Australia national under-20 rugby union team

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
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

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

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

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
Year Round Position Pld W D L PF PA
Wales 20085th place5th540122168
Japan 2009Semi-finals4th530218674
Argentina 2010Runners-up2nd5401239131
Italy 2011Semi-finals3rd5302166117
South Africa 20128th place8th510410794
France 20137th place7th520311484
New Zealand 20145th place5th5401176101
Italy 20155th place5th5401136110
England 20166th place6th5203120116
Georgia (country) 20176th place6th5302135106
France 20185th place5th5302178103
Argentina 2019Runners-up2nd5302171122
South Africa 20235th place5th5311179157
Total13/130 titles65391252,1281,383

U20 Rugby Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D L PF PA
Australia 2024TBD
Total1/10 titlesTBD

Oceania Rugby U20 Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D L PF PA
Australia 2015Runners-up2nd320110987
Australia 2016Runners-up2nd21013554
Australia 2017Runners-up2nd32018187
Australia 2018Runners-up2nd320117055
Australia 2019Champions1st330010414
Australia 20223rd place3rd31029198
Total6/61 title171106590395

Head coaches
  • 2008: Brian Melrose[19]
  • 2009–2012: David Nucifora[20][21]
  • 2013–2016: Adrian Thompson[22]
  • 2017: Simon Cron[23]
  • 2018–2019: Jason Gilmore[24]
  • 2020–present: Nathan Grey[25]

Honours
World Junior Championship
  • Runners-up (2): 2010, 2019
Oceania Junior Championship
  • Winners (1): 2019
  • Runners-up (4): 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

See also
  • Australian Under 20 Rugby Championship
  • Australia national under-19 rugby union team
  • Australia national under-21 rugby union team

References
  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.
  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.
  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.
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