# 2006 Australia rugby union tour of Europe

The 2006 Australian national rugby union team tour to Europe, known in Australia as the 2006 Wallabies Spring Tour, was part of a 2006 end-of-year rugby test series and took place in November 2006. The tour consisted of test matches against Wales, Italy, Ireland and Scotland as well as midweek games against Ireland A, Scotland A and Welsh team, the Ospreys.
The tour was the first time this decade that captain George Gregan would miss out on a Wallabies tour, opting to miss in preparation ahead of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. With this, Stirling Mortlock was named captain but missed out on the opening match due to injury. Phil Waugh was subsequently named as captain.
On 11 October, Wallabies half-back Sam Cordingley pulled out of the tour to rest a nagging foot injury, leaving Australia without their top two half-backs. Another injury concern for the Wallabies was the injury to prop Greg Holmes, who announced that he was unable to tour due to a neck injury sustained during training; Brumbies prop Nic Henderson was called into the squad.

## Matches

| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Staus |
| 1 November | Ospreys | 24–16 | Australia XV | Liberty Stadium, Swansea | Tour match |
| 4 November | Wales | 29–29 | Australia | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | Test match |
| 11 November | Italy | 18–25 | Australia | Stadio Flaminio, Rome | Test match |
| 15 November | Ireland A | 17–24 | Australia XV | Thomond Park, Limerick | Tour match |
| 19 November | Ireland | 21–6 | Australia | Lansdowne Road, Dublin | Test match |
| 21 November | Scotland A | 20–44 | AustraliaXV | McDiarmid Park, Perth | Tour match |
| 25 November | Scotland | 15–44 | Australia | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | Test match |
* 1 November 2006
| Ospreys | 24–16 | Australia XV |
| Try: Williams Mustoe Con: Connor Pen: Connor (3) Drop: Connor | | Try: Ashley-Cooper Con: Shepherd Pen: Shepherd (3) |
* Liberty Stadium Attendance: 20,520 Referee: Andrew Small (England)
* 4 November 2006
| Wales | 29–29 | Australia |
| Try: S. Williams M. Williams Con: Hook (2) Pen: S. Jones Henson Hook (3) | Report | Try: Shepherd (2) Giteau Latham Con: Giteau (3) Pen: Giteau |
* Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 74,158 Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Wales: 15. Kevin Morgan, 14. Gareth Thomas, 13. Tom Shanklin, 12. Gavin Henson, 11. Shane Williams, 10. Stephen Jones (c), 9. Dwayne Peel, 8. Ryan Jones, 7. Martyn Williams, 6. Jonathan Thomas, 5. Ian Evans, 4. Ian Gough, 3. Adam Jones, 2. Matthew Rees, 1. Gethin Jenkins, – Replacements: 17. Duncan Jones, 21. James Hook – Unused: 16. T. Rhys Thomas, 18. Alun Wyn Jones, 19. Gavin Thomas, 20. Mike Phillips, 22. Mark Jones Australia: 15. Chris Latham, 14. Clyde Rathbone, 13. Lote Tuqiri, 12. Stephen Larkham, 11. Cameron Shepherd, 10. Mat Rogers, 9. Matt Giteau, 8. Wycliff Palu, 7. Phil Waugh (c), 6. Rocky Elsom, 5. Dan Vickerman, 4. Nathan Sharpe, 3. Rodney Blake, 2. Tai McIsaac, 1. Al Baxter, – Replacements: 16. Brendan Cannon, 18. Mark Chisholm, 19. Stephen Hoiles, 20. Josh Valentine – Unused: 17. Benn Robinson, 21. Mark Gerrard, 22. Adam Ashley-Cooper
* 11 November 2006
| Italy | 18–25 | Australia |
| Pen: Pez (6) | Report | Try: Rogers Shepherdson Mortlock Con: Mortlock (2) Pen: Mortlock (2) |
* Stadio Flaminio, Rome Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Italy: 15. Gert Peens, 14. Marko Stanojevic, 13. Gonzalo Canale, 12. Mirco Bergamasco, 11. Pablo Canavosio, 10. Ramiro Pez, 9. Paul Griffen, 8. Sergio Parisse, 7. Mauro Bergamasco, 6. Alessandro Zanni, 5. Marco Bortolami (c), 4. Santiago Dellapè, 3. Martin Castrogiovanni, 2. Carlo Festuccia, 1. Andrea Lo Cicero, – Replacements: 17. Carlos Nieto, 19. Josh Sole – Unused: 16. Leonardo Ghiraldini, 18. Carlo Del Fava, 20. Simon Picone, 21. Andrea Scanavacca, 22. Walter Pozzebon Australia: 15. Chris Latham, 14. Clyde Rathbone, 13. Stirling Mortlock (c), 12. Stephen Larkham, 11. Lote Tuqiri, 10. Mat Rogers, 9. Matt Giteau, 8. Wycliff Palu, 7. George Smith, 6. Rocky Elsom, 5. Mark Chisholm, 4. Nathan Sharpe, 3. Guy Shepherdson, 2. Brendan Cannon, 1. Al Baxter, – Replacements: 16. Stephen Moore, 17. Nic Henderson, 18. Alister Campbell – Unused: 19. Stephen Hoiles, 20. Josh Valentine, 21. Mark Gerrard, 22. Cameron Shepherd
* 15 November 2006
| Ireland A | 17–24 | Australia XV |
| Try: Fitzgerald Pen: Staunton (4) | | Try: Ashley-Cooper Turinui Staniforth Con: Shepherd (3) Pen: Shepherd |
* Thomond Park, Limerick Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Rob Debney (England)
* 19 November 2006
| Ireland | 21–6 | Australia |
| Try: Hickie Murphy Con: O'Gara Pen: O'Gara (3) | Report | Pen: Mortlock (2) |
* Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 43,000 Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Ireland: 15. Geordan Murphy, 14. Shane Horgan, 13. Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12. Gordon D'Arcy, 11. Denis Hickie, 10. Ronan O'Gara, 9. Isaac Boss, 8. Denis Leamy, 7. David Wallace, 6. Neil Best, 5. Paul O'Connell, 4. Donncha O'Callaghan, 3. John Hayes, 2. Rory Best, 1. Bryan Young, – Replacements: 16. Frankie Sheahan, 17. Marcus Horan, 18. Malcolm O'Kelly, 19. Simon Easterby, 20. Peter Stringer, 21. Paddy Wallace, 22. Girvan Dempsey Australia: 15. Chris Latham, 14. Clyde Rathbone, 13. Lote Tuqiri, 12. Stirling Mortlock (c), 11. Mark Gerrard, 10. Stephen Larkham, 9. Matt Giteau, 8. Wycliff Palu, 7. Phil Waugh, 6. Rocky Elsom, 5. Mark Chisholm, 4. Nathan Sharpe, 3. Guy Shepherdson, 2. Tai McIsaac, 1. Al Baxter, – Replacements: 16. Stephen Moore, 17. Benn Robinson, 18. Alister Campbell, 19. George Smith, 20. Josh Valentine, 21. Mat Rogers, 22. Scott Staniforth
* 21 November 2006
| Scotland A | 20–44 | Australia XV |
| Try: Morrison Lawson R. Lamont Con: Ross Pen: Ross | | Try: Blake (2) Mitchell (2) Sheehan Shepherd Con: Shepherd (4) Pen: Shepherd (2) |
* McDiarmid Park, Perth Referee: Andrew Small (England)
* 25 November 2006
| Scotland | 15–44 | Australia |
| Try: Webster S. Lamont Con: Paterson Pen: Paterson | Report | Try: Larkham Gerrard (2) Moore Latham Con: Mortlock (5) Pen: Mortlock (3) |
* Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 64,120 Referee: Donal Courtney (Ireland)
Scotland: 15. Chris Paterson (c), 14. Sean Lamont, 13. Marcus Di Rollo, 12. Andrew Henderson, 11. Simon Webster, 10. Dan Parks, 9. Mike Blair, 8. David Callam, 7. Kelly Brown, 6. Simon Taylor, 5. Scott Murray, 4. Alastair Kellock, 3. Euan Murray, 2. Dougie Hall, 1. Gavin Kerr, – Replacements: 16. Ross Ford, 17. Allan Jacobsen, 18. Jim Hamilton, 19. Alasdair Strokosch, 20. Rory Lawson, 21. Phil Godman, 22. Hugo Southwell Australia: 15. Chris Latham, 14. Mark Gerrard, 13. Stirling Mortlock (c), 12. Scott Staniforth, 11. Lote Tuqiri, 10. Stephen Larkham, 9. Matt Giteau, 8. David Lyons, 7. George Smith, 6. Rocky Elsom, 5. Alister Campbell, 4. Nathan Sharpe, 3. Guy Shepherdson, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Benn Robinson, – Replacements: 16. Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17. Al Baxter, 18. Mark Chisholm, 19. Phil Waugh, 20. Wycliff Palu, 21. Josh Valentine, 22. Mat Rogers