 | |||
| Union | Rugby Australia | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem | Wallaby | ||
| Coach | Simon Cron (2025)[1] | ||
| Captain | Matt Faessler (2025)[2] | ||
| |||
| Largest win | |||
 Australia A 90–7Tonga  (North Sydney, Australia; 22 June 2008) | |||
| Largest defeat | |||
 Junior All Blacks 50–0Australia A (Dunedin, New Zealand; 16 June 2007) | |||
Australia A, also known asAustralia XV, isAustralia's second nationalrugby union team, behind theAustralia national team (Wallabies).
Officially formed in 2001 as part of the2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, Australia A played host to theBritish & 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.[3]
Australia A next formed in 2003 as part of the2003 Rugby World Cup warm-ups and2003 June rugby union tests, where they facedJapan in back-to-back matches coming away with two victories inOsaka andTokyo. 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, inNovember 2004, Australia A was used when the Wallabies toured Europe, whereby they played theFrench Barbarians in the lead up to the national sides meeting later on tour inParis.
By 2005, Australia A had won every match they had played in, but after playing theJunior All Blacks (the All Blacks second team at the time) in 2005, their unbeaten run came to an end, losing 23–19 inCanberra.
In 2006, Australia was originally invited to take part in the inauguralIRB 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 the2006 tournament, whereBluetongue Central Coast Stadium hostedTonga vsFiji and later Tonga vsSamoa. Australia A later played two matches against Fiji after the 2006 tournament, and then joined the competition in 2007.[4][5]
In the2007 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 theJunior All Blacks.
In the2008 Pacific Nations Cup, Australia A played 5 matches for 4 wins and 1 loss. The team finished second in the tournament won byNew Zealand Māori. At the end of the 2008, however, theAustralian Rugby Union decided to scrap the Australia A team, citing financial constraints. Australia withdrew from the 2009 tournament.[6]
Despite withdrawing from the Australia A programme, between 2009 and 2010, Australia fielded several XV sides againstHome 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 the2010 England tour to Australia, theARU arranged for theAustralian Barbarians Rugby Club to play two matches against the visitingEngland national team.[7] 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 againstCanada in 2011.[8]
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 theAustralian 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.[9] However, any possible plans where paused due theCOVID-19 pandemic, and in May 2022 having not formally participated in any event since 2008, the Australia A team was reignited byRugby Australia to compete in thePacific Nations Cup forJuly 2022 against Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, to take place inFiji.[10][11][12]
In 2024, Rugby Australia confirmed that Australia A will return (under the 'Australia XV' name) 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 theAustralia women's national rugby union team. The side would play their first ever match in 2024 against Samoa, losing 20-17.[13]
In 2025, Rugby Australia announced that Australia A will play one game againstJapan XV in October as a warm up leading up to the Wallabies test againstJapan later in the month.[14]
| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 00.00% |
 British & Irish Lions | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
 England A | 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 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.00% |
| 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 | 35 | 23 | 12 | 0 | 65.71% |
Updated: 19 October 2025
| 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 |
On 9 October, a 26-player squad was named for Australia A's match againstJapan XV.[20]
On 16 October, Lachlan Anderson was named in the matchday 23 in place of Sid Harvey who was ruled out due to hamstring strain.[21]
Players inbold are players capped by the main national team.
Head Coach:Simon Cron
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)[22]Jason Gilmore (2022 Pacific Nations Cup & Japan tour)[23][24]Jason Gilmore (2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches)Rod Seib (2024 Northern tour)Simon Cron (2025, vs. Japan XV)[1]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.
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