Misplaced Pages

Australia A/Australia XV

Union	Australian Rugby Union
Emblem(s)	the Wallaby
Coach(es)	Rod Seib (2024)
Team kit

Australia A/Australia XV is the second national Rugby union team of Australia, behind the Wallabies. Matches played under the 'Australia A' title are traditionally non-test match fixtures and often offer a stepping-stone to Wallaby national selection. Aspiring Wallaby players were given a chance to impress selectors during these games. In the past, the team would also play touring sides, such as the British & Irish Lions, or play mid-week games when the Wallabies are on tour.

History

Officially formed in 2001 as part of the 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, Australia A played host to the British & Irish Lions in a mid-week game and offered fringe Wallabies players a chance to impress the national selectors ahead of the test series. Australia A won the match 28–25, inflicting the Lions' first loss of the tour.

Australia A next formed in 2003 as part of the 2003 Rugby World Cup warm-ups and 2003 June rugby union tests, where they faced Japan in back-to-back matches coming away with two victories in Osaka and Tokyo. Up until 2004, Australia A was used as a team to offer touring teams a chance to play mid-week matches or developing rugby nations a chance to play stronger opposition to maintain non-test match status. However, in November 2004, Australia A was used when the Wallabies toured Europe, whereby they played the French Barbarians in the lead up to the national sides meeting later on tour in Paris.

By 2005, Australia A had won every match they had played in, but after playing the Junior All Blacks (the All Blacks second team at the time) in 2005, their unbeaten run came to an end, losing 23–19 in Canberra.

In 2006, Australia was originally invited to take part in the inaugural IRB Pacific Nations Cup but decided against sending a team, stating a need to focus on domestic competition. However, Australia did however host two games in the opening stages of the 2006 tournament, where Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium hosted Tonga vs Fiji and later Tonga vs Samoa. Australia A later played two matches against Fiji after the 2006 tournament, and then joined the competition in 2007.

In the 2007 Pacific Nations Cup, Australia A played 5 matches for 3 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. The team finished second in the tournament won by the Junior All Blacks.

In the 2008 Pacific Nations Cup, Australia A played 5 matches for 4 wins and 1 loss. The team finished second in the tournament won by New Zealand Māori. At the end of the 2008, however, the Australian Rugby Union decided to scrap the Australia A team, citing financial constraints. Australia withdrew from the 2009 tournament.

Despite withdrawing from the Australia A programme, between 2009 and 2010, Australia fielded several XV sides against Home Nations clubs, and although not officially titled Australia A, the side was often referred to it with these games used for fringe Wallabies players. For the 2010 England tour to Australia, the ARU arranged for the Australian Barbarians Rugby Club to play two matches against the visiting England national team. This side was nominated as the second national team and was, as such, essentially Australia A by another name for the England matches. The Australian Barbarians also played a pre-World Cup friendly against Canada in 2011.

Australia XV also returned in 2016, when they played against the French Barbarians during the Wallabies Spring tour. The side was selected from a handful of fringe players and with the team not being the official Wallabies side, the selectors were able to select players from outside the Australian Rugby Union selection policy and chose players based in Europe.

In February 2020, Rugby Australia had hinted at a possible return of the Australia A side where they would face Tier 2 opposition to strengthen the sides. However, any possible plans where paused due the COVID-19 pandemic, and in May 2022 having not formally participated in any event since 2008, the Australia A team was reignited by Rugby Australia to compete in the Pacific Nations Cup for July 2022 against Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, to take place in Fiji.

In 2024, Rugby Australia confirmed the program will be called Australia XV as they announced games against Bristol and England A. The program also expanded into the women's program, with the governing body announcing the first-ever women's Australia A side as a development team for Super Rugby Women's players transitioning to the Australia women's national rugby union team. The side would play their first ever match in 2024 against Samoa, losing 20-17.

Matches against international sides

• Scores highlighted in red color denoted a loss.
• Home team's score listed first.
• These results denote being against non-provincial international opposition, played under the moniker of Australia A, Australia B Australia XV or Wallaby XV.

Men

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Notes	Competition
6 August 1991	Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane	New Zealand 'B'	15–21		1991 New Zealand rugby union tour of Australia
19 June 2001	Central Coast Stadium, Gosford	British & Irish Lions	28–25		2001 British & Irish Lions tour of Australia
5 June 2003	Nagai Stadium, Osaka	Japan	5–63
8 June 2003	Chichibunomiya Stadium, Tokyo		15–66
5 November 2004	Stade Jean-Bouin, Paris	French Barbarians	15–47		2004 Australian tour of Europe
26 June 2005	Canberra Stadium, Canberra	Junior All Blacks	19–23
1 July 2005	Sydney Football Stadium Sydney		31–34
1 November 2005	Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux	French Barbarians	12–42		2005 Australian tour of Europe
15 July 2006	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	Fiji	47–18
22 July 2006	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne		80–9
15 November 2006	Thomond Park, Limerick	Ireland A	17–24		2006 Australian tour of Europe
21 November 2006	McDiarmid Park, Perth	Scotland A	20–44
25 May 2007	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	Tonga	60–15		2007 Pacific Nations Cup
2 June 2007	Coffs Stadium, Coffs Harbour	Samoa	27–15
9 June 2007	Willows Sports Complex, Townsville	Japan	71–10
16 June 2007	Carisbrook, Dunedin	Junior All Blacks	50–0
23 June 2007	ANZ National Stadium, Suva	Fiji	14–14
8 June 2008	Hakatanomori Stadium, Fukuoka	Japan	21–42		2008 Pacific Nations Cup
14 June 2008	Apia Park, Apia	Samoa	15–20
22 June 2008	North Sydney Oval, North Sydney	Tonga	90–7
29 June 2008	Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane	Fiji	50–13
5 July 2008	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	New Zealand Māori	18–21
24 November 2016	Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux	French Barbarians	19–11		2016 November international
30 October 2020	TG Millner Field, Sydney	Argentina	15–19		2020 Tri Nations series warm-up match
7 November 2020			24–57
2 July 2022	ANZ National Stadium, Suva	Samoa	26–31		2022 Pacific Nations Cup
9 July 2022	Churchill Park, Lautoka	Fiji	18–32
16 July 2022	Churchill Park, Lautoka	Tonga	22–39
1 October 2022	Chichibunomiya Stadium, Tokyo	Japan XV	22–34		2022 Autumn Internationals
8 October 2022	Best Denki Stadium, Fukuoka		21–22
14 October 2022	Yodoko Sakura Stadium, Osaka		52–48
14 July 2023	Teufaiva Sport Stadium, Nukuʻalofa	Tonga	27–21		2023 RWC warm-up
27 August 2023	Stade Jules-Ladoumègue, Brou-sur-Chantereine, France	Portugal	17–30
17 November 2024	Twickenham Stoop, London	England Saxons	38–17		2024 Autumn Internationals

Overall

Against	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %
Argentina	2	0	2	0	00.00%
British & Irish Lions	1	1	0	0	100.00%
England Saxons	1	0	1	0	00.00%
Fiji	5	5	0	0	100.00%
French Barbarians	3	2	1	0	66.66%
Ireland A	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Japan	4	4	0	0	100.00%
Japan XV	3	2	1	0	66.66%
All Blacks XV	4	0	4	0	00.00%
New Zealand Māori	1	0	1	0	00.00%
Portugal	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Samoa	3	2	1	0	66.66%
Scotland A	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Tonga	4	3	1	0	75.00%
Total	34	22	12	0	64.70%

Updated: 21st November 2024

Other matches

• Other non-international matches played as Australia, Australia XV, Wallaby XV, Australia A or Australia 'B' when selected as the second national team. This does not include matches involving the Australian Barbarians.

Date	Moniker	Venue	Opponent	Score	Winner	Competition
1 November 2006	Australia XV	Swansea Stadium, Swansea	Ospreys	24–16	Ospreys	2006 Australian tour of Europe
3 November 2009	Australia XV	Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester	Gloucester	5–36	Australia A	2009 Autumn Internationals
24 November 2009	Australia XV	Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff	Cardiff Blues	3–31
9 November 2010	Australia	Welford Road Stadium, Leicester	Leicester Tigers	15–26	Australia A	2010 European Tour
16 November 2010	Australia	Thomond Park, Limerick	Munster	15–6	Munster
8 November 2024	Australia XV	Ashton Gate, Bristol	Bristol Bears	10–10	draw	2024 Autumn Internationals

Women

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Notes	Competition
6 September 2024	Apia Park, Apia	Samoa	17–20

Squad

On 22 October, a 30-player squad was named for Australia XV's 2024 Northern hemisphere tour with matches against English Premiership side Bristol Bears, and England A.

Following the withdrawal of Tom Robertson from the Wallabies squad due to a calf injury, Zane Nonggorr was elevated from Australia XV squad to replace him for their Northern Hemisphere tour. He was replaced in the Australia XV squad by Tiaan Tauakipulu.

Players in bold are players capped by the main national team.

Head Coach: Rod Seib

List of Coaches

• Eddie Jones (2001, vs. British & Irish Lions tour)
• Adrian Thompson (2003, vs. Japan)
• Eddie Jones (2004, vs. French Barbarians)
• Ewen McKenzie (2005, vs. Junior All Blacks)
• Eddie Jones (2005, vs. French Barbarians)
• Laurie Fisher (2006, vs. Fiji)
• John Connolly (2006 European Tour)
• Laurie Fisher (2007, Pacific Nations Cup)
• Phil Mooney (2008 Pacific Nations Cup)
• Robbie Deans (2009 European Tour)
• Robbie Deans (2010 England Series)
• Robbie Deans (2010 European Tour)
• Scott Wisemantel (2016, vs. French Barbarians)
• Jason Gilmore (2022 Pacific Nations Cup & Japan tour)
• Jason Gilmore (2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches)
• Rod Seib (2024 Northern tour)

See also

• Australia national rugby union team

Notes

1. Also known as Wallaby XV.

References

1. Clockwatch: Australia A 28-25 Lions
2. "'Australia A' to play Fiji in Adelaide and Melbourne". rugby.com.au. 9 June 2006. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
3. "Australia A to join Pacific Cup". BBC. 18 October 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2006.
4. Swanton, Will (22 December 2008). "Financial crisis forces sacrifice of Australia A". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
5. "England to play Australian Barbarians". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 March 2010. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
6. "Wallabies power Barbarians' victory". 26 August 2011. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
7. Australia A back on radar as World Rugby look to strengthen 'tier two' schedule
8. "Pacific Nations Cup returns in July for its 15th edition". World Rugby. 19 May 2022.
9. Williamson, Nathan (19 May 2022). "Australia A to return as part of Pacific Nations Cup". rugby.com.au.
10. Payten, Iain; Robinson, Georgina; Decent, Tom (5 May 2022). "Return of Australia 'A' team prompts eligibility jitters in Super ranks". Sydney Morning Herald.
11. "Monster penalty goal sinks Australia A as Samoa win last-minute thriller". rugby.com.au. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
12. "Tour Match: Japan vs Australia A". Australian Rugby. 1 October 2022.
13. "Nawaqanitawase adds gloss to Australia A win In Tokyo". 1 October 2022.
14. "Wallabies 2022: World Cup bolter emerges from Australia A win over Japan, score, analysis, video, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Langi Gleeson". Fox Sports Australia. 3 October 2022.
15. "Australia A pull away from promising Portugal for victory". Rugby AU. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
16. "Final flurry sees England A run out 38-17 victors over Australia XV". Rugby AU. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
17. "Monster penalty goal sinks Australia A as Samoa win last-minute thriller". rugby.com.au. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
18. Wallabies, Australia XV squads named for Grand Slam, UK Spring Tours
19. https://westernforce.rugby/news/quiet-achiever-tauakipulu-maiden-australia-xv-20241031
20. Decent, Tom (21 November 2016). "Former Australian captain Ben Mowen joins Wallaby XV for French Barbarians clash". Dublin: Sydney Morning Herald. Australia have named their Wallaby XV squad to take on the French Barbarians at Bordeaux with former captain Ben Mowen one of the new faces in a team to be coached by Scott Wisemantel.
21. "Jason Gilmore named Australia A Head Coach for Pacific Nations Cup". NSW Rugby. 19 May 2022.
22. Woods, Melissa (19 May 2022). "Australia A rugby revived for Pacific Cup". The Canberra Times.

External links

• Eight Wallabies to start for Australia A, as Campbell debuts as captain
• Strong team named for Australia A clash with Japan

v t e National sports teams of Australia
A1 GP Athletics Australian rules football Badminton Baseball M M U19 M U18 Schoolboys W Baseball5 Basketball M M U19 M U17 M 3x3 W W U19 W U17 W 3x3 Beach handball M M U17 W Beach soccer Cricket M Aus A M U19 PM's XI W W U19 Blind Field hockey M M U21 W W U21 Floorball M U19 W Futsal M W Goalball M W Golf Gridiron Gymnastics Handball M M U21 M U18 W W U21 W U18 Ice hockey M M U20 M U18 MPara W W U18 Indoor hockey Inline hockey M W International rules M W Korfball Lacrosse M Indoor W Motorcycle Speedway Open U21 Netball M W Pitch and putt Quadball Roller derby M W Roller hockey Rugby league M W PM's XIII Indigenous Junior Schoolboys Wheelchair Rugby union M Aus A M U21 M U20 M U19 Schoolboys M7 W W7 Soccer M MB M U23 M U20 M U17 P7 W W U23 W U20 W U17 Softball M W M U17 W U18 Squash M W Swimming Tennis Davis Cup Fed Cup Hopman Cup Volleyball M W W U18 Water polo M W Wheelchair basketball M W Wheelchair rugby
Olympics Winter Paralympics Winter Commonwealth Games Universiade

• Australia national rugby union team
• Second national rugby union teams