# 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.
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.

## Team name

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.

## Overall record

Summary for all competitive test matches up to and including the 2024 season:
    As of 19 July 2024.
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | W% | PF | PA | Diff. |
| Argentina | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 37.5% | 162 | 145 | +17 |
| 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 |
| Georgia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 35 | 11 | +24 |
| Ireland | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 50% | 98 | 84 | +14 |
| Italy | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 85.71% | 232 | 91 | +141 |
| Japan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 165 | 64 | +101 |
| New Zealand | 17 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 23.53% | 348 | 597 | –249 |
| Samoa | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 228 | 94 | +134 |
| Scotland | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 66.67% | 218 | 104 | +114 |
| South Africa | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 50% | 84 | 132 | –48 |
| Tonga | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 252 | 25 | +227 |
| Wales | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 83.33% | 204 | 133 | +71 |
| Total | 91 | 54 | 1 | 36 | 59.34% | 2,788 | 1,991 | +797 |

### World Rugby U20 Championship record

World Rugby U20 Championship record :
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA |
| 2008 | Fifth place | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 221 | 68 |
| 2009 | Fourth place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 186 | 74 |
| 2010 | Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 239 | 131 |
| 2011 | Third place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 166 | 117 |
| 2012 | Eighth place | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 107 | 94 |
| 2013 | Seventh place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 114 | 84 |
| 2014 | Fifth place | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 176 | 101 |
| 2015 | Fifth place | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 136 | 110 |
| 2016 | Sixth place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 120 | 116 |
| 2017 | Sixth place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 135 | 106 |
| 2018 | Fifth place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 178 | 103 |
| 2019 | Runners-up | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 171 | 122 |
| 2023 | Fifth place | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 179 | 157 |
| 2024 | Sixth place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 71 |
| 2025 | To be determined. | To be determined. | To be determined. | To be determined. | To be determined. | To be determined. | To be determined. |
| Total | Runners-up (2) | 69 | 41 | 1 | 27 | 2,217 | 1,454 |

### U20 Rugby Championship record

U20 Rugby Championship record :
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA |
| 2024 | Fourth place | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 80 |
| 2025 | To be determined. | To be determined. | To be determined. | To be determined. | To be determined. | To be determined. | To be determined. |
| Total | Fourth place (1) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 55 | 80 |

### Oceania Rugby U20 Championship record

Oceania Rugby U20 Championship record :
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA |
| 2015 | Runners-up | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 109 | 87 |
| 2016 | Runners-up | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 54 |
| 2017 | Runners-up | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 87 |
| 2018 | Runners-up | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 170 | 55 |
| 2019 | Champions | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 104 | 14 |
| 2022 | Third place | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 91 | 98 |
| Total | Champions (1) | 17 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 590 | 395 |

## Head coaches

* 2008: Brian Melrose
* 2009–2012: David Nucifora
* 2013–2016: Adrian Thompson
* 2017: Simon Cron
* 2018–2019: Jason Gilmore
* 2020–present: Nathan Grey

## Honours
### World Junior Championship

   * Runners-up (2): 2010, 2019

### Oceania Junior Championship

   * Winners (1): 2019
   * Runners-up (4): 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

### Award winners

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 | — |