Australia national under-20 rugby union team

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Australia
UnionRugby Australia
Nickname(s)Junior Wallabies
Coach(es)Nathan Grey
Team kit
First international
 Australia 81–12 Canada 
(6 June 2008; Rodney Parade, Newport)
Largest win
 Australia 91–7 Tonga 
(1 May 2018; Bond Sports Park, Gold Coast)
Largest defeat
 Australia 12–69 New Zealand 
(10 July 2022; SC Stadium, Bokarina)
World Cup
Appearances7 (First in 2008)
Best resultRunners-up (2010, 2019)
Logo 2008–2017

The Australia national under-20 rugby union team, nicknamed the Junior Wallabies, is the national under-20 rugby union team that represents Australia. The team has been competing at the annual World Rugby U20 Championship since it began in 2008, replacing the previously held under-19 and under-21 championships. The team also competes at the Oceania U20 Championship as of 2015 and the U20 Rugby Championship since 2024.

Australia's highest finish at the World Rugby U20 Championship was second-place in 2010[1][2] and 2019. The team finished third in 2011 by beating France in the third place playoff,[3] and fourth in 2009 after losing to South Africa 32–5 in the third place playoff.[4] The Junior Wallabies also finished second in the first four editions of the Oceania U20 Championship before being crowned champions in 2019 after defeating New Zealand 24–0.[5][6][7]

Team name[edit]

The Junior Wallabies name was incorporated into the Australian under-20 crest prior to the 2018 season, but the name was also previously applied to several other teams in the history of Australian rugby.[8][9] In the era of amateur rugby from the 1950s onwards, the Junior Wallabies team was selected from uncapped players (with no age restriction) to play against touring Test sides[10][11] or to represent Australia on goodwill tours to Asia and the Pacific.[12][13] Media publications sometimes also used the name Junior Wallabies to refer to age-graded national teams such as the Australian under-19 side,[14] Australian Schoolboys,[15][16] and later the Australian under-20 team.[17][18]

Overall record[edit]

Summary for all competitive test matches up to and including the 2023 season:

Opponent Pld W D L W% PF PA Diff.
 Argentina 6 3 0 3 50% 150 106 +44
 Canada 2 2 0 0 100% 167 12 +155
 England 8 1 1 6 12.5% 165 204 –39
 Fiji 8 8 0 0 100% 352 125 +228
 France 7 3 0 4 42.86% 178 170 +8
 Ireland 4 2 0 2 50% 98 84 +14
 Italy 6 6 0 0 100% 220 74 +146
 Japan 3 3 0 0 100% 165 64 +101
 New Zealand 16 4 0 12 25% 323 561 –238
 Samoa 6 6 0 0 100% 228 94 +134
 Scotland 6 4 0 2 66.67% 218 104 +114
 South Africa 3 1 0 2 33.33% 60 113 –53
 Tonga 4 4 0 0 100% 252 25 +227
 Wales 5 4 0 1 80% 168 104 +64
Total 84 51 1 32 60.71% 2.644 1,840 +804

World Rugby U20 Championship record[edit]

Year Round Position Pld W D L PF PA
Wales 2008 5th place 5th 5 4 0 1 221 68
Japan 2009 Semi-finals 4th 5 3 0 2 186 74
Argentina 2010 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 0 1 239 131
Italy 2011 Semi-finals 3rd 5 3 0 2 166 117
South Africa 2012 8th place 8th 5 1 0 4 107 94
France 2013 7th place 7th 5 2 0 3 114 84
New Zealand 2014 5th place 5th 5 4 0 1 176 101
Italy 2015 5th place 5th 5 4 0 1 136 110
England 2016 6th place 6th 5 2 0 3 120 116
Georgia (country) 2017 6th place 6th 5 3 0 2 135 106
France 2018 5th place 5th 5 3 0 2 178 103
Argentina 2019 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 0 2 171 122
South Africa 2023 5th place 5th 5 3 1 1 179 157
Total 13/13 0 titles 65 39 1 25 2,128 1,383

U20 Rugby Championship record[edit]

Year Round Position Pld W D L PF PA
Australia 2024 TBD
Total 1/1 0 titles TBD

Oceania Rugby U20 Championship record[edit]

Year Round Position Pld W D L PF PA
Australia 2015 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 109 87
Australia 2016 Runners-up 2nd 2 1 0 1 35 54
Australia 2017 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 81 87
Australia 2018 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 170 55
Australia 2019 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 104 14
Australia 2022 3rd place 3rd 3 1 0 2 91 98
Total 6/6 1 title 17 11 0 6 590 395

Head coaches[edit]

Honours[edit]

World Junior Championship
Oceania Junior Championship
  • Winners (1): 2019
  • Runners-up (4): 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "New Zealand crowned JWC 2010 champions". IRB. 21 June 2010. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Young Wallabies finish runners up at Junior Worlds". 2010.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "France 17–30 Australia". IRB. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Australia finishes fourth at IRB Junior World Championship". 2009.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Rugby – Junior Wallabies beat New Zealand to win Oceania under-20s crown". Special Broadcasting Service. 5 May 2019.
  6. ^ Decent, Tom (5 May 2019). "Junior Wallabies thumping of NZ provides lift game desperately needs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Junior Wallabies deliver good news with Oceania title win over New Zealand". The Australian. News Corp Australia. 6 May 2019.
  8. ^ "John Weatherstone, 22, left, who will leave Australia on Saturday to tour Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan with the Junior Wallabies". The Canberra Times. 6 March 1972. p. 36, col. 4. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  9. ^ "S. Africa names a strong side". The Canberra Times. 27 July 1971. p. 22, col. 4. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  10. ^ Australian Rugby Union (27 January 2009). "Biographies - Norman Peter Reilly". Brave and Game. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Third visit in five years". The Canberra Times. 8 July 1990. p. 36. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  12. ^ "State Players Nominated". The West Australian. Perth. 25 June 1953. p.18, col. 2. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Union teams selected for Ceylon, Fiji tours". Illawarra Daily Mercury. Wollongong. 9 July 1953. p.12, col. 5. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Roff keen to tackle NZ side". The Canberra Times. 22 July 1994. p. 28. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Junior Wallabies maintain unbeaten record". The Canberra Times. 22 January 1982. p. 18. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  16. ^ "Schoolboys still dominant". The Canberra Times. 28 January 1982. p. 26. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  17. ^ Tucker, Jim (7 May 2016). "Goalkicker Mack Mason proves hero as junior Wallabies become history-makers in beating All Blacks". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Sport: Samoa expecting full-strength Australia in U20 opener". Radio New Zealand. 2 June 2015. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  19. ^ "Australia announce strong U20s squad". ESPN. 6 May 2008. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ^ "Annual Report 2009" (PDF). Australian Rugby Union. pp. 40–41. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  21. ^ "Trans-Tasman rivals set for final showdown". ESPN. 20 June 2010. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  22. ^ "Australian U20s coach announced". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 February 2013. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  23. ^ "Simon Cron, who led Northern Suburbs to Shute Shield win, named Australian U-20s coach". The Daily Telegraph. 9 November 2016. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  24. ^ "Jason Gilmore says Super Rugby experience with Reds will help him plot junior Wallabies revival". Fox Sports. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  25. ^ Williamson, Nathan (18 June 2021). "Junior Wallabies name squad for Oceania Tournament". rugby.com.au. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021.

External links[edit]

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