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.

History 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. 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 or to represent Australia on goodwill tours to Asia and the Pacific. Media publications sometimes also used the name Junior Wallabies to refer to age-graded national teams such as the Australian under-19 side, Australian Schoolboys, and later the Australian under-20 team.

Australia's highest finish at the World Rugby U20 Championship was second-place in 2010 and 2019. The team finished third in 2011 by beating France in the third place playoff, and fourth in 2009 after losing to South Africa 32–5 in the third place playoff.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.

Selection policy In June 2026, ahead of the team announcement for the 2026 World Rugby Junior World Championship in Georgia, Rugby Australia (RA) made a major change to its selection policy by including overseas-based players in the Junior Wallabies squad for the first time. As had been standard practice, all players were selected locally. The policy's aim was to maintain connections with talented Australians playing abroad and reduce the risk of losing them to other nations, similar to Emmanuel Meafou, who later chose to represent France. While the decision was seen as potentially controversial because it reduces opportunities for locally based players, RA said it is necessary to strengthen the talent pool and adapt to the increasing number of Australians pursuing professional pathways in France.

The Sydney Morning Herald stated that the move reflected the growing number of young Australian rugby players developing in French club academies. Two France-based props, Lehopa Leota of Racing 92 and Hayden Lavercombe of Vannes, were expected to be selected for the Junior World Championship squad. RA said overseas selections would remain limited and will only apply to standout performers. The former was later selected in the squad.

Competitive record Junior World Championship

Year Round 2008Fifth place540122168 2009Fourth place530218674 2010Runners-up5401239131 2011Third place5302166117 2012Eighth place510410794 2013Seventh place520311484 2014Fifth place5401176101 2015Fifth place5401136110 2016Sixth place5203120116 2017Sixth place5302135106 2018Fifth place5302178103 2019Runners-up5302171122 2023Fifth place5311179157 2024Sixth place42028971 2025Fifth place5302196194 2026 colspan=7 Total69411272,2171,454

U20 Rugby Championship

Year Round 2024Fourth place31025580 2025Runners-up32109889 2026Fourth Place310278120Total6312153169

Oceania Rugby U20 Championship

Year Round 2015Runners-up320110987 2016Runners-up21013554 2017Runners-up32018187 2018Runners-up320117055 2019Champions330010414 2022Third place31029198Total171106590395

Head coaches Coach Tenure Brian Melrose 2008 5 4 0 1 David Nucifora 2009–2012 20 11 0 9 Adrian Thompson 2013–2016 25 15 0 10 Simon Cron 2017 8 5 0 3 Jason Gilmore 2018–2019 16 11 0 5 Nathan Grey 2020–2024 17 8 1 8 Chris Whitaker 2025–present colspan=5

Players Current squad On 11 June 2026, a 30-man squad was announced for Australia's 2026 Junior World Championship. Included in the squad were two players in the Australia national sevens team, and two players based in France.

Head coach: Chris Whitaker

Results The following is a list of Australia's recent match results, as well as upcoming scheduled fixtures, during the 12 months up to the end of 2026:

Head-to-head record

Opponent 11 6 0 5 % 286 240 +46 2 2 0 0 % 167 12 +155 10 2 1 7 % 266 280 –14 9 9 0 0 % 405 142 +263 8 3 0 5 % 207 204 +3 1 1 0 0 % 35 11 +24 4 2 0 2 % 98 84 +14 8 7 0 1 % 276 112 +164 3 3 0 0 % 165 64 +101 1 1 0 0 % 54 26 +28 19 4 1 14 % 406 660 –254 6 6 0 0 % 228 94 +134 7 5 0 2 % 252 128 +124 7 3 0 4 % 147 285 –138 1 1 0 0 % 90 22 +68 4 4 0 0 % 252 25 +227 7 5 0 2 % 240 171 +69 Total 108 64 2 42 % 3,573 2,560 +1,013

Awards and honours Awards The following Australia U20s players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2008: + World Rugby Junior Player of the Year Year Nominees Winners 2009 Richard Kingi — 2010 Robbie Coleman 2015 Jonah Placid 2019 Fraser McReight

Honours World Rugby U20 Championship Runners-up (2): 2010, 2019

U20 Rugby Championship Runners-up (1): 2025

Oceania Rugby U20 Championship Champions (1): 2019 Runners-up (4): 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Bronze medal (1): 2022

Australia national under-20 rugby union team

Bron en licentie