Australia national rugby union team

History

Early years

Australia's first international match was played against the touring British Isles team in 1899. The first test was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground and won 13–3 by Australia, but the tourists would win the remaining three tests. The Australian team for the first match consisted of six players from Queensland and nine from New South Wales. The team wore the blue of New South Wales when playing in Sydney and the maroon of Queensland when playing in Brisbane, but with an Australian Coat of Arms in place of the usual emblems of each colony.

The first Test between Australia and New Zealand was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1903, with New Zealand winning 22–3. This tour improved rugby's popularity in Sydney and Brisbane and helped to boost club match attendances.

In 1907 the New South Wales Rugby League was formed and star player Dally Messenger left Rugby Union for Rugby League. The next year the first Australian rugby team to tour the British Isles left Sydney. Newspapers in England initially gave the team the name 'Rabbits'. The Australian players thought this nickname derogatory and replaced it with 'Wallabies'.

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

The First World War had a terrible impact on rugby union in Australia. All rugby union competitions in New South Wales and Queensland ceased after the state bodies decided it was inappropriate to play the sport when so many young men were fighting overseas. The sport of rugby union was almost entirely shut down, causing many players to switch to rugby league – which did not cease playing during the war.

In Queensland regular competitions did not commence again until 1929, and there was no official Australian team selected through most of the 1920s before the 1929 All Blacks tour. The New South Wales Waratahs were re-formed in 1920, however, and played regularly throughout the decade including a series of matches against New Zealand and South Africa before their 1927–28 tour of the British Isles, France and Canada. Because these Waratahs teams were Australia's only representatives at the time, all international matches they played during this period were accorded retrospective Wallaby status.

Post-war: 1946–1959

World War Two halted all international rugby. The first test following the war for Australia was played at Carisbrook, Dunedin against 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. The successful tour fell one game short of an undefeated run when the Australians lost to France in the final 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 Maori 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 Lions toured Australia in 1950, and played two tests against Australia, winning both with scores of 19–6 in Brisbane and 24–3 in Sydney.

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 – 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.

On this tour they also drew against Rhodesia in Kitwe 8–8.

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, losing four and drawing one, 9–9 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 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 Lions toured in 1966, beating 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 beat England 23–11 before losing to Ireland 15–8 and France 20–14. Australia then hosted Ireland, who beat them in Sydney, followed by a 20-point loss to the All Blacks. The following year, Australia lost to the All Blacks by just one point. Later that year they defeated France for the first time by the same margin from a long drop goal by John Ballesty for their last win of the decade. After losing to Ireland and Scotland on tour, Australia hosted Wales who also beat them.

1970s

Australia's only test in 1970 was a win against Scotland. The next year, the controversial 1971 South African tour of Australia took place. Australia lost all three tests against South Africa, however the tour is remembered for the nationwide protests against the Apartheid system and the month long state of emergency in Queensland that was declared by the state's premier, Joh Bjeke Petersen, to break up protestors. Australia toured France in November, winning the first test in Toulouse, but losing the second in Paris.

France then visited Australia in 1972 and played a two test series where France won the first test and the second, a draw. Australia then traveled to New Zealand to play a three test series against the All Blacks where the Wallabies lost all three. A final test in Suva to play Fiji would be their only victory of the year.

In 1973, Australia hosted Tonga, winning the first test, but losing 11–16 at Ballymore in their second. Australia then had a short tour of the United Kingdom in November losing 24–0 to Wales, and 20–3 to England.

In 1974, former Wallaby Dick Marks was appointed as the inaugural National Director of Coaching, beginning a period of systematic improvement of Australian rugby under the National Coaching Scheme. The foundations built here would lead to outstanding international successes through the 1980s and 1990s. The tests played in 1974 saw Australia hosting 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. This was followed by playing Japan for the first time where, in a two match series, the Wallabies won both tests. Australia then embarked on a tour of Britain and Ireland at the end of 1975 with losses against Scotland, Wales, and England but defeated Ireland at Lansdowne Road.

On their way home, and now in 1976, Australia played one match in Los Angeles against the United States. Australia winning 24–12. In June, Australia hosted Fiji for a three Test series and won three. The Wallabies finished the year with a tour of Europe where the team lost two tests against France, then narrowly beat Italy 16–15.

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, and 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 final Test was played on 6 September 1986 at Eden Park where 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 3rd place 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 if someone else had been the 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 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 2–1. 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 and with literally only 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 Australia raced to a 13–3 lead and then showed they could defend as the All Blacks unsuccessfully tried to find a way through their line. Winning the semi-final, Australia would face England in the final at the home of English Rugby 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. Victory parades were held back in Australia for their national team.

Australia's defence of the World Cup in South Africa in 1995 opened with defeat by 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 second worst 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 by 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 regain the Bledisloe Cup. They retained the Bledisloe in 1999 when they defeated New Zealand in a, then record defeat for the All Blacks, 28–7 in Sydney.

In the 1999 World Cup Australia won their pool and conceded only 31 points before facing Wales in the 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 scored 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.

2000s

In the early 2000s, Australia continued their dominant international success under coach Rod Macqueen. In 2000 they retained the Bledisloe Cup and won the Tri Nations Series for the very first time after clinching a one-point victory over South Africa in the final match of the 2000 Tri Nations Series in Durban due to a Stirling Mortlock penalty goal in the last minute of the game. The triumph was also noted for being the first time since 1992 that Australia had beaten the Springboks in South Africa (or 7 years, 363 days); and being the first SANZAR team to claim the Rugby World Cup title and the Tri Nations title back-to-back.

In 2001 the Wallabies achieved their first series win over the British & Irish Lions since 1930. By mid-July 2001, coach Rod Macqueen and captain John Eales both retired. At the time of his retirement, Macqueen had been Australia's most successful coach. BBC Sport reported that: "Australia's 2–1 series win over the Lions left the Wallabies' coach with nothing left to win. A series win over the Lions eluded Australia for 102 years, but the celebrations in Stadium Australia which followed the 29–23 win on Saturday was the completion of the most impressive CV in Australian rugby. The 1999 World Cup, the 2000 Tri-Nations title and three successive Bledisloe Cup wins over deadly All Black rivals from across the Tasman Sea, bulge in the Wallabies' trophy cabinet. They mark Macqueen out as the most successful coach in Australian rugby union history." The report added that "during Macqueen's four-year tenure the Wallabies posted an unrivalled record of 34 wins, one draw and eight defeats for a success ratio of close to 80%." Macqueen and Eales were replaced by then-ACT Brumbies coach Eddie Jones and team captain George Gregan. This period also saw big-money signings of top-level rugby league footballers, such as Mat Rogers, Wendell Sailor, and Lote Tuqiri, all of whom went on to represent the Wallabies. This was in contrast to much of the previous century where many rugby union players were lured to rugby league with large salaries.

Jones had been appointed Wallabies' head coach on the back of winning the Super 12 with the Brumbies, the first team from outside New Zealand to do so. Jones' Wallabies dropped the Tri Nations Series title in 2002, and again in 2003, finishing in second place both times, which included a 21–50 defeat to New Zealand at Stadium Australia in Sydney: the most points Australia had ever conceded at home, and a New Zealand record score put against Australia. Australia's form recovered at the 2003 Rugby World Cup hosted on home soil as they headed into the tournament with three wins and four losses. The Wallabies, placed in Pool A, won every pool match and set a national record and two Rugby World Cup records with the biggest margin of victory, and the most tries in a single match (22), both against Namibia in their 142–0 win. The Wallabies won their pool and comfortably beat Scotland 33–16 in a "scrappy" Quarter-finals. Australia then faced New Zealand in the Semi-finals. Despite yielding just a single try, courtesy of an intercept, the match stands as one of the most complete and exhilarating performances in Wallabies history. Under Eddie Jones' ball-in-hand gameplan, and dominating the early exchanges, New Zealand scarcely touched the ball in the opening minutes. By half-time, Australia had 66% possession. Ultimately Australia won 22–10, and prompted captain George Gregan to taunt the New Zealanders with the words "four more years boys, four more years". The match is widely regarded as a historic Australian rugby match with a BBC Sport sub-header reading at the time: "Reigning champions Australia marched into the Rugby World Cup final with a clinical demolition of tournament favourites New Zealand." Australia advanced to the 2003 Rugby World Cup final ahead of the second Semi-finals match between France and England; both teams Australia had played in a final before (England in 1991; France in 1999). England defeated France 7–24, with every point coming through fly-half Jonny Wilkinson. On a damp Sydney evening before a World Cup record crowd of 82,957, England and Australia played a tense, rain-affected match that saw multiple lead changes, penalties, and tries. Australia opened the scoring with Tuqiri's try, but England responded with Wilkinson's penalties and a Robinson try, taking a 14–5 lead into halftime. The second half featured errors from both sides, strategic substitutions, and a series of penalties and near-tries, with Flatley and Wilkinson exchanging crucial kicks to keep the game close. With the score tied 14–14 at full time, the match went into extra time, where both teams continued to capitalise on penalties and drop goal attempts. Ultimately, Wilkinson secured victory for England with a decisive right-foot drop goal in the final 30 seconds, clinching their first Rugby World Cup with a 20–17 win over Australia. The final broke Australian television records. It reached a peak of 4.34 million viewers and had was the most-watched television program in Australia since the 2000 Summer Olympics hosted in Sydney. In England, the final had a peak of 14.5 million viewers, and was the second highest-ever audience recorded for an international rugby match in the United Kingdom, behind the 1991 Rugby World Cup final.

2010s

2010 saw improved results in the Tri Nations series, with a rare away win against South Africa awarding Australia the Mandela Plate and ensuring they retained second place in the 2010 Tri Nations competition as well as the Rugby World Rankings. However, they suffered their tenth consecutive defeat at the hands of New Zealand, an all-time record. Later that year, Australia finally beat the All Blacks 26-24 in a thrilling game played in Hong Kong, their first win against New Zealand in nearly three years. On the end of year tour they defeated Wales, France and Italy but lost to England and a suffered a shock defeat to Munster.

The Wallabies 2011 season began with a surprise loss to Samoa in Sydney 23–32. The Wallabies however would go on to win the shortened 2011 Tri-Nations series, beating South Africa twice and winning one match and losing one against New Zealand. This was the first Tri-Nations Australia had won since 2001.

Australia's 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign began with a 32-6 win against Italy, followed by a 6-15 defeat against Ireland, a 67-5 win over the United States and, finally for the pool stage, a 68-22 win over Russia. Finishing 2nd in their pool, the Wallabies faced South Africa in the quarter finals defeating them 11-9. A week later the Wallabies were knocked out of the World Cup after being defeated 6-20 by New Zealand in the semi-finals. Australia's final match was against Wales in the bronze medal match, with Australia narrowly winning 21-18.

2012 started with a loss against Scotland before Wales arrived for a three test tour of Australia. The Wallabies narrowly won all 3 tests. Next was the inaugural Rugby Championship tournament, which replaced the Tri-Nations series following the addition of Argentina. The tournament saw the Wallabies finish second after beating Argentina twice and South Africa once, while losing twice to New Zealand and once against South Africa. An 18-18 draw against New Zealand led into the end of year tour where the Wallabies defeated England, Italy and Wales but lost to France.

2013 began with Australia hosting a British & Irish Lions tour. The Wallabies won 1 test and lost 2, marking the first time the British and Irish Lions had won a tour since their 1997 tour of South Africa. With a winning rate of 58.1%, and a poor 3–15 record against the All Blacks, Robbie Deans came under increasing pressure to keep his coaching position. Deans resigned in July 2013, ending his six-year tenure as head coach of the Wallabies. During his tenure, Deans coached the Wallabies on 74 occasions winning 43 times, losing 29 and drawing 2. He had won just 3 times against their main rivals, the All Blacks, with 1 draw in 2012. However, he left with a good record against the Springboks, with 9 wins from 14. Highlights during his tenure as coach included leading the Wallabies to a Tri-Nations championship in 2011 and to a 3rd-place finish in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

2020s

2020 saw mixed results. Cheika was replaced by Dave Rennie as head coach and due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 Super Rugby season was suspended after only 1 month of playing. This forced the cancellation of many fixtures against northern hemisphere teams, limiting Australia to playing New Zealand and Argentina in a reverted Tri-Nations outfit. In the first match of the Bledisloe Cup in Wellington, Australia tied 16–16 with New Zealand, the closest they had come to winning a match in New Zealand for 20 years. In the second match, New Zealand played a tougher game, with Australia having to try to break their 35-year drought at Eden Park. They were outclassed 27-7 despite being 3 points down at halftime. The third leg played in Sydney was a disaster, with the Wallabies going down 43–5, a record loss and the largest win in Bledisloe Cup history. Australia next played New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, where they finally notched a 24–22 win. They next played Argentina twice, leading to two draws. 15-15 in Newcastle and 16-16 draw in Parramatta. The Wallabies finished 2020 at sixth in the world rankings.

2021 brought both highs and lows. The July internationals series saw France touring Australia, and as Sydney went into lockdown due to the pandemic, the first test was rescheduled to be played in Brisbane. The Wallabies opened with a 23–21 win, leapfrogging both France and Wales up to fifth in the world rankings. France responded with a 28–26 win in Melbourne, their first win in Australia since 1990. Play returned to Brisbane for the decider with the cumulative scores of the first two games 49—49. With 5 minutes remaining and the scores tied at 30-all, the series was on a knife's edge, but the final points were notched up with a penalty kick by Noah Lolesio, giving a 33–30 win and series win to the Wallabies. The massive challenge of back-to-back games at Eden Park for the Bledisloe Cup brought two losses, 25—33 for the first game, and a heavy 22–57 defeat in the opening Rugby Championship match. With New Zealand having already secured the cup for the 19th consecutive year, the All Blacks remained undefeated in the 2021 Bledisloe series as the Wallabies again went down 21–38 in Perth. However, things started to improve for the Wallabies for the rest of the Rugby Championship. Quade Cooper made a much-anticipated return to the Wallabies against South Africa at fly-half and produced a stellar performance, leading the Wallabies to a 28–26 win after kicking 8 from 8 off the tee. Australia followed this up with an even more convincing 30–17 win over the Springboks, launching them to third in world rankings behind the world champions South Africa, and New Zealand. Back-to-back wins against Argentina put the Wallabies second on the final table behind the All Blacks, with 4 consecutive wins in the Rugby Championship for the first time ever. During the Spring Tour, the Wallabies called up Tolu Latu, Will Skelton and Rory Arnold to help boost their forward pack. A surprise addition was Kurtley Beale, who was called in after an injury to Reece Hodge. Though the Wallabies won against Japan, they lost all their games in Britain, with close losses against Scotland and Wales, and a comprehensive defeat to England. This was the first time in 45 years that the Wallabies lost all games in a European tour. Australia finished the tour by falling to sixth in the world rankings, from a mid-year high of third in the world.

Jersey

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, and a variety of these colours were used in a number of matches in the early 1900s.

During their first years, the colours of the Wallabies changed depending on the place where they played. Between 1899 and 1904, the team wore sky blue jersey in Sydney and maroon during their games in Brisbane. During 1905–07, their switched to a maroon and light blue striped shirt, then returning to the sky blue (1908–1928).

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 mainly the same, with a few variations, throughout the 1930s. In the 1961 tour of South Africa, Australia wore the gold and green jersey for the first time, to avoid confusion with the Springboks colors.

The away jersey usually is green or white, although in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the Wallabies wore in the match against Romania a green and gold hooped jersey, with green shorts and socks.

Canterbury's design for Australia's 2007 World cup jersey was controversial, featuring 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 include a satirical piece in his column comparing it to Cosmo Kramer and Frank Costanza's infamous man bra from Seinfeld.

In 2010, KooGa became the apparel sponsor. The first KooGa jersey for the Wallabies under KooGa was used from 2010 through to the conclusion of the 2012 season, however, a different set of shorts and socks were made for the 2012 season. A new kit designed by KooGa was revealed in 2013 for the series against the British & Irish Lions. BLK Sport, previously the Australian subdivision of KooGa, became the apparel sponsor after that tour, with the BLK logo replacing the KooGa logo on the kit for the 2013 Spring Tour.

Nickname and mascot

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 press dubbed their team the "All Blacks". It was suggested that Australia should too have a nickname, and "Rabbits" was one of the names suggested by the English newspapers. The Australians rejected this, and did not want the national team to be represented by an imported pest. They opted for the native Wallaby instead.

At first "Wallabies" only pertained to the 1908 squad discussed above, until the 1930s when it came into official and popular for all overseas tours by the national team. The fashion to call all Australian teams the "Wallabies", whether home or away, came in the wake of the success of the 1984 Grand Slam Wallabies tour.

The team mascot is known as Wally. The Wallabies Nunataks are named for the team.

Record

When the World Rankings were introduced in 2003, Australia was ranked fourth. Since then, the highest ranking Australia has achieved is second, and the lowest is ninth.

Rugby World Cup

Australia has appeared at every Rugby World Cup (RWC) since the first tournament in 1987. Australia was the first nation to win two World Cups, with victories in 1991 and 1999. They have progressed to four Rugby World Cup finals (tied with South Africa), one behind New Zealand's record of five.

In 1987, Australia co-hosted the inaugural Rugby World Cup 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 then went on to beat 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.

Coached by Bob Dwyer 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 in the quarter-finals, beating 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 beat 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 and finished second in their pool, losing one game to hosts South Africa. They were then knocked out in the quarter-finals by England. In the 2009 feature film Invictus based on the story of the 1995 tournament, Australia can be seen playing South Africa in one of the scenes.

Rod Macqueen was the Australian head coach for the 1999 World Cup in Wales. The team beat Ireland, Romania and the United States during the group stages and, after defeated hosts Wales in the quarter-finals, they turned the tables on defending champions South Africa, beating them 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 twice.

Australia were the sole hosts of the tournament in 2003, and went undefeated in Pool A, beating 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 Sydney during extra time with a Jonny Wilkinson drop goal.

Rugby Championship

Australia's main annual tournament is The Rugby Championship (formerly the Tri-Nations from 1996 to 2011), competing with New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina who joined in 2012. Australia has won the tournament four times; in 2000, 2001, 2011 and 2015. Within the Rugby Championship, Australia also competes for the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand, the Mandela Challenge Plate with South Africa, and the Puma Trophy with Argentina.

Nations Championship

Beginning in 2026, Australia began competing in the Nations Championship, a biennial tournament featuring the Northern Hemisphere teams in the Six Nations Championship competing against the four Southern Hemisphere teams in The Rugby Championship alongside invited teams Fiji and Japan. The tournament replaced the mid-year and end-of-year rugby Tests that were held annually since 2001, and holds a finals venue in one location. Promotion and relegation is scheduled to be introduced in 2030.

Overall

Below is a summary of the Test Matches played by Australia up until 4 July 2026:

Trophies

Australia contests a number of other trophies against tier one teams from the Northern Hemisphere. The Trophée des Bicentenaires has been contested with France since 1989; the Ella–Mobbs Trophy (formerly the Cook Cup) with England since 1997; the Hopetoun Cup with Scotland since 1998; the Lansdowne Cup with Ireland since 1999; and the James Bevan Trophy with Wales since 2007.

Players

Selection policy

Until 2015, the only players eligible for national selection had to be Australian-based. All overseas-based Australian players were not eligible to represent the Wallabies. Since 2022, three overseas-based players could be selected per series or tournament if they had 30 Test caps for Australia, and had played five years in the Super Rugby.

In 2015, several selection policy changes were made by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), giving a select few number of overseas-based players the chance to represent Australia if they had served time in the Super Rugby (seven years) and the national team (60 caps). These policy changes were dubbed "Giteau's law". In 2020, the Giteau's law policy had been widened to include any player based overseas who did not meet the original threshold of 60 Test caps and seven years in the Super Rugby. However, any such selections must've be made in consultation with the Super Rugby franchises and receive Rugby Australia board approval, ensuring players already based in Australia are not disadvantaged. Eligibility was also restricted to World Rugby's designated international windows, which, for 2020, did not coincide with the Rugby Championship in November and December.

In February 2022, Australia's selection policy had slightly changed again, lowering the 60 Test caps and seven years in the Super Rugby eligibility to 30 Test caps and five years, respectively. Only three players per per series or tournament who fulfilled this criteria were allowed for selection. This has remained Australia's overseas-based selection policy since.

Current squad

On 23 July 2026, new coach Les Kiss named a 34-man squad ahead of the two-Test series against Japan. Only three new players were named in the team from Australia's previous squad that took part in the 2026 Nations Championship Southern Hemisphere Series in June.

Caps updated: 8 August 2026 (after Japan v Australia)

Notable players

As of August 2018, the Wallabies have fourteen former players (and two former coaches) in the World Rugby Hall of Fame, which was previously known as the IRB Hall of Fame prior to 2015.

Australians in the World Rugby Hall of Fame (year of induction in brackets):

The two World Cup-winning captains, John Eales and Nick Farr-Jones, were among the first Australians to be inducted. Eales received this honour in 2007.

Farr-Jones and another former Wallaby captain, Nick Shehadie, were inducted in 2011. Shehadie was honoured not as a player but recognised, together with fellow Australian Rugby administrator Roger Vanderfield, as one of four key figures in the creation of the Rugby World Cup. World Cup-winning coaches Bob Dwyer and Rod Macqueen were also inducted in 2011.

Six former Wallaby greats with combined playing careers spanning almost nine decades – Tom Lawton Snr, John Thornett, Ken Catchpole, Mark Ella, David Campese and George Gregan – were added to the list of Australians in the IRB Hall of Fame in 2013.

Lawton, a fly-half whose international career spanned from 1920 to 1932, was noted for his ball-handling and kicking skills, and most notably led Australia to their first-ever clean sweep of the Bledisloe Cup series, in 1929. Thornett, a forward who played in four different positions for the Wallabies, made his international debut in 1955. He earned 35 caps in a 12-year Test career, and captained the Wallabies 15 times. During Australia's drawn 1963 Test series against South Africa, in which he served as captain, the Wallabies became the first team in the 20th century to win consecutive Tests over the Springboks.

Gregan, a World Cup-winning scrum-half whose Test career spanned the amateur and professional eras of the sport (1994–2007), is notable as having been the all-time caps leader in international rugby union, with 139 in all (a record since surpassed by Brian O'Driscoll of Ireland). He also captained the Wallabies in 59 Tests.

Individual records

Prop James Slipper is Australia's most capped player with 154 Test caps. Former scrum half George Gregan was also the world's most capped player until being surpassed by Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll in 2014. Gregan also 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.

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 beat Australia 53–8 in 2008.

Award winners

The following Australia players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:

Coaches

Coaching staff

As of August 2026

Coaches

Prior to 1982, Australia did not select coaches as long-term appointments. Managers were appointed to handle the logistics of overseas tours and the assistant manager often doubled as the coach for the duration of the trip. Sometimes the team captain filled the Australian coaching role, particularly for home tests since the IRB had ruled that home teams could not be assembled until three days before a test match.

Home venues

As of 4 October 2025

The Wallabies play at a variety of stadiums around Australia. Some of these include Stadium Australia in Sydney, Lang Park in Brisbane, AAMI Park and Docklands Stadium in Melbourne, and Optus Stadium and nib Stadium in Perth. 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.

Broadcasters

Due to Australia's anti-siphoning laws every Rugby World Cup (RWC) Australia has participated in has been held, exclusively or in part, on a free-to-air (FTA) broadcasting network.

Before the advent of professionalism, Australia's internationals and spring tours were televised by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1957–1991). The first commercial broadcaster to partner with the Wallabies was Network Ten in 1992. The partnership ran until 1995 and saw the broadcaster televise the third edition of the Rugby World Cup (RWC) (1995), held in South Africa for the first time. In 1995 the SANZAR unions (Australian Rugby Union (ARU), New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and the South African Rugby Union) signed a US$550 million (equivalent to $1162.1 million in 2025), ten-year deal with News Corp, to begin the following year. News Corp on-sold the Australian free-to-air broadcast rights to Seven Network, with the pay-TV rights being given to Foxtel. Included in the deal were the broadcasting rights for the domestic Super 12 competition, the Tri Nations Series as well as the 1999 and 2003 Rugby World Cups. In December 2004, with the then-current deal coming to an end, all three SANZAR unions renewed their broadcasting relationship with News Corp for another five years (2006–2010), valued at AU$423 million (equivalent to $666.43 million in 2022). The Seven Network also renewed their free-to-air broadcasting partnership months later. In 2010 the SANZAR–News Corp broadcasting deal was once again renewed for another five years (2011–2015), totaling AU$437 million (equivalent to $578.88 million in 2022). In March 2010 it was reported that Network 10 was believed to be no longer interested in the free-to-air rights. Subsequently, the Nine Network became the official free-to-air broadcast partner of the Wallabies for the first time. In 2013 Network 10 picked up the FTA broadcast rights again, partnering until the end of 2015.

At the end of the 2011–2015 contractual deal, all parties renewed their broadcasting agreement for another four-year deal (2016–2020). The deal was reported to be AU$285 million (equivalent to $336.94 million in 2022). Although all Wallabies home matches televised were available on Network 10, Spring Tour (November) matches for 2016, 2017 and 2018 were FTA on Special Broadcasting Service (SBS).

In November 2019 it was reported that Australian rugby's long-held broadcasting relationship with News Corp (1996–2020) would no longer continue after Foxtel walked away from negotiations. It was also reported that Optus had expressed interest in a broadcasting deal. Several months later Rugby Australia (RA) were reportedly looking for a new broadcast partner. By the end of the year, Rugby Australia had signed a broadcast deal with Nine Entertainment worth AU$100 million over three years (2021–2023). The agreement spurred Nine Entertainment's own over-the-top (OTT) streaming platform known as Stan Sport. The deal had a two-year extension option at the end of its tenure, which Nine extended in early 2023 (2024–2025). In February 2025 it was reported by the Australian Financial Review that Rugby Australia and Nine Entertainment had reached an "in-principle agreement" for a new broadcasting deal worth $210 million over five years. In the following months, the new deal between Rugby Australia and Nine Entertainment was revealed. The deal was reported to be around AU$210–240 million over five years (2026–2030), and included bonus payments if the national team (Wallabies) and the Australian Super Rugby sides hit success targets during their campaigns.

Sponsorship

In April 2015, BMW Australia became the official partner of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU). Signed as the official vehicle partner, two-year deal that extends until the end of 2016 establishes BMW Australia as sponsors for the Wallabies and the ARU.

The partnership agreement extends BMW's involvement with the game globally, having an established relationship with the English Rugby Football Union as a vehicle partner since 2012.

In September 2020, Qantas announced it was ending its 30 year sponsorship of the Wallabies at the end of the year due to the financial losses it incurred during the Coronavirus pandemic.

In May 2021, Rugby Australia announced that Cadbury had signed a 5 year deal to become the principal partner of the Wallabies. In July 2024, the partnership was extended to the end of 2029, ensuring Cadbury remains the principal partner during the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2029 Women's Rugby World Cup, all being held in Australia.