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.
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Union | Rugby Australia | |
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Nickname(s) | Junior Wallabies | |
Coach(es) | Nathan Grey | |
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First international | ||
![]() ![]() (6 June 2008; Rodney Parade, Newport) | ||
Largest win | ||
![]() ![]() (1 May 2018; Bond Sports Park, Gold Coast) | ||
Largest defeat | ||
![]() ![]() (10 July 2022; SC Stadium, Bokarina) | ||
World Cup | ||
Appearances | 7(First in 2008) | |
Best result | Runners-up (2010, 2019) |
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]
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]
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 |
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | 5th place | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 221 | 68 |
2009 | Semi-finals | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 186 | 74 |
2010 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 239 | 131 |
2011 | Semi-finals | 3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 166 | 117 |
2012 | 8th place | 8th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 107 | 94 |
2013 | 7th place | 7th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 114 | 84 |
2014 | 5th place | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 176 | 101 |
2015 | 5th place | 5th | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 136 | 110 |
2016 | 6th place | 6th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 120 | 116 |
2017 | 6th place | 6th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 135 | 106 |
2018 | 5th place | 5th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 178 | 103 |
2019 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 171 | 122 |
2023 | 5th place | 5th | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 179 | 157 |
Total | 13/13 | 0 titles | 65 | 39 | 1 | 25 | 2,128 | 1,383 |
Year | Position | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | 4th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 80 | |||
Total | 1/1 | TBD |
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 109 | 87 |
2016 | Runners-up | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 54 |
2017 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 87 |
2018 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 170 | 55 |
2019 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 104 | 14 |
2022 | 3rd place | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 91 | 98 |
Total | 6/6 | 1 title | 17 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 590 | 395 |
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