Australian National Rugby Union Team

Australia

Nickname (s)	Wallabies
Association	Rugby Australia
Trainer	Dave Rennie
captain	Michael Hooper
WR abbreviation	OUT
WR rank	7. (81.90 points) (as of February 4, 2020)
home Away
Most international matches George Gregan (139)
Most Points Scored Michael Lynagh (911)
Most attempts scored David Campese (64)
British Lions first international 3:13 Australia (June 24, 1899)
Biggest win Namibia 0: 142 Australia (October 25, 2003)
Biggest defeat South Africa 53: 8 Australia (August 30, 2008)
World Championship participations: 9/9 Best result: World Champion 1991, 1999

The Australian National Rugby Union Team is the official Australian national team in rugby union and represents the country in all international matches (" test matches ") of the men. They are usually referred to as wallabies (German: wallabies ). The term "wallabies" refers to several species in the kangaroo family , which in turn are the country's national animals. For marketing reasons, the national team is officially referred to as the Qantas Wallabies .

The team has its most important international appearances at the world championships that take place every four years . The Wallabies have always competed since the introduction of the World Championships in 1987 and are - after New Zealand and South Africa with three titles each - the third most successful team in this tournament with two titles. The Wallabies managed to win the final of the Rugby Union World Cup in 1991 against England and in the final of the Rugby Union World Cup in 1999 against France . In addition, Australia was in the final of the Rugby Union World Cup 2003 and the Rugby Union World Cup 2015 , but lost in extra time against England and New Zealand.

Since 1996 they have participated in the annual Rugby Championship tournament ( known as Tri Nations until 2011 ). Participants are the four best national teams of the southern hemisphere : the " Pumas " from Argentina , the " All Blacks " from New Zealand , the " Springboks " from South Africa and the "Wallabies". As part of the Rugby Championship, the Wallabies Argentina play for the Puma Trophy , against New Zealand for the Bledisloe Cup and against South Africa for the Mandela Challenge Plate . The Wallabies have won the Tri Nations three times (2000, 2001 and 2011), including the Rugby Championship for the first time in 2015.

The Wallabies played their first international match in 1899 when Australia faced the British Isles . The central association under which the Wallabies are also grouped is Rugby Australia , which, along with nine others, belongs to the first tier of the World Rugby Association . The national team wears the traditional sports colors of the country, green and gold, for their home and away games. The national team is currently (June 2020) in seventh place in the world rugby rankings . In 2001 she was named “Team of the Year” by World Rugby. 14 former players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame .

organization

→ Main article : Rugby Union in Australia

Rugby field at the University of the Sunshine Coast , Australia

Rugby Australia , known as the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) until 2017, is responsible for the organization of rugby union in Australia . The ARU was founded in 1945 and joined the International Rugby Board (IRB), now World Rugby, in 1949. Rugby Australia consists of eight regional associations, each representing a state or territory . The top rugby union league in Australia is the National Rugby Championship , in which seven Australian teams and one from Fiji participate.

In addition to the actual national team, Rugby Australia brings together other national teams. The junior wallabies form the U-20 national team and take part in the relevant world championships. Children and young people are introduced to the sport of rugby at school and, depending on their interests and talent, the training then begins. For schoolchildren there is the national team of the Australian Schoolboys , which developed as a preliminary stage to the Wallabies.

Overriding the national championship is the international Super Rugby championship, which is held together with teams from Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa and in which a Japanese team also took part until 2020. Since the seasons overlap only a little, numerous players are used in both leagues.

history

The beginnings

The Australian team, 1899

The Australian team, 1905

The Australian team of the 1908/09 Tour

After William Webb Ellis allegedly invented the original rugby in England in 1823 , it wasn't long before the novel sport reached the colonies of the United Kingdom . The first games in Barrack Square in Sydney are said to have been played as early as the late 1820s. The soldiers of the British Army and the crews of the anchored ships faced each other. The first officially recorded rugby game in Australia took place between British soldiers on July 25, 1839. A short time later the game spread to all the new colonies on the Australian continent and the sport of rugby became even more popular in Australia than in motherland Great Britain itself.

Even so, Sydney remained the center of Australian rugby. The first registered club, Sydney University Football Club , was founded in 1864 and just ten years later there were enough teams to hold championships in the country's largest metropolitan area. At that time the term "football" was used in Australia for football as well as rugby and Australian rules . The newly formed rugby league in New South Wales around the city of Sydney suffered a severe blow when over 100 rugby players formed the New South Wales Football Association (NSWFA) in 1877 to play Australian Rules Football in the future. But since rugby was an invention of the "motherland", the drift to the Australian rules was seen as a refusal of recognition by Great Britain. Rugby supporters in Australia used their political contacts in the following years to keep Australian Rules out of the playgrounds, which eventually led to the collapse of the NSWFA in 1893.

In 1882 the first intercolonial games between clubs from Queensland and New South Wales took place and a year later the Southern Rugby Union from NSW became the first rugby team in the world to play games overseas. The following year the return visit took place and the New Zealand All Blacks defeated the home team in all nine games. The first official clash between the Australian rugby team and another national team took place in 1899, when the British and Irish Lions of the British Isles won all but the opening game, which ended 13-3 for Australia. The Australian team consisted of seven players from Queensland and nine from New South Wales . This team played during the test match in Sydney in the blue jersey of New South Wales and in the test match in Brisbane in the maroon jersey of Queensland, but each with the Australian coat of arms instead of the logos of the two provinces.

Early 20th century

The first official meeting between Australia and New Zealand was on August 15, 1903 in Sydney. Although Australia lost (3:22), rugby grew in popularity in Australia and more and more people attended the games in Sydney and Brisbane . In the same year, the first "Wallabies" team embarked on a long journey to the United Kingdom and North America and successfully returned home with 32 wins from 38 games. The founding of the New South Wales Football League (NSWFL) in 1903 had a temporary weakening of rugby in its stronghold of New South Wales, as in the following years many public schools only played Australian Rules Football instead of the previously cultivated rugby Union Sports held.

Rugby Union in Australia was hit harder by two events. On the one hand, following the Northern English model, in 1905/7 numerous rugby union clubs from the Sydney area defected to the rugby league code allowing profitability and founded the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL). The NSWRFL was also able to convince the Catholic schools in the greater Sydney area to switch to the League Code; these schools are still considered to be the pillars of the dominance of the League code in the greater Sydney area. Players like Dally Messenger also left rugby union in favor of rugby league. In 1908 the Australians left Sydney on their first tour of the British Isles. British newspapers initially named the team rabbits ("hares"). Australian rugby players dismissed the nickname as degrading and replaced it with wallabies . At the Summer Olympics in London in 1908 , which took place during the Australian tour, the Union team won the gold medal with a win in the only game against the county selection from Cornwall ; after the games, however, most of the players switched to the League code. During the tour Australia played for the first time against Wales at Cardiff Arms Park , but lost 6-9. After the turn of the year, the Wallabies met England for the first time and won 9-3 in London's Rectory Field, which was also the Wallabies' first away win.

In 1909, when the code of the “Northern Union” was still in its “infancy” in Australia, the “Kangaroos” (the Australian national rugby league team ) played against the Wallabies in front of around 20,000 spectators, and the “Kangaroos” won the game with 29:26.

Rugby Union was hit even harder by World War I , when adult rugby games were outlawed by the authorities as unpatriotic and around 90% of players went to war. It was considered inappropriate to play football at home (which at the time involved rugby union) while Australian soldiers fought overseas. Rugby League was not affected by the measures, whereupon many players switched the sport. In New South Wales and Queensland all games were canceled; the Queensland Association even disbanded. By the time it was re-founded in 1928, most of the players had already defected to the League code. Throughout the 1920s, the Wallabies were de facto just a selection from New South Wales , as most of the national players came from the NSW Waratahs . The resurrection of rugby union in Queensland led to an unexpected success for the Australian team, who, since 1929, have defeated New Zealand in three international matches in their green and gold team colors.

Throughout the 20th century, Australia was one of the best national teams in the world, but against stronger teams like the All Blacks from New Zealand or the Springboks from South Africa they were mostly inferior. This was mainly due to the fact that for a long time only amateurs were allowed in rugby union, in contrast to the rugby league , which gained more and more supporters in the working class and attracted good union players.

In 1931, the then Governor General of New Zealand , Lord Bledisloe, donated a rugby trophy for which the teams from New Zealand and Australia should play every year; this should strengthen the sporting relations between the two countries. In 1934 Australia was successful for the first time in the Bledisloe Cup. The competition known as the Bledisloe Cup , in which the Wallabies have already emerged as winners 30 times, still exists today .

The Wallabies first visited South Africa in 1933, losing three games against the Springboks and winning one. After their successful tour in New Zealand, the Springboks visited Australia in 1937 and won two test matches there. The Wallabies tour planned for 1939 had to be canceled one day after their arrival in England because of the declaration of war. After spending two weeks in England, the Australians returned home without having played a game.

Edward "Weary" Dunlop , a military surgeon who was captured during the Second World War and a Japanese prisoner of war, played for the Australian national team before the outbreak of war. He was part of the team that won the Bledisloe Cup for the first time.

Post-war years: 1946–1959

Wallabies Captain John Solomon is worn by the Springboks (1953)

The first Test Match after World War II was played in Carisbrook , Dunedin , between Australia and New Zealand in 1946 ; the All Blacks won the game 31-8. Australia failed to win any of the three games on the tour; the Wallabies were defeated by the All Blacks Maori 20-0 and the following week 14:10 by the All Blacks. Australia went on a tour in 1947/48, visiting the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and North America. During this successful tour, the Wallabies remained undefeated until the last game against France, but were defeated in Paris. Up and coming players have included Trevor Allan, Cyril Burke and Nicholas Shehadie.

Upon their return from this successful tour, the Wallabies received the All Blacks Maori in 1949 for a series of three test matches; both teams won a game each and drew once. In September of the same year, Australia played twice against the All Blacks in New Zealand, won both games and thus for the first time the Bledisloe Cup on New Zealand soil. The first team was visiting South Africa at the time, which means that the Australian victories are considered less important. Because of the apartheid system in South Africa at the time, the New Zealand Rugby Union did not appoint Maori for the tour to South Africa. As a result, the Maori players played in the games against Australia, whereby the New Zealand team that played against the Wallabies can be regarded as equal to the team playing in South Africa. The British and Irish Lions visited Australia in 1950 and won both Test matches. The following year the All Blacks toured Australia and won all three test matches against the Wallabies. Australia defeated Fiji at the Sydney Cricket Ground in July 1952 , but lost in the second Test by two points. Then the Wallabies were able to defeat New Zealand in the test in Lancaster Park , but lost in the second test match. During that tour, Australia drew 8-8 against Zimbabwe in Kitwe .

In 1953 the Australians toured South Africa again. In the second test match, the Wallabies inflicted their first defeat on the Springboks in 15 years. They were so impressed by the performance shown that two players carried the Australian captain John Solomon on their shoulders from the field.

When the team faced the four Home Nations in 1957/58 , you could not get a victory. To date (2020), no rugby team in the southern hemisphere has repeated this negative record.

1960s

In the first Test of the new decade, Australia defeated Fiji at the Sydney Cricket Ground in a test series of three games in 1961. The Wallabies were also successful in the second Test, but in the third game Fiji was able to wrest the Wallabies a draw. Australia then toured to South Africa, where they lost to the Springboks in Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg . The wallabies' jerseys were given a larger area in golden color to avoid confusion with the jerseys of the Springboks. Upon their return, the Wallabies were defeated 15-8 by France at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

In 1962, Australia played five times against the All Blacks; except for a 9: 9 tie in Athletic Park, all the other games were lost. After defeating England 18: 9 in Sydney in 1963, the Wallabies won successive games against the Springboks in South Africa; this was the first success of a team during a test series in South Africa since the British Lions winning streak in 1896.

Few test matches were played in the mid-1960s and Australia only played a series of three test matches against the All Blacks in 1964. The Wallabies won their third game in the series after losing New Zealand in the first two. The following year the Springboks visited Australia for two test matches and were defeated by the Wallabies with 18:11 and 12: 8 respectively. This was Australia's first victory over South Africa in a test series and also the first against another rugby nation since 1934.

The following year the British and Irish Lions visited Australia and beat the Wallabies 11-8 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, after which they beat the hosts 31-0 in Brisbane. In December Australia toured Europe, where they lost Wales 14:11 and against Scotland 5:11. The tour continued after the turn of the year and the Wallabies defeated England 23:11, but were defeated by Ireland at 15: 8 and France at 20:14. After the tour, Australia received Ireland in Sydney, and lost again. This made Ireland the first of the “Home Nations” to win an away win in the southern hemisphere. This was followed by a loss to the All Blacks with 20 points. The following year, the Wallabies lost by one point to the All Blacks and they beat France by the same difference in their last test match of the decade. After the Wallabies were defeated by Ireland and Scotland during their tour, they were also defeated by Wales at home. Against Ireland it was the fourth loss in a row.

1970s

Alley in the second Test match between Ireland and Australia in Sydney in 1979

In 1970 Australia played against Scotland and won by 20 points. The Wallabies' activities in 1971 were to become the most controversial in the history of Australian rugby. The Springboks from South Africa, now ruled by the apartheid regime, wanted to pay a six-week visit to Australia after the Wallabies had been guests two years earlier. While the government supported the visit from South Africa, there was sometimes massive resistance from the population. The negative climax was the declaration of a state of emergency before the game in Brisbane. About 700 demonstrators were arrested during the Springbok tour. In November of the same year the Wallabies went on a tour to France; In the first test match in Toulouse , the Wallabies were able to defeat the hosts, but lost in the second test in Paris. France then visited Australia in June 1972 for two test matches, of which they won one and drew in the second. After that, Australia played three test matches against the All Blacks in New Zealand, but lost all three. On the way back, the Wallabies made a stopover in Suva to play against Fiji , where they won their only win of the year.

The following year Tonga visited Australia; In the first test match the Australians still managed to win, but they were defeated in the second game in Ballymore with 11:16. In November 1973 Australia also undertook a tour to the United Kingdom, where they lost to Wales 0:24 and England 3:20. In 1974, the Wallabies received the All Blacks for three test matches, but lost two of them and drew in Brisbane.

In 1975, Australia beat England in a testing streak of two games at home. Australia then played against Japan for the first time ; the Wallabies defeated Japan in the first test match with 30 points difference and in the second with 50:25. The Wallabies then toured to Scotland and Wales, where you could not put a try in both test matches. The UK and Ireland tour continued in 1976, but the Wallabies lost to England at Twickenham Stadium , but could defeat Ireland in Lansdowne. On the way home, the Wallabies made a stop in Los Angeles and beat the United States by 24:12. In June of that year, Australia received Fiji for three test matches and won all three. Australia ended the year with a tour to Europe, where they played two test matches against France, but lost both. In 1977 the Wallabies did not play a test.

Wales visited Australia in 1978 but were defeated 18-8 at Ballymore and then at the Sydney Cricket Ground by two points. The Wallabies then played three test matches against the All Blacks. New Zealand defeated Australia in the first two Test matches but was defeated in the third game at Eden Park after Greg Cornelsen made four attempts. The following year Ireland visited Australia and defeated the Wallabies in both test matches. Then Australia received the All Blacks for a test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which Australia won 12-6. Then Australia went to Argentina for two test matches. After defeating the Wallabies 24:13 in the first test, Australia ended the decade with a win and defeated the Pumas 17:12 in Buenos Aires .

1980s

Australia versus Argentina at the Estadio José Amalfitani , November 7, 1987

In 1980, Australia received the Bledisloe Cup for the fourth time after beating New Zealand 2-1 in a test series at home. This ushered in a successful era for Australian rugby. In 1984 the Wallabies visited the Home Nations with a young team and a new coach: Alan Jones. The 1984 Wallabies became the first Australian team to reach the Grand Slam after defeating all four teams: England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, but also a strong team from Barbarian FC . This tour ushered in Australia's rise as an established force in international rugby. Numerous new records were set during the tour; the Wallabies hit the 100 mark - most from a visiting team in the UK and Ireland, the first push-over attempt Wales had to allow, and Mark Ella became the first player to beat all four Home Nations attempts .

In 1986 the Wallabies toured New Zealand for three test matches to play the Bledisloe Cup. New Zealand rugby was in turmoil after an unofficial team - the Cavaliers - toured South Africa with most of the All Blacks' players. Upon their return, the Cavaliers players were not nominated for the All Blacks' first Test. Australia then won the first test with 13:12. In the course of the second test match, the players were again admitted to the All Blacks team and took part in the second test on August 23 in Carisbrook. New Zealand equalized the series after beating the Wallabies 13:12 in the second game. However, the outcome was controversial after Welsh referee Derek Bevan failed to give Steve Tuynman the number eight attempt. The final was played on September 6, 1986 at Eden Park. Australia defeated the All Blacks 22: 9 and they won a test series in New Zealand for the first time.

Australia approached the first Rugby Union World Cup in 1987 , which was jointly organized with New Zealand, with confidence. The Wallabies were defeated by France 30:26 in the semifinals at the Concord Oval in Sydney. Then the Wallabies lost the game for 3rd place against Wales. While the performance of Australia in the three years under their coach Alan Jones showed a high standard, Jones had a polarizing effect on the team, as many players were not satisfied with his management style. Mark Ella, who retired after the 1984 season, said he might not have retired if Jones hadn't been a coach. In particular, there were serious discrepancies between coach Alan Jones and the influential Scrum half-man Nick Farr-Jones. Before and during the 1987 Rugby World Cup, Alan Jones expanded his activities outside of his job coaching Australia, including broadcasting. After the Rugby World Cup, Jones was sacked as coach and Bob Dwyer, who coached Australia in 1982 and 1983, was reappointed coach of the Wallabies in 1988. However, the home series against the All Blacks in the same year was disappointing when the Wallabies failed to score a win against New Zealand in three test matches (two losses and one draw).

In 1989 the British and Irish Lions visited Australia for the first time since 1966. After their victory in the first test match, Australia lost the second and third tests, giving the series 1: 2 out of hand. Bob Dwyer identified the lack of dominance of the strikers as a major factor in the losing streak and declared the goal for the 1990s to improve this facet of the Wallabies game.

During the Bledisloe Cup victory in 1986 in New Zealand and the Rugby World Cup in 1987, as well as the Rugby World Cup victory in 1991, John Moulton was the team doctor of the Wallabies.

1990s

David Campese's shirt with autographs in a Hong Kong bar

In August 1990, Australia won a game in New Zealand for the first time in four years. The team was rebuilt and entered the Rugby Union World Cup in 1991 with new self-confidence. In the group stage, the Wallabies defeated Argentina, Wales 38-3 and Samoa 9-3 in a rainy game. In the quarterfinals, the Irish were close to defeating the Wallabies. In the last seconds of the game, when Ireland was leading 18:15, Michael Lynagh made an attempt on the side of the in-goal that threw the Irish out of the tournament and gave Australia the semi-finals against New Zealand. In the first half, the Wallabies led 13: 3 and were able to defend their lead against the All Blacks. In the final, the Wallabies met England. The English changed their dominant game to a more fluid gameplay. However, this was not crowned with success and the Wallabies won 12: 6. David Campese was named Player of the Tournament after contributing six attempts to the course of the tournament in Australia. In Australia, the team was received with victory parades.

After the Springboks were allowed to participate in international rugby again after the end of apartheid in South Africa, the Wallabies visited South Africa in 1992 and won the first test match between the two teams since 1971. In 1993, the Springboks returned for three test matches in Australia, of which the Wallabies could win two.

The decade marked a turning point in the development of the new sport of rugby. Australia's title defense during the 1995 Rugby Union World Cup in South Africa began with a loss to the hosts. After the group stage, the Wallabies were eliminated from the tournament in the quarterfinals against England with a drop goal from Rob Andrew. Together with the performance at the 2007 and 2019 World Championships, this was Australia's worst performance at World Championships so far (the Wallabies lost to England in the quarter-finals of these three World Championships).

In August 1995 the IRB decided to open rugby union to professional players in order to counter the increasing enticement of good players by financially strong rugby league clubs. In the same year, the associations of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia founded the SANZAR consortium to sell television broadcasting rights for two new competitions, the international league Super 12 (now Super Rugby ) and the Tri-Nations tournament of the national teams (now The Rugby Championship ) . With the new competitions scarcely left with months of overseas tours , this amateur era tradition came to a quick end (with the exception of Lions tours every four years). In response to the professionalization of rugby, the Rugby Union Players' Association (RUPA) was formed in October 1995 to protect the needs of now Australian professional players .

In 1996 and 1997 Greg Smith was national coach of the Wallabies, but they only won two wins in eight test matches at the Tri Nations 1996 and Tri Nations 1997 , both against South Africa in Australia. This faced record defeats against both the Springboks and the All Blacks; between the two Tri-Nations tournaments, however, home wins against European teams, including twice against France. Rod Macqueen replaced Smith in the office of national coach and in 1998 the Wallabies won both test matches against New Zealand and received the Bledisloe Cup. In the same year, the Wallabies managed a record victory of 76-0 over the English during the tour of an inexperienced English team in the southern hemisphere, their biggest defeat to date. France could also be beaten away with 32:21. In 1999 they even managed to defend the Bledisloe Cup after the Wallabies beat the All Blacks with a record 28-7 win in Sydney, which was the All Blacks' biggest defeat to date.

During the 1999 Rugby Union World Cup , Australia finished the group stage victorious after allowing just 31 points before facing Wales in the quarter-finals. The Wallabies won the game 24: 9, which allowed them to advance to the semi-finals and defeat the defending champions South Africa 27:21. The semi-finals were decided in extra time by a drop goal from connecting half Stephen Larkham (his first drop goal in a test match). Australia managed an easy win against the French with 35:12 in the final at the Millennium Stadium ; most of the points were scored by goalkeeper Matt Burke . In 1999, five wallabies won the second World Cup final: Phil Kearns , John Eales , Tim Horan , Jason Little and Dan Crowley . Australia were also the first team to receive the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time.

2000s

Opening match of the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup between Argentina and Australia at the Aussie Stadium in Sydney

Alley in the game Ireland versus Australia, 2006

Australia versus Japan during the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup

In 2000, Australia defended the Bledisloe Cup and won the Tri-Nations tournament for the first time . In the same year they defeated France in the reunion from the final of the 1999 World Cup with 18:13 in Paris. The Wallabies defend the title at the Tri Nations 2001 and also won their first series win against the British and Irish Lions in the same year. Both national coach MacQueen and team captain John Eales resigned after this high point. Eddie Jones took over the post of national coach and George Gregan of the team captain. At the same time, leading rugby league players such as Mat Rogers , Wendell Sailor and Lote Tuqiri signed contracts for rugby union and from then on played for Australia's national rugby union team. This contrasted with the previous century when rugby union players switched to professional rugby league to make money. In 2001 World Rugby named the Wallabies “Team of the Year” and Rod Macqueen “Coach of the Year”. In November 2001, the Wallabies lost away to both England and France, but both test matches were narrowly followed by a victory over Wales in Cardiff.

In 2002 the Wallabies received France for two test matches in Australia and won both games. The Wallabies could not defend their title at the Tri Nations 2002 . This was followed by defeats to Ireland in Dublin (9:18) and England in London (31:32) during the end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals in 2002 . Although the Wallabies had to surrender the Bledisloe Cup to New Zealand during the Tri Nations 2003 , the Rugby Union World Cup 2003 started in an impressive way for hosts Australia after the Wallabies defeated Argentina 24: 8, followed by convincing victories over both Namibia as well as Romania . In a close game, the Wallabies won against Ireland 17:16, followed by a 33:16 against Scotland in the quarter-finals. The Wallabies won their biggest win in the semi-finals against the All Blacks when the hosts beat New Zealand 22:10; George Gregan then teased the All Blacks with the words "Four more years boys, four more years". The Wallabies played in a thrilling final against England, which could only be decided in favor of England in stoppage time by a drop goal from Jonny Wilkinson .

On the occasion of the ten-year commemoration since the professionalization of rugby sport, the Wallabies named their "Team of the Decade" in 2005. John Eales was named team captain by a 30-person jury. After the end of the European tour in 2005, the press, especially the Daily Telegraph , urged Eddie Jones and George Gregan to be fired. The former national coach Alan Jones also asked for their dismissal. The negative record of eight defeats in the last nine games ultimately led to the termination of the contract with national coach Eddie Jones by the Australia Rugby Union. During the end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals in 2005 , the Wallabies lost to France at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseilles and then to England at Twickenham Stadium in London, each 16:26.

In early 2006, John Connolly was introduced as the new national coach for Australia. In the same year Australia won two test matches against England and in the following test against Ireland. In the first game of the Tri Nations in 2006 , Australia was defeated by the All Blacks with a difference of 20 points. The Wallabies then defeated South Africa 49-0 in Brisbane. The Wallabies could only win one of the other four games. During the end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals in 2006, the Wallabies lost 6:21 in Ireland but won 44:15 in Scotland. On May 10, 2007, Australia and Wales agreed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first test match between the two countries with the introduction of the James Bevan Trophy . The trophy was named after the Australian-born and Wales-trained Welsh first team captain; Australia won the first series of tests for the James Bevan Trophy 2-0. After Australia was kicked out of the tournament by England in the quarter-finals during the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup , Connolly announced his resignation as national coach.

In early 2008, Robbie Deans became Australia 's new national coach and the Wallabies began preparing for the Tri Nations 2008 . After George Gregan and Stephen Larkham retired after the disappointing Rugby Union World Cup in 2007, Deans was faced with the task of putting together a new team without these experienced players. The Wallabies had mixed results during the Tri Nations 2008, defeating the All Blacks in Sydney and the Springboks twice, both at home in Perth and away in Durban . The Wallabies also suffered their biggest defeat so far: 53-8 against South Africa in Johannesburg .

2009 was a bad year for the wallabies. They were able to defeat the Barbarians with 55: 7 and also Italy in both test matches and also defeat France in the Middle-of-Year Rugby Union Internationals in 2008 with 22: 6. After that, however, the performance declined when the Wallabies finished the Tri Nations 2009 only in the bottom of the table after they played in all games against the All Blacks (22:16, 19:18 and 33: 6) and two games against the world champions from South Africa ( 29:17 and 32:25) lost. Their only win was a 21: 6 against South Africa in Brisbane. During the end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals 2009 , the Wallabies lost against New Zealand 32:19, but were able to defeat England with the returning Jonny Wilkinson 18: 9. The Wallabies then drew 20:20 against Ireland when Brian O'Driscoll's attempt gave his teammate Ronan O'Gara an easy raise. After that, the Wallabies lost to Scotland for the first time in 27 years. The end result was 9: 8, at halftime the result was still an open 3: 3. Although the Wallabies only won seven of their 14 games in 2009, they finished third on the IRB's world rankings.

2010s

Test match between Italy and Australia at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence , 2010

Australia versus USA during the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup

England v Australia at London's Twickenham Stadium, 2014

Australian rugby union fans with the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney, 2014

Australia defeated England 33:13 in the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup at London's Twickenham Stadium

Australia versus Italy during the 2017 Mid-year Internationals in Brisbane

Australia versus New Zealand during the Mid-year Internationals 2017 in Sydney

Australia versus Scotland during the Mid-year Internationals 2017 in Sydney

2010 went better for the Wallabies after scoring one of the rare victories over South Africa during the 2010 Tri Nations , bringing Australia to the Mandela Challenge Plate ; the Wallabies also finished second in both the 2010 Tri Nations and the IRB rankings. However, they also suffered their tenth consecutive loss to New Zealand, a new negative record. However, during the end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals 2010 , the Wallabies defeated the All Blacks in a close game in Hong Kong . This was Australia's first victory over New Zealand in three years. After that, however, they lost to England and Munster during the European tour .

For Australia, 2011 began with a surprising defeat against Samoa in Sydney (23:32), but after that they won the Tri Nations 2011 for the first time in ten years. The Wallabies, however, failed to defend their title during the enlarged The Rugby Championship in 2012 .

Australia won the first game during the Rugby Union World Cup 2011 against Italy, but lost the following game against Ireland 6:15. Injuries to key players like Digby Ioane and Stephen Moore , but also a weak alley contributed to this defeat. In their third Group C match, the Wallabies defeated the US 67-5 , and Rob Horne , Rocky Elsom , Kurtley Beale , Drew Mitchell , Pat McCabe and Radike Samo all put in attempts, while Anthony Fainga'a and Adam Ashley-Cooper put two put three attempts. Then the Wallabies won their last group game against Russia with 68:22. The Wallabies defeated the defending champions from South Africa 11: 9 in the quarter-finals and advanced to the semi-finals. However, Australia was defeated a week later by the hosts and eventual world champions New Zealand in the semi-finals 20: 6. Australia defeated Wales 21:18 in a close match for 3rd place Wales.

During the Mid-year Internationals 2012, Australia lost at home to Scotland (6-9). This was the first home defeat against Scotland since 1982 and the first time in 30 years that they have lost to the Scots more than once in a row. Scotland also scored away wins over Fiji and Samoa. The test match against Italy were the Wallabies only win (22:19) after Italy's compound semiconductor Luciano Orquera would have brought a penalty Italy's first draw against the Wallabies at the last minute, missed.

After their home defeat against the British and Irish Lions in 2013, a profit balance of 58.1%, and a significant defeat against the All Blacks with 3:15, the Australian national coach Deans came under increasing pressure. Deans resigned in July 2013 after six years as national coach for Australia. Under Deans, the Wallabies won 43 of their 74 test matches, lost 29 and drew twice. With Deans as coach, the Wallabies only managed three wins over the All Blacks and one draw. Meanwhile, however, they recorded a positive profit balance against the Springboks after the Wallabies defeated South Africa in nine of 14 test matches. Deans' highlights were winning the 2011 Tri Nations and third place in the 2011 World Cup.

On July 9, 2013, Ewen McKenzie, then coach of the Queensland Reds , was the new national coach of the Wallabies and replaced Robbie Deans.

The first test match under McKenzie against New Zealand was lost during The Rugby Championship 2013 with 29:47. In that game, he made five new players debut. After losing 16:27 a week later, the Bledisloe Cup stayed in New Zealand for the eleventh consecutive year. After that, the Wallabies under McKenzie suffered a 12:38 defeat against South Africa, the highest home defeat against the Springboks. The 14:13 win over Argentina was McKenzie's first win, but the second half was the first since the 2005 home game against the All Blacks in which the Wallabies failed to score. Australia's poor performance continued when the Wallabies lost 8:28 to the Springboks away in Cape Town. In the last game of the Australians during the Rugby Championship 2013, the Wallabies were able to record a bonus point win for the first time, after they could achieve the highest victory since the Tri Nations existed in 1996, when they defeated Argentina 54:17 in Buenos Aires. During the Rugby Championship, McKenzie had made some important changes to his team. So he replaced Will Genia with Nic White , who had previously only completed three test matches, and named Ben Mowen team captain in his first year as a national player.

New Zealand won the third game for the Bledisloe Cup 41:33 and the series 3-0. During the 2013 end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals , McKenzie led the team to four consecutive wins (50:20 against Italy, 32:15 against Ireland, 21:15 against Scotland and 30:26 against Wales) for the first time since 2008 that Australia succeeded. The Australians lost the opening game of the series against England with 13:20. Still, the Wallabies managed to defend the Lansdowne Cup against Ireland, recapture the Hopetoun Cup from Scotland and win the James Bevan Trophy against Wales for the sixth consecutive year.

In 2014, the Wallabies were able to expand their winning streak for the first time since 2000 by winning four to seven test matches. During the June Rugby Union Internationals 2014 , the Wallabies managed a 3-0 series win over France after Australia won 50:23 in Brisbane, 6-0 in Melbourne and 39:13 Sydney. After completing the series, the Wallabies were able to receive the Trophée des Bicentenaires for the first time since 2010, after they had to hand it over to France in 2012.

The Wallabies remained undefeated in eight Test matches after drawing against the All Blacks 12:12. This gave Australia new confidence that they could retake the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002, along with the end of their 28-year winless streak at Eden Park . However, after a clear defeat with 51:20 in the second test match, Australia was brought back down to earth and their defeat streak in the Bledisloe Cup extended to 12 years. Australia recovered from this and on top of that defeated South Africa and Argentina with 24:23 and 32:25 respectively, with the latter victory they recaptured the Puma Trophy.

However, Australia failed to take the Mandela Challenge Plate after the Wallabies were defeated 28:11 by the Springboks in the second leg when the South Africans allowed three attempts and a drop goal in the last eleven minutes. A week later, Australia was defeated by the Pumas 21:17, their first loss to Argentina in 17 years. This made the Wallabies the first team to concede a defeat against the Argentines after they expanded the Tri Nations to the rugby championship in 2012. For the second time in a row, Australia finished the rugby championship in second place.

On October 18, 2014 McKenzie resigned as national coach for Australia. During his tenure, the Wallabies achieved 11 wins in 22 test matches, a balance of only 50%. McKenzie, however, made for a positive profit record against European teams after the Wallabies won seven of their eight Test matches; the only defeat was against England in November 2013. Against Argentina, the Wallabies also managed a positive record after winning three out of four games. Against the other rugby championship teams South Africa and New Zealand, however, there was no breakthrough after no victory against the All Blacks and only one of four games could be won against the Springboks.

On October 22, 2014, the then coach of the Waratahs, Michael Cheika , became the new national coach for Australia, and the third in two years. In the first game under Cheika, the Wallabies managed to win over the Barbarians 40:36 at Twickenham Stadium.

During the end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals 2014 , Australia won an away win over Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff with 33:28, the tenth consecutive win over Wales and the first win in the first test match under Michael Cheika. However, the Wallabies only made three attempts against the four of Wales, which could be offset by goalkeeper Bernard Foley with a drop goal and three penalties. The Wallabies then lost three test matches against France, Ireland and England, after which they slipped to sixth place in the world rankings.

2015 was the year of the World Cup and Australia was drawn together with Wales, Fiji, England and Uruguay in the so-called "group of deaths". In the first group game, the Wallabies won against Fiji with 28:13. Then Australia managed a clear victory over Uruguay with 65: 3. In the third game, Australia beat England in Twickenham 33:13 and bowled the hosts out of their own tournament. In the last group game, the Wallabies managed a surprising win over Wales 15: 6. Australia met Scotland in the quarter-finals, who were leading 34:32 until 30 seconds before the final whistle. However, a controversial penalty kick was awarded to the Wallabies by referee Craig Joubert , which was later found incorrect by the match officials, which was converted by Bernard Foley and let Australia win the game 35:34. They then defeated Argentina in the semi-finals to play against New Zealand in the final, but lost there 34:17.

2016 was a bad year for the Wallabies, marking the beginning of a serious downward trend in game results. In June, Australia hosted Six Nations winners England in a series of three test matches under former Australian coach Eddie Jones. England won all three games with 39:28, 23: 7 and 44:40. Although the Wallabies finished second in The Rugby Championship in 2016 after beating Argentina two times and one against South Africa, they lost both games against New Zealand and the third Test for the Bledisloe Cup in a disappointing streak against their trans-Tasmanians Opponent. During the end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals 2016 , Australia won over Wales (32: 8), Scotland (23:22) and France (25:23), but lost to Ireland with 24:27, before 21: 37 also lost the fourth game against England.

The following year saw little progress. During the Mid-Year Internationals 2017 , Australia won over Fiji (37:14) and Italy (40:27), but lost to a weakened Scottish team, which provided some players to the British and Irish Lions for their tour to New Zealand. That modest performance continued during The Rugby Championship in 2017 . The Wallabies finished second after winning just two games against Argentina, losing two games against New Zealand and only having two draws against a weakened South Africa. Although the Wallabies recorded a surprising 23:18 win in the third Test for the Bledisloe Cup, Australia only beat Japan (63:30) and Wales (29:21) in its fall season before the Wallabies their fifth consecutive loss to England (6:30) conceded and suffered a record defeat against Scotland (53:24). In the test match, Scotland put eight attempts, with which the Scots achieved their highest victory over Australia. This was also the last test match for Australian hooker Stephen Moore .

2018 was one of the worst years for Australian rugby. In the June series against Ireland, Australia won the first test match 18: 9, but lost the remaining games 21:26 and 20:16, despite more attempts than the Six Nations Grand Slam champions. The home defeat to Ireland was Australia's first since 1979. At The Rugby Championship 2018 , Australia again lost both games to New Zealand. Although they were able to bring South Africa a 23:18 win in the second round, the Wallabies lost for the first time since 1983 against Argentina, but also the second leg against South Africa 23:12. The Wallabies' third victory this year came against Argentina, where the Wallabies were behind in the first half (7:31) and finally won the test match 45:34. In the last Bledislo test at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama , Japan, the Wallabies were again defeated by New Zealand 37:20. This fall, the Wallabies experienced their first defeat against Wales in ten years (6-9). The Welsh team's scores, as well as the score, exactly reflected the first test between the two teams 110 years ago. The Wallabies defeated Italy 26-7 the following week before losing to England for the sixth time a week later. The Wallabies only managed to win four games out of 13 test matches in 2018 in what is considered their worst run in professional period and their worst calendar year since 1958.

In 2019 Australia was able to wrest New Zealand a 47:26 victory in Perth, the All Blacks' biggest defeat in a test match, comparable to Australia's 28: 7 victory in 1999. New Zealand avenged this disappointment in the second leg in Auckland and kept the Bledisloe Cup with a convincing 36-0 victory. During the 2019 Rugby Union World Cup , Australia won three of their four group games, but a narrow loss to Wales gave the Wallabies a quarter-finals against England. A 40:16 defeat ended the Australian season and head coach Cheika announced his resignation as national coach the following day. His contract would have expired after the World Cup.

shirt

The old Australian shirt in the 2000s

A young female wallaby in Australia

The wallabies play in the traditional Australian sports colors green and gold. Before the introduction of their own jersey, the Wallabies played in the team colors of the host. The Australian coat of arms usually replaced the host state's coat of arms, and by the early 1900s various shades of these colors were used for games.

In 1928 the Australian committees agreed "that the Australian sports colors green and gold should be used". The following year the All Blacks visited Australia, and the Australians played in an emerald green jersey with the embroidered Australian crest and green socks. In the 1930s, the jersey remained almost unchanged. When the Wallabies first visited South Africa in 1933, the guests wore sky blue jerseys to avoid confusion, as both teams played in dark green jerseys at the time. The South Africans wore white jerseys during the 1953 Australian tour, and the Wallabies wore gold jerseys during their 1961 tour.

The away jersey is usually green or white, however the Wallabies played against Romania during the 1995 Rugby Union World Cup in a green and gold striped jersey with green shorts and socks.

The jersey designed by Canterbury for Australia for the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup, with a curved yellow-brown plate over the chest that looked like a brassiere , received strong criticism. The Sydney Morning Herald's chief rugby correspondent then published a satirical anecdote in which the jersey was compared to the famous “men's bra” of the characters Kramer and Frank Costanza from the sitcom Seinfeld .

In 2010, KooGa became Australia 's new shirt sponsor. The Wallabies' first KooGa jersey was worn from 2010 through the end of the 2012 season; however, different pants and socks were designed for the 2012 season. In 2013 KooGa introduced a new kit for the series against the British and Irish Lions. BLK Sport, the former Australian subcontractor of KooGa, became the new kit supplier after this tour, and the BLK logo replaced that of KooGa during the 2013 end-of-year Rugby Union Internationals .

In October 2013, the ARU announced that Asics will be the new kit supplier from 2014 .

During the third Bledisloe Cup test match in 2017, the Wallabies wore a jersey with an Aboriginal- inspired design for the first time . During the Rugby Union World Cup 2019 , the Australians wore a similarly designed jersey.

The nickname "Wallabies" is borrowed from the wallabies native to Australia . This was created during the Australian tour of the British Isles and North America in 1908. Shortly before that, the New Zealanders had finished their tour and were christened "All Blacks" by the British press. It was suggested that the Australians be nicknamed as well, and "Rabbits" was one of the names suggested by the British press. The Australians rejected this nickname and did not want to be named after an "introduced plague". Instead, they chose the native wallaby. Originally only away-playing teams of the Australian Wallabies were named; at home games they were announced as "internationals".

The team mascot is nicknamed Wally .

Stages

ANZ Perth oval Perth Stadium Docklands Suncorp alliance Melbourne Rectangular

Location of Australian stadiums used for test matches

As in the rugby nations of Argentina, France, New Zealand and South Africa, there is no official "national stadium" in Australia, rather the wallabies play their home games in numerous different locations in Australia. These stadiums include ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium and Docklands in Melbourne, as well as Perth Stadium and Perth Oval in Perth.

Some of the stadiums where the Wallabies traditionally played test matches are the Concord Oval, Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Sports Ground , as well as Ballymore Stadium and Showgrounds in Brisbane. Australia played its first Test Match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, against the British Lions in 1899.

The most home games of the Wallabies in either the Telstra Stadium in Sydney (with a record attendance of 109,874 spectators against the All Blacks) in the Telstra Dome in Melbourne , which was a record number of audience (against England ) at 54,868, is located in Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane at the attendance record is 52,498 spectators and held in the Subiaco Oval in Perth . The record attendance at Telstra Stadium against the All Blacks represents the highest number of spectators ever recorded in a rugby match.

Venues during rugby union world championships

→ Main articles : Rugby Union World Cup 1987  and Rugby Union World Cup 2003

The Sydney Harbor Bridge during the 2003 Rugby World Cup

The first Rugby Union World Cup was held jointly in 1987 in Australia and New Zealand. The games were divided as follows: Group 1 (with the Wallabies) was played in Brisbane and Sydney , a group 2 game (that between Ireland and Tonga) was also played at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane. In addition, a quarter-final and a semi-final were played in Brisbane and Sydney. All other games took place in New Zealand. A total of eleven games were played in Australia, while the other 21 games were played in New Zealand.

The 2003 Rugby Union World Cup took place entirely in Australia, especially on the east coast, although originally games were also planned in New Zealand. The 48 games were played in eleven stadiums, including the semi-finals, the third place match and the final between the Wallabies and England at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney. Other Australian stadiums that also played games were: ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Docklands Stadium in Melbourne, Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Subiaco Oval in Perth, Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Willows Sports Complex in Townsville , Canberra Stadium in Canberra , Central Coast Stadium in Gosford , York Park in Launceston and the Wollongong Showground in Wollongong .

Test matches

→ Main article : List of test matches of the Australian national rugby union team

Australia ranked in World Rugby since October 10, 2003

By the end of 2019, Australia had won 320 of its 614 test matches , which corresponds to a win rate of 52.12%.

country	Games	Won	undecided eliminated	Lost	% Victories
Argentina	32	25th	1	6th	78.13
British and Irish Lions	23	6th	0	17th	26.01
England	51	25th	1	25th	49.02
Fiji	22nd	19th	1	2	86.36
France	47	27	2	18th	57.45
Georgia	1	1	0	0	100
Ireland	36	22nd	1	13	61.11
Italy	18th	18th	0	0	100
Japan	5	5	0	0	100
Canada	6th	6th	0	0	100
Namibia	1	1	0	0	100
New Zealand	166	44	7th	115	26.51
New Zealand Māori	16	8th	2	6th	50.00
Pacific Islanders	1	1	0	0	100
Romania	3	3	0	0	100
Russia	1	1	0	0	100
Samoa	6th	5	0	1	83.33
Scotland	32	21st	0	11	65.63
Spain	1	1	0	0	100
South Africa	88	37	3	48	42.05
South Korea	1	1	0	0	100
Tonga	4th	3	0	1	75
United States	8th	8th	0	0	100
Uruguay	2	2	0	0	100
Wales	43	30th	1	12	69.77
Total	614	320	19th	275	52.12

successes

World championships

Australia received the Webb Ellis Cup in 1991 and 1999

Australia has taken part in every World Cup so far and has received the Webb Ellis Cup , the trophy of the Rugby Union World Cup , which is held every four years, twice: the second in 1991 in the then Five Nations and the fourth in the then Five Nations. This made the Wallabies the first rugby team to win the title twice. At the first World Cup in 1987, which Australia played together with New Zealand, the Wallabies were eliminated in the semifinals against France and then lost the game for third place against Wales. At the home World Cup in 2003, the Wallabies lost to England in the final. In 2011 they lost to the title holder and hosts New Zealand in the semifinals, but won the game for 3rd place against Wales. In 2015 they made it to the final, but lost to New Zealand. The worst performance at world championships so far is the elimination in the quarter-finals during the world championships in 1995, 2007 and 2019; each against England.

• World Championship 1987 : 4th place
• World Championship 1991 : World Champion
• World Cup 1995 : quarter-finals
• World Championship 1999 : World Champion
• World Championship 2003 : 2nd place
• World Championship 2007 : quarter-finals
• World Championship 2011 : 3rd place
• World Championship 2015 : 2nd place
• World Championship 2019 : quarter-finals
• World Championship 2023 : qualified

Olympic games

• 1908: 1st place

Tri Nations / The Rugby Championship

During The Rugby Championship, Australia and New Zealand will play for the Bledisloe Cup

The only annual tournament of the Wallabies is the Tri Nations, played since 1996 against New Zealand and South Africa . Since Argentina joined in 2012, the tournament has been known as The Rugby Championship . The Australians have achieved four tournament victories so far (2000, 2001, 2011, 2015). As part of the Rugby Championship, the Wallabies play against Argentina for the Puma Trophy (since 2000), against New Zealand for the Bledisloe Cup (since 1931) and against South Africa for the Mandela Challenge Plate .

Team statistics at the Tri Nations (1996 to 2011)

country	Games	Victories	Unent.	Ndlg.	Game points	Diff.	Bonus points	Table points	title
New Zealand	72	50	0	22nd	1936: 1395	+ 541	32	232	10
Australia	72	29	1	42	1531: 1721	- 190	34	152	03
South Africa	72	28	1	43	1480: 1831	- 351	24	138	03

Team statistics at the Rugby Championship (since 2012)

country	Games	Victories	Unent.	Ndlg.	Game points	Diff.	Bonus points	Table points	title
New Zealand	42	36	2	4th	1423: 751	+ 672	26th	174	06th
South Africa	42	19th	4th	19th	1048: 974	+ 74	19th	103	01
Australia	42	19th	3	20th	952: 1088	- 136	9	91	01
Argentina	42	5	1	36	766: 1376	- 610	11	33	00

The points are calculated as follows: 4 points for a win, 2 points for a tie, 0 points for a defeat (before possible bonus points), 1 bonus point for four or more successful attempts , 1 bonus point for a defeat with less than seven points difference .

More test matches

The Trophée des Bicentenaires has been played between Australia and France since 1989

During the amateur era, the Wallabies toured abroad for months to compete against other national teams as well as against regional selections and club teams. They have also hosted national teams touring Australia. Once Australia managed a Grand Slam , that is, a victory each against the Home Nations England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales during the same tour (this concerns the tour of 1984). However, Australia is also the only team in the southern hemisphere that suffered defeats during a tour against all four Home Nations when they lost all test matches against this team during the 1957/58 tour. There was also a defeat against France.

The tours according to old tradition came to a standstill around the year 2000. Today there are two time slots available every year for test matches against teams from the northern hemisphere. At the Mid-year Internationals in June teams from Europe come to Australia, at the End-of-year Internationals in November the Australians come to Europe. Since 1989 the Wallabies have been playing against France for the Trophée des Bicentenaires , since 1997 against England for the Cook Cup , since 1998 against Scotland for the Hopetoun Cup , since 1999 against Ireland for the Lansdowne Cup , since 2001 against the British and Irish Lions the Tom Richards Cup and since 2007 against Wales for the James Bevan Trophy .

player

Current squad

The following players make up the squad during the 2019 World Cup :

Back line (backs) player position team International matches Want Genia Half of the crowd Rebels 104 Nic White Half of the crowd Exeter Chiefs 26th Bernard Foley Interconnects Waratahs 69 Christian Lealiifano Interconnects Brumbies 22nd Samu Kerevi Inner three quarters Reds 29 Tevita Kuridrani Inner three quarters Brumbies 60 James O'Connor Inner three quarters Reds 47 Matt To'omua Inner three quarters Rebels 46 Adam Ashley-Cooper Outer three-quarters Waratahs 118 Reece Hodge Outer three-quarters Rebels 37 Marika Koroibete Outer three-quarters Rebels 23 Jordan Petaia Outer three-quarters Reds 0 Kurtley Beale Goalkeeper Waratahs 87 Dane Haylett-Petty Goalkeeper Rebels 32

Striker (forwards) player position team International matches Allan Alaalatoa pier Brumbies 34 Sekope Kepu pier Waratahs 105 Scott Sio pier Brumbies 58 James Slipper pier Brumbies 90 Taniela Tupou pier Reds 15th Folau Fainga'a hooker Brumbies 11 Tolu Latu hooker Waratahs 15th Jordan Uelese hooker Rebels 3 Rory Arnold Second row striker Brumbies 22nd Adam Coleman Second row striker Rebels 33 Izack Rodda Second row striker Reds 21st Lukhan Salakaia-Loto Second row striker Reds 15th Rob Simmons Second row striker Waratahs 97 Jack Dempsey Winger Waratahs 11 Michael Hooper Winger Waratahs 95 David Pocock Winger Brumbies 77 Isa Naisarani Number eight Rebels 4th

Important former players

Matt Burke David Campese * Ken Catchpole * Des Connor * Dan Crowley Greg Davis * Edward Dunlop * John Eales Mark Ella * Nick Farr-Jones * Owen Finegan Elton Flatley George Gregan

Nathan Gray Tim Horan John Hipwell * Phil Kearns Stephen Larkham Chris Latham Tom Lawton * Jason Little Mark Loane * Michael Lynagh Patricio Noriega Viliami Ofahengaue

Jeremy Paul Simon Poidevin Tom Richards * Joe Roff Nicholas Shehadie * John Thornett * Cyril Towers * Ben Tune Lot Tuqiri Daniel Vickerman Col Windon *

* Induced into the Wallaby Hall of Fame for Rugby Australia .

14 Australian players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame for their outstanding performance . These are David Campese , Dan Carroll , Ken Catchpole , John Eales , Mark Ella , Nick Farr-Jones , George Gregan , Tim Horan , Stephen Larkham , Tom Lawton , Michael Lynagh , Tom Richards , Nicholas Shehadie and John Thornett . World champions coaches Bob Dwyer and Rod Macqueen and referee and commentator Roger Vanderfield were also included . Five players are two-time world champions: Dan Crowley, John Eales, Tim Horan, Phil Kearns and Jason Little (all 1991 and 1999).

Player statistics

George Gregan (2013)

George Smith (2012)

(Status: end of 2019)

Most of the games in the national team rank Surname Period Games 1 George Gregan 1994-2007 139 2 Stephen Moore 2005-2017 129 3 Adam Ashley-Cooper 2005-2019 121 4th Nathan Sharpe 2002–2012 116 5 George Smith 2000-2013 111

Most games as captain rank Surname Period Games 1 George Gregan 2001-2007 59 2 John Eales 1996-2001 55 3 Michael Hooper 2014-2019 46 4th Nick Farr-Jones 1988-1992 36 5 Stirling Mortlock 2006-2009 29

Most points scored rank Surname Period Points 1 Michael Lynagh 1984-1995 911 2 Matt Burke 1993-2004 878 3 Matt Giteau 2002-2016 698 4th Bernard Foley 2013-2019 622 5 Stirling Mortlock 2000-2009 489

Most attempts made rank Surname Period tries 1 David Campese 1982-1996 64 2 Chris Latham 1998-2007 40 3 Adam Ashley-Cooper 2005-2019 39 4th Israel Folau 2013-2018 37 5 Drew Mitchell 2005-2016 34

Trainer

Eddie Jones (2009)

Michael Cheika (2017)

Before 1982, Australia did not appoint coaches on a long-term basis. Managers were hired to organize overseas tours and the assistant manager often acted as a trainer during the tour. Sometimes the team captain took over the position of coach of the Australian team, especially at test matches at home, since according to the IRB rules of the time, home teams could only be nominated three days before a test match.

Surname	Years	Wins in%
Bob Dwyer	1982-1983	41.67%	63.01
	1988-1995	67.21
Alan Jones	1984-1987	70.00
Greg Smith	1996-1997	63.16
Rod Macqueen	1997-2001	79.07
Eddie Jones	2001-2005	57.89
John Connolly	2006-2007	64.00
Robbie Deans	2008-2013	58.67
Ewen McKenzie	2013-2014	50.00
Michael Cheika	2014-2019	50.00
Dave Rennie	since 2019

Awards

In 2001 the International Rugby Board, since 2014 World Rugby, named Australia “Team of the Year”.

literature

• Fagan, Sean: The Rugby Rebellion - The Divide of League and Union in Australasia . Ed .: RL1908. 2005, ISBN 1-903659-25-6 .
• Hickie, Thomas: They Ran With the Ball - How Rugby Football Began in Australia . Ed .: Longman Cheshire. 1993, ISBN 0-582-91062-5 .
• Howitt, Bob: SANZAR Saga - Ten Years of Super 12 and Tri-Nations Rugby . Ed .: Harper Collins Publishers. 2005, ISBN 1-86950-566-2 .
• Reason, John; Carwyn, James: The World of Rugby - A History of Rugby Union Football . Ed .: British Broadcasting Corporation. 1979, ISBN 0-563-16280-5 .

Web links

Commons : Australia National Rugby Union Team  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website of Rugby Australia and the Wallabies (English)
• Rugby Australia Wallabies Hall of Fame (English)
• Planet Rugby - Rugby Union news from Australia (English)
• Game Stats of Australia on rugbydata.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ World Rugby Rankings. world.rugby, February 4, 2020, accessed November 26, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Most matches. ESPNscrum, accessed July 1, 2020 . 
3. ↑ Most points. ESPNscrum, accessed July 1, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Most tries. ESPNscrum, accessed July 1, 2020 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b} The English Footballers. England v. Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald, June 24, 1899, archived from the original July 3, 2018 ; accessed on January 5, 2020 (English). 
6. ↑ ^{a b c} World Rugby Rankings. World Rugby , accessed July 1, 2020 . 
7. ↑ 1899 - Australia. lionsrugby.com, archived from the original on July 25, 2007 ; Retrieved July 25, 2007 . 
8. ^ History of the Australian Jersey. Rugby Australia, archived from the original on October 14, 2013 ; Retrieved December 24, 2013 . 
9. ^ New Zealand vs Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground August 15, 1903. All Blacks, accessed July 23, 2015 . 
10. ^ The New Zealand Footballers: Match Against Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald, August 17, 1903, archived from the original March 17, 2016 ; accessed on January 5, 2020 (English). 
11. ↑ ^{a b} History. Rugby Australia, archived from the original on July 3, 2011 ; accessed on September 16, 2015 . 
12. ^ Australian rugby. BBC , accessed August 5, 2006 . 
13. ^ Australian Rugby Union, Annual Report 2008. Australia Rugby, 2008, archived from the original on April 1, 2015 ; Retrieved June 24, 2010 . 
14. ↑ Reason (1979), p. 58.
15. ↑ Fagan, Sean: Club Histories - New Speculations. Archived from the original on October 21, 2006 ; Retrieved July 25, 2007 . 
16. ↑ Davies, Sean: Wallaby wonders: Aussie rugby. BBC , September 22, 2005, archived from the original on April 2, 2019 ; accessed on May 31, 2020 (English). 
17. ↑ Historical Rugby Milestones 1900s. rugbyfootballhistory.com, accessed August 1, 2007 . 
18. ↑ Kangaroos v. Wallabies. West Coast Times, September 6, 1909, accessed December 3, 2009 . 
19. ↑ July 8: On This Day in World History ... briefly. South Coast Herald, July 8, 2019, accessed June 14, 2020 . 
20. ↑ Steven White: Wellington against International teams: versus South Africa 1937. Club Rugby, April 7, 2015, accessed on June 14, 2020 (English). 
21. ↑ 278th All Black Game. rugbymuseum.co.nz, archived from the original on June 14, 2011 ; Retrieved June 14, 2011 . 
22. ↑ Sir Nicholas Shehadie AC OBE. Australia Rugby Archived from the original on February 1, 2008 ; Retrieved May 22, 2007 . 
23. ^ Max Howell: Born to Lead: Wallaby Test Captains . Celebrity Books, North Harbor 2005, ISBN 1-877252-18-2 , pp. 128 .
24. ^ Howell: Born to Lead. P. 128.
25. ↑ Ex-Wallabies skipper John Solomon dies at age 90. Associated Press , March 18, 2020, accessed June 15, 2020 . 
26. ↑ 1961: A debut to remember. nobok.co.uk, accessed April 10, 2007 . 
27. ↑ Springbok History 1965. rugby-talk.com, February 16, 2010, accessed June 15, 2020 . 
28. ↑ 1971 Springbok tour: When campaigners scored a victory against racism. solidarity.net.au, September 28, 2011, accessed on June 16, 2020 . 
29. ^ The 1971 Springbok tour. (No longer available online.) Sport24, December 24, 2011, archived from the original on July 4, 2012 ; accessed on June 16, 2020 (English). 
30. ^ SAIRR : A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1971 . Johannesburg 1972, p. 320.
31. ^ Queensland in state of emergency. The Canberra Times , July 14, 1971, accessed June 24, 2020 . 
32. ^ Smith (1980), p. 432.
33. ^ Rugby World Cup 1987: Matches. rugbyworldcup.com, 2019, accessed July 9, 2020 . 
34. ↑ Statistics from the 1988 Australian tour. All Blacks, accessed on July 23, 2015 (English). 
35. ↑ ARU pays tribute to former Wallaby doctor, Dr. John Moulton Oam. Australia Rugby. Retrieved May 19, 2014 . 
36. ^ Rugby World Cup 1991: Matches. rugbyworldcup.com, 2019, accessed July 9, 2020 . 
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