Australia A, also known as Australia XV, is Australia's second national rugby union team, behind the Australia national team (Wallabies).
| Union | Rugby Australia | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem | Wallaby | ||
| Coach | Simon Cron (2025) | ||
| Captain | Matt Faessler (2025) | ||
| |||
| Largest win | |||
| Australia A 90–7 Tonga (North Sydney, Australia; 22 June 2008) | |||
| Largest defeat | |||
| Junior All Blacks 50–0 Australia A (Dunedin, New Zealand; 16 June 2007) | |||
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 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 the Australia women's national rugby union team. The side would play their first ever match in 2024 against Samoa, losing 20-17.
In 2025, Rugby Australia announced that Australia A will play one game against Japan XV in October as a warm up leading up to the Wallabies test against Japan later in the month.
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 A | 38–17 | 2024 Autumn Internationals | |
| 18 October 2025 | Yodoko Sakura Stadium, Osaka | Japan XV | 7–71 | 2025 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 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
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 |
Squad
On 9 October, a 26-player squad was named for Australia A's match against Japan XV.
On 16 October, Lachlan Anderson was named in the matchday 23 in place of Sid Harvey who was ruled out due to hamstring strain.
Players in bold are players capped by the main national team.
Head Coach: Simon Cron
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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)
- Simon Cron (2025, vs. Japan XV)
See also
- Australia national rugby union team
- Australian Barbarians
- Australia national rugby sevens team
- Australia women's national rugby union team
- Australia women's national rugby sevens team
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