all four Home Nations, England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland as well as defeating a strong Barbarians side. The tour signalled the emergence of Australia as a serious force on the world stage. Many records were established on the tour including; 100 points being scored in the four Tests—the most scored by a touring team to the United Kingdom and Ireland, the first ever push-over try conceded by Wales in Cardiff, Mark Ella scoring a try in each match – a feat never before achieved.

In 1986 Australia toured New Zealand in a three match series for the Bledisloe Cup. New Zealand rugby was in turmoil as an unofficial team named The Cavaliers that contained the bulk of the All Blacks players toured South Africa. On return those All Blacks who had toured with The Cavaliers were banned from selection for the first Bledisloe Test. Australia went on to win the first match by 13–12. The ban on players was lifted for the second Test which was played on 23 August 1986 at Carisbrook. New Zealand squared the series 1–1 by winning the match 13–12. The match included controversy when Welsh referee Derek Bevan disallowed a try by Australia number eight Steve Tuynman. The final match was played on 6 September 1986 at Eden Park. Australia beat a full strength New Zealand team 22–9 to secure their first series win on New Zealand soil.

Australia went into the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 confident. However, the semi-final against France at Sydney's Concord Oval, was lost 30–26. Australia then lost the third-fourth play-off match against Wales. While Australia's performances over the three years under coach Alan Jones were of a high standard, Jones had a polarising effect on the team with many players unhappy with his management style. Mark Ella, who retired after the 1984 season, stated that he might not have retired had Jones not been coach. Notably, there were deep ructions between coach Alan Jones and influential half-back Nick Farr-Jones. Before and during the 1987 World Cup Alan Jones increased his activities outside coaching Australia, including radio broadcasting. Following the World Cup Jones was removed as coach and Bob Dwyer—who had coached Australia in 1982 and 1983—returned to coach in 1988.

In 1989 the British and Irish Lions toured Australia for the first time since 1966. After winning the first Test, Australia lost the second and third matches to lose the series 1–2. Bob Dwyer identified a lack of forward dominance as a major factor contributing to the loss and entered the 1990s with an aim to improve this facet of the Wallaby game.

1990s

The team regrouped and then went into the 1991 World Cup with a renewed attitude. In the pool games they beat Argentina, cruised to a 38–3 win over Wales, and beat Samoa 9–3 in a rain soaked game. During the quarter-final match against Ireland, Australia were never able to pull away from them. With literally seconds remaining on the clock, Ireland were up 18–15 before Michael Lynagh scored in the corner to break the hearts of the Irish and qualify for the semi-final against New Zealand. In the first half they raced to a 13–3 lead and then showed they could defend as the All Blacks pounded their line. They faced England in the final at Twickenham. England changed their usually forward-dominated game plan and attempted to play more of a running game. It was unsuccessful and Australia battled out a 12–6 win. David Campese was named player of the tournament having scored six tries in a series of outstanding performances. Victory parades were held back in Australia for their national team.

The decade was one of the most important in the creation of the modern game. Australia's defence of the World Cup in South Africa in 1995 opened with defeat to the home side. Pool play was followed by an exit in the quarter-final against England courtesy of a long-range drop-goal from the boot of Rob Andrew. This was Australia's worst ever World Cup result, on a par with Australia's unexpected exit from the 2007 campaign at the quarter-final stage, also against England. The Tri-Nations and Super 12 tournaments were established that year, and started in 1996. This pushed the game into professionalism. In response to rugby's move to professionalism, the Rugby Union Players Association (RUPA) was established in October 1995 to safeguard the interests of Australia's professional rugby players.

Greg Smith was national coach in 1996 and 1997 when Australia only won two of their eight Tri-Nations Tests, both over South Africa in Australia, and suffered record-margin Test defeats to the All Blacks and Springboks. Rod Macqueen was appointed as Smith's successor and in 1998 Australia won both their Tests over the All Blacks to gain the Bledisloe Cup. They retained the Bledisloe in 1999 when they defeated the All Blacks by a record 28–7 in Sydney.

In the 1999 World Cup Australia won their pool and conceded only 31 points before facing Wales in their quarter final. They won 24–9 before winning the semi-final 27–21 against defending champions South Africa. The semi-final was won after a memorable drop goal in extra time by fly-half Stephen Larkham (his first drop goal attempt in a Test match). The final against France at Millennium Stadium was easily won by 35–12; with the majority of points courtesy of fullback and goal-kicker Matt Burke.

In 1999, five Australian players won their second Rugby World Cup: Phil Kearns, John Eales, Tim Horan, Jason Little and Dan Crowley.

2000s

A line-out during Ireland against Australia in 2006.

In 2000 Australia retained the Bledisloe Cup, and won the Tri Nations for the first time. They repeated this in 2001 and also achieved their first ever series win over the British and Irish Lions. MacQueen, and captain John Eales both retired soon after this. They were replaced by coach Eddie Jones and captain George Gregan. This period also saw big-money signings of top-level Rugby league players Mat Rogers, Wendell Sailor, and Lote Tuqiri—all of whom went on to represent Australia. This was a contrast to much of the previous century where many Rugby union players were lured to league with large salaries.

After not retaining the Tri-Nations in 2002, and losing the Bledisloe Cup in 2003 Australia made a strong start to their 2003 World Cup campaign with a 24–8 win over Argentina, and two large victories over Namibia and Romania. They then narrowly defeated Ireland 17–16 and defeated Scotland 33–16 in their quarter-final. They claimed one of their greatest victories over New Zealand when they upset them in the semi-final winning 22–10, prompting George Gregan to taunt the New Zealanders with the words "Four more years boys, four more years". They played England in a thrilling final and were finally defeated after England's Jonny Wilkinson kicked a drop goal in extra time.

In 2005 to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the professionalism of rugby union the Wallaby Team of the Decade was announced. John Eales being named captain by a selection panel of 30. Following the 2005 European tour, media outlets such as the Daily Telegraph called for the sacking of both Eddie Jones and George Gregan. Former coach Alan Jones also called for their sacking. The record of eight losses from their last nine Tests resulted in Jones being fired by the Australian Rugby Union.

John Connolly was named as the head-coach of Australia in early 2006. Australia won both of two Tests against England in 2006, as well as a subsequent win over Ireland. Australia lost by 20 points in their opening Tri-Nations fixture against the All Blacks. They then defeated South Africa in Brisbane by 49–0. They won one of their remaining four matches of the tournament. Following defeat to England in the Quarter-Finals of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Connolly announced he was resigning as head-coach.

Robbie Deans was appointed head coach in early 2008 as the Wallabies began their preparations for the 2008 Tri-Nations series. After the retirement of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Deans had the task of choosing a squad minus some of its most experienced players. The Wallabies had mixed results in the 2008 Tri Nations Series, defeating New Zealand in Sydney and defeating South Africa twice, in both Perth and Durban. However, the Wallabies suffered the worst defeat in their history, going down 53–8 to South Africa in Johannesburg.

2009 was not a good year for the Wallabies. It was a good start for them as they defeated the Barbarians 55 – 7 and then beat Italy in both tests and finishing off the Mid year test series with a 22 – 6 win over France. It went downhill from there as they finished 3rd in the Tri Nations with 3 losses to the All Blacks (22 – 16, 19 – 18 and 33 – 6) and 2 losses to the World Champion Springboks (29 – 17 and 32 – 25). Their only win in the Tri Nations was a 21 – 6 win over the Springboks. In the Autumn Internationals of 2009, they lost to All Blacks 32 – 19, they beat England 18 – 9 on Jonny Wilkinson's return in the English jersey. The Wallabies then drew with Ireland 20-all after Brian O'Driscoll's last minute try to give Ronan O'Gara a relatively easy conversion to draw level. They then lost to Scotland for the first time in 27 years. The final score was 9 – 8 despite the 3 – 3 score at half time. The Wallabies only won 7 out of their 14 games in 2009 but were still ranked 3rd in the world.

2010s

2010 saw improved results in the Tri-Nations series, with a very rare away win against South Africa awarding Australia the Mandela Plate and ensuring they retained second place both in the 2010 Tri-Nations competition as well as the IRB World Rankings. However, they suffered their tenth consecutive defeat at the hands the All Blacks, an all-time record. Later that year however, Australia finally defeated New Zealand in a thrilling game that was played in Hong Kong; their first win against the All Blacks in close to three years. However they suffered losses against England and Munster on the their end of year European tour.

Australia would win the Tri-Nations series in 2011, which they had not achieved in ten years since the 2001, however failed the following season in their attempt the win the expanded version of the competition in 2012 called The Rugby Championship.

Australia also won their first match against Italy in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but lost their second 2011 World Cup match, 6–15 against Ireland. Injuries to crucial players Digby Ioane and Stephen Moore influenced the results, alongside poor line-out throwing. In their third Pool C match, against the United States, the Wallabies eventually won 67–5, with Rob Horne, Rocky Elsom, Kurtley Beale, Drew Mitchell, Pat McCabe and Radike Samo all scoring a try, while Anthony Fainga'a scored 2 and Adam Ashley-Cooper scored three. The Wallabies won their last pool match against Russia, 68–22. The Wallabies beat the Springboks 11–9 to progress into the semi-finals. However a week later the Wallabies were knocked out of the 2011 World Cup after being defeated 6–20 to the All Blacks in the second Semi Final match.

Strip

An old Australian nation rugby union team strip used in the 2000s.

The Wallabies play in Australia's traditional sporting colours of green and gold. Before there was a national jersey in place, the Wallabies would play in the jersey of the state the game was being held. The Australian Coat of Arms would often replace the state logo on the jersey, a variety of these colours were used in a number of matches in the early 1900s.

In 1928 governing bodies agreed that "the Australian amateur representative colours of green and gold, should be adopted". The following year the All Blacks came to Australia, and the jersey worn was emerald green with the Australian Coat of Arms; with green socks with bars on the top. The jersey remained the same, with a few variations, mainly throughout the 1930s. In 1961 a gold jersey was used for a South African tour (to prevent a clash with the South African colours), and the gold has remained ever since.

Canterbury's design for Australia's 2007 World cup jersey is more controversial, and features a curved tan-coloured panel across the chest resembling the shape of a bra. This led the Sydney Morning Herald's chief rugby correspondent to publish a satire in his column comparing it to Kramer and Frank Costanza's infamous man bra from Seinfeld.

The 2010 jersey is produced by KooGa, apparel sponsor for the season.

Nickname

Wallabies in the wild

The nickname "Wallabies" is in reference to the wallaby—a marsupial that is widely distributed throughout Australia. The name has its origins during first United Kingdom and North America tour by the Australian team in 1908. New Zealand had just completed a tour, and the English media dubbed their team the "All Blacks" in reference to their black attire. It was suggested by the media that Australia should too have a nickname. Rabbits was apparently one of the names suggested, though this was turned down as they did not want the national team to represent an imported pest. They opted for the native Wallaby instead. At first it was only touring parties that were nicknamed the Wallabies; when Australia played domestically, they were referred to as internationals.

Record

Tri Nations and The Rugby Championship

The Wallabies playing against the All Blacks.

Australia's only annual tournament was the Tri Nations (now The Rugby Championship played against Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa contested since 1996. They have won the Tri Nations competition three times in 16 years; in 2000, 2001 and 2011. Australia considers the All Blacks (New Zealand) to be their greatest rivals, with whom they have contested the Bledisloe Cup since 1932 and the Wallabies have won less than 30 per cent of their encounters against their trans-Tasman opponents.{{}} The Bledisloe Cup is now contested during the Tri Nations. The longest period that Australia held the Bledisloe is five years, between 1998 and 2002. The Mandela Challenge Plate is also contested between South Africa and Australia during the Tri Nations.

Tri Nations (1996–2011; 2020)

Nation	Matches				Points			Bonus points	Table points	Titles won
	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD
New Zealand	76	52	0	24	2,054	1,449	+605	35	243	11
Australia	76	30	3	43	1,591	1,817	−226	34	160	3
South Africa	72	28	1	43	1,480	1,831	−351	24	138	3
Argentina	4	1	2	1	56	84	–28	0	8	0

Source:  lassen.co.nz – Tri-Nations, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

Bonus points given by T – 4W − 2D, for T table points, W games won and D games drawn.

Rugby Championship (since 2012)

Nation	Matches				Points			Bonus points	Table points	Titles won
	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD
New Zealand	63	51	2	10	2,154	1,197	+957	40	249	9
South Africa	63	33	4	26	1,637	1,383	+254	30	166	2
Australia	63	26	3	34	1,411	1,735	−324	14	131	1
Argentina	63	12	1	50	1,196	2,063	−867	14	60	0

Updated: 28 September 2024
Source:  lassen.co.nz – TRC, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa
Bonus points given by T – 4W − 2D, for T table points, W games won and D games drawn.

All-time Tri Nations and Rugby Championship Table (since 1996)

Nation	Matches				Points			Bonus points	Table points	Titles won
	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD
New Zealand	139	103	2	34	4,208	2,646	+1,562	75	492	20
South Africa	135	61	5	69	3,117	3,214	–97	55	308	5
Australia	139	56	6	77	3,002	3,583	–581	48	291	4
Argentina	67	12	3	52	1,262	2,147	–885	14	68	0

Updated: 28 September 2024
Bonus points given by T – 4W − 2D, for T table points, W games won and D games drawn.

World Cup

Webb Ellis Cup

Main article: Australia at the Rugby World Cup

Australia has appeared at every Rugby World Cup since the first tournament in 1987. Australia is the first nation to win two World Cups in 1991 and 1999. New Zealand (1987 and 2011) and South Africa (1995 and 2007) have joined them. They progressed to three Rugby Union World Cup finals, a record jointly held with New Zealand, England and France. Australia co-hosted the 1987 event with New Zealand. They were grouped with England, the United States and Japan in Pool A. In their first ever World Cup match, Australia defeated England 19–6 at Concord Oval in Sydney. Australia defeated their other pool opponents to finish the top of their group and advance to the quarter finals where they defeated Ireland 33–15. They were knocked out by France in the semi-finals, and then lost the third place match against Wales.

Australia automatically qualified for the 1991 World Cup in Europe. Australia again finished at the top of their pool, defeating Western Samoa, Wales and Argentina during the group stages. They met Ireland yet again in the quarter finals, defeating them by one point to go through to the semi-finals, where they defeated the All Blacks 16–6 to qualify for their first World Cup final. Australia defeated England 12–6 at Twickenham in the 1991 Rugby World Cup Final to become world champions. Australia were again automatically qualified for the 1995 World Cup in South Africa. Australia finished second in their pool, losing one game to hosts South Africa. They were then knocked out in the quarter finals by England.

Australia finished at the top of their group at the 1999 World Cup in Wales, defeating Ireland, Romania and the United States during the group stages. After defeating hosts Wales in the quarter-finals, they defeated defending champions South Africa 27–21 to make it to the final. There they defeated France 35 to 12, in the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final and becoming the first nation to win the World Cup more than once. Australia solely hosted the tournament in 2003, and went undefeated in Pool A, defeating Ireland, Argentina, Romania and Namibia. Australia defeated Scotland in the quarter finals, and then the All Blacks in what was regarded as an upset in the semi-finals, to go to the final. England won the final in extra time with a Jonny Wilkinson drop goal.

Australia again finished first in their group at the 2007 World Cup in France, after recording wins over Japan, Wales, Fiji and Canada. They were at the time the 2nd ranked team in the World, and the only team to have beaten the favourites New Zealand that year. However, they only progressed to the quarter finals, thus equalling their worst finish at the World Cup finals. They were eliminated once again by England 12–10, largely thanks again to Jonny Wilkinson's successful attempts at penalties. The loss was widely regarded as an upset, especially as England had only finished 2nd in their pool and were ranked 7th. Nevertheless, England went on to beat another favourite, France, and advanced to the final where they were defeated by South Africa.

In one of the scenes of the feature film, Invictus, Australia can be seen playing South Africa in the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Overall

Men's World Rugby Rankings

Top 30 as of 11 November 2024

Rank	Change	Team	Points
1	1	South Africa	092.46
2	1	New Zealand	091.21
3	2	Ireland	090.58
4		France	086.96
5	1	Argentina	085.60
6	1	Scotland	082.70
7	2	England	082.62
8	1	Australia	081.14
9	1	Fiji	080.07
10	2	Italy	078.67
11		Wales	075.04
12		Georgia	074.10
13		Samoa	072.68
14		Japan	072.31
15		Portugal	068.82
16	3	United States	067.49
17	1	Spain	067.10
18	2	Tonga	066.87
19	2	Uruguay	066.58
20		Romania	062.62
21		Chile	061.60
22		Canada	060.81
23		Hong Kong	060.40
24		Russia	058.06
25		Namibia	057.87
26	4	Brazil	057.40
27	1	Netherlands	057.28
28	1	Belgium	056.51
29		Zimbabwe	056.33
30	2	Switzerland	056.04

{{{2}}}'s historical rankings

See or edit source data.

Source: World Rugby
Graph updated to 11 November 2024

Australia have won 265 of 506 matches played, a win record of approximately 52%. When the World Rankings were introduced by the IRB in 2003 Australia were ranked fourth. Since then, the highest ranking Australia has achieved is second, and the lowest is fifth.

Australia contests a number of other trophies outside The Rugby Championship, Bledisloe Cup and World Cup. Since 1997 the winner of England-Australia encounters have been awarded the Cook Cup, and since 1999 the winner of Ireland-Australia Tests have won the Lansdowne Cup, with France since 1989, the Trophée des Bicentenaires is contested, and against Wales since 2007, the James Bevan Trophy is contested, and with Scotland since 1998, the Hopetoun Cup is awarded.

Their Test match record against all nations, updated to 29 December 2012, is as follows:

Nation	Games	Won	Lost	Drawn	Percentage of wins
Argentina	20	15	4	1	75.00%
British and Irish Lions	22	6	16	0	27.27%
Barbarians	12	9	3	0	75.00%
Canada	6	6	0	0	100.00%
England	41	24	16	1	58.53%
Fiji	19	16	2	1	84.21%
France	42	23	17	2	54.76%
Ireland	30	20	9	1	66.67%
Italy	15	15	0	0	100.00%
Japan	4	4	0	0	100.00%
South Korea	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Namibia	1	1	0	0	100.00%
New Zealand	148	41	101	6	27.70%
Māori	16	8	6	2	50.00%
Pacific Islanders	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Romania	3	3	0	0	100.00%
Russia	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Samoa	5	4	1	0	80.00%
Scotland	27	18	9	0	66.67%
South Africa	77	33	43	1	42.85%
Spain	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Tonga	4	3	1	0	75.00%
United States	7	7	0	0	100.00%
Wales	36	25	10	1	69.44%
Total	536	284	236	16	52.99%

Players & coaching staff

Current squad

A 30-man squad for the 2013 Rugby Championship was announced on 9 August 2013, and included eight uncapped players. All players play for Australian Super Rugby sides, and their positions listed below are those given in the official announcement.

With captain James Horwill ruled out of round's 3 and 4 and with Hugh McMeniman also out injured, Sitaleki Timani was brought into the squad as cover for the second row, but kept his place in he squad for the final two rounds. Dave Dennis was added to the squad to replace Jake Schatz who was ruled out of the championship after picking up an injury in training ahead of round 3.

Benn Robinson and Chris Feauai-Sautia were added to the squad for the away fixtures against South Africa and Argentina, with Nick Cummins and [[Jesse Mogg] withdrawn from the squad due to injury.

Head Coach: Ewen McKenzie

• Caps Updated: 14 September 2013

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Albert Anae	Hooker	(1989-06-21) 21 June 1989	0	Reds
Saia Fainga'a	Hooker	(1987-02-02) 2 February 1987	23	Reds
Stephen Moore	Hooker	(1983-01-20) 20 January 1983	83	Brumbies
Ben Alexander	Prop	(1984-11-13) 13 November 1984	55	Brumbies
Sekope Kepu	Prop	(1986-02-05) 5 February 1986	30	Waratahs
Benn Robinson	Prop	(1984-07-19) 19 July 1984	59	Waratahs
Scott Sio	Prop	(1991-10-16) 16 October 1991	4	Brumbies
James Slipper	Prop	(1989-06-06) 6 June 1989	41	Reds
Kane Douglas	Lock	(1989-06-01) 1 June 1989	12	Waratahs
Scott Fardy	Lock	(1984-07-05) 5 July 1984	4	Brumbies
James Horwill (c)	Lock	(1985-05-29) 29 May 1985	40	Reds
Hugh McMeniman	Lock	(1983-11-01) 1 November 1983	22	Force
Rob Simmons	Lock	(1989-04-19) 19 April 1989	30	Reds
Sitaleki Timani	Lock	(1986-09-19) 19 September 1986	11	Waratahs
Dave Dennis	Flanker	(1986-01-10) 10 January 1986	15	Waratahs
Liam Gill	Flanker	(1992-06-08) 8 June 1992	13	Reds
Michael Hooper	Flanker	(1991-10-29) 29 October 1991	20	Waratahs
Ben McCalman	Flanker	(1988-03-18) 18 March 1988	24	Force
Ben Mowen	Number 8	(1984-12-01) 1 December 1984	7	Brumbies
Jake Schatz	Number 8	(1990-07-25) 25 July 1990	0	Reds
Will Genia	Scrum-half	(1988-01-17) 17 January 1988	47	Reds
Nic White	Scrum-half	(1990-06-13) 13 June 1990	4	Brumbies
Quade Cooper	Fly-half	(1988-04-05) 5 April 1988	42	Reds
Bernard Foley	Fly-half	(1989-09-08) 8 September 1989	0	Waratahs
Matt Toomua	Fly-half	(1990-02-01) 1 February 1990	4	Brumbies
Adam Ashley-Cooper	Centre	(1984-03-27) 27 March 1984	84	Waratahs
Ben Tapuai	Centre	(1989-01-19) 19 January 1989	7	Reds
Tevita Kuridrani	Centre	(1991-03-31) 31 March 1991	2	Brumbies
Christian Lealiifano	Centre	(1987-09-24) 24 September 1987	7	Brumbies
Nick Cummins	Wing	(1987-10-05) 5 October 1987	8	Force
Chris Feauai-Sautia	Wing	(1993-11-17) 17 November 1993	0	Reds
James O'Connor‡	Wing	(1990-07-05) 5 July 1990	44	Rebels
Joe Tomane	Wing	(1990-02-02) 2 February 1990	3	Brumbies
Israel Folau‡	Fullback	(1989-04-03) 3 April 1989	7	Waratahs
Jesse Mogg	Fullback	(1989-06-08) 8 June 1989	3	Brumbies

‡ – Listed as both a wing and fullback.

Current coaching staff

Head coach – Ewen McKenzie
Attack coach - Jim McKay
Defense coach - Nick Scrivener
Set-piece coach - Andrew Blades

Coaches

Name	Nationality	Tenure	Tests	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win Rate %
Bob Dwyer		1982–1983	16	7	1	8	43.75%	63.89%
		1988–1995	56	39	0	17	69.64%
Alan Jones		1984–1988	31	21	2	8	67.74%
Greg Smith		1996–1997	19	12	0	7	63.16%
Rod Macqueen		1997–2001	43	34	1	8	79.07%
Eddie Jones		2001–2005	57	33	1	23	57.89%
John Connolly		2006–2007	22	13	1	8	59.09%
Robbie Deans		2008 – 2013	75	44	2	29	58.67%
Ewen McKenzie		2013 – Present	4	1	0	3	25.00%

Notable players

Seven former Australian players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame; David Campese, John Hipwell, Ken Catchpole, John Eales, Mark Ella, Nick Farr-Jones, Tim Horan and Michael Lynagh. John Eales has also been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame, having received this honour in 2007.

One former Australia player is a member of the IRB Hall but not the International Hall. Nicholas Shehadie, who won 30 caps for the Wallabies, was inducted into the IRB Hall in 2011, but not as a player. He was recognised as one of four key figures in the creation of the Rugby World Cup.

Individual records

Former captain George Gregan is Australia's, as well as the world's most capped player in the history of rugby with 139 Test caps, and also recently equalled the record for the most caps as captain with Will Carling, 59 caps (a record later to be broken by John Smit of South Africa). David Campese scored 64 Test tries in his career, which was a world record until Daisuke Ohata of Japan overtook him with 69 tries, and Michael Lynagh was the highest Test points scorer in world rugby with 911 until Neil Jenkins of Wales overtook him with 1037 points. Rocky Elsom scored the fastest forward hat-trick in World Cup history. Australia's most-capped forward is lock Nathan Sharpe, who retired from international rugby after the 2012 end-of-year Tests with 116 caps.

The longest winning streak by Australia was produced in the early 1990s, and started at the 1991 World Cup in England, with three pool wins, and subsequent quarter-final and semi-final victories over Ireland and the All Blacks respectively. This was followed by the win over England in the final. The streak continued into the following year, for two matches against Scotland and the All Blacks, lasting in total, 10 games. Similarly, the Australian record for losses in a row is also 10 games, which was sustained from a period from 1899 to 1907, including two British Isles tours, and losses to the All Blacks.

The largest winning margin for Australia was produced at the 2003 World Cup, in which they defeated Namibia 142 points to nil during the pool stages, the match is also the largest number of points scored by Australia. The largest loss was against South Africa, who defeated Australia 53 points to 8 in 2008.

Test match captains

• Frank Row
• Bob McCowan
• Stan Wickham
• Frank Nicholson
• Peter Burge
• Allen Oxlade
• Herbert Moran
• Chris McKivat
• Sydney Middleton
• Ward Prentice
• Ted Fahey
• Larry Dwyer
• Fred Wood
• Jimmy Flynn
• Willie Watson
• Wakka Walker
• Darby Loudon
• Walter Friend
• Billy Sheehan
• Ted Thorn
• Charlie Fox
• Tom Lawton, Snr
• Johnnie Wallace
• Syd Malcolm
• Bob Loudon
• Jimmy Clark
• Dave Cowper

• Alex Ross
• Ron Walden
• Cyril Towers
• Vay Wilson
• Bill McLean
• Phil Hardcastle
• Trevor Allan
• Nev Cottrell
• Keith Winning
• Colin Windon
• John Solomon
• Nicholas Shehadie
• Alan Cameron
• Dick Tooth
• Bob Davidson
• Des Connor
• Charles Wilson
• Peter Fenwicke
• Ken Catchpole
• Peter Johnson
• Jim Lenehan
• John Thornett
• Greg Davis
• Peter Sullivan
• John Hipwell
• Geoff Shaw
• Tony Shaw

• Mark Loane
• Paul McLean
• Mark Ella
• Andrew Slack
• Steve Williams
• Simon Poidevin
• David Codey
• Michael Lynagh
• Nick Farr-Jones
• Phil Kearns
• Rod McCall
• John Eales
• Tim Horan
• David Wilson
• Jason Little
• George Gregan
• Chris Whitaker
• Nathan Sharpe
• Phil Waugh
• Stirling Mortlock
• George Smith
• Rocky Elsom
• James Horwill
• Will Genia
• David Pocock
• Ben Mowen

Player List

List of Australia national rugby union players

Home grounds

The opening match of the 2003 World Cup at Telstra Stadium.

The Wallabies play at a variety of stadiums around Australia. Some of these include Subiaco Oval in Perth, Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, ANZ Stadium in Sydney, and the MCG and Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.

A variety of venues were used around Australia for the 2003 Rugby World Cup matches.

Some of the earlier stadiums that were traditionally used for Wallabies matches, included Sydney's Concord Oval and the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and Sports Ground, as well as Ballymore and the Exhibition Ground in Brisbane. It was the SCG that hosted the first ever Australian international, against Great Britain, in 1899.

See also

• Australia A national rugby union team
• Australia national rugby league team
• Australia national rugby union team (sevens)
• History of rugby union matches between Australia and England
• Rugby Union Players Association
• List of Australia national rugby union team records
• List of Australia national rugby union team test match results
• Wallaby Team of the Decade
• 2006 Wallabies Spring Tour to Europe

Notes

Bibliography

• Fagan, Sean (2005). The Rugby Rebellion – The Divide of League and Union in Australasia. RL1908. ISBN 1-903659-25-6.
• Hickie, Thomas (1993). They Ran With the Ball – How Rugby Football Began in Australia. Longman Cheshire. ISBN 0-582-91062-5.
• Howitt, Bob (2005). SANZAR Saga – Ten Years of Super 12 and Tri-Nations Rugby. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 1-86950-566-2.
• Reason, John (1979). The World of Rugby – A History of Rugby Union Football. British Broadcasting Corporation. ISBN 0-563-16280-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

• Australian rugby union home page
• Australian rugby union Wallaby Hall of Fame
• Australian rugby union news from Planet Rugby
• Rugby in the Olympics