To celebrate 10 years of professional rugby union, Australian Rugby celebrated the occasion with the announcement in 2005 of the Wallaby Team of the Decade. A Judging panel of 30 journalists and commentators voted on a starting XV and a bench, with 6 players (in italics below) being unanimous selections, the rest being selected in their respective positions.
The only five Australian players to have won 2 Rugby World Cups (1991 & 1999) have all been selected: Phil Kearns, John Eales, Tim Horan, Jason Little and Dan Crowley.
As of August 2015, George Smith is the only player still active.
The Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the touring British Isles team.
Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It is a member of World Rugby. Rugby Australia has eight member unions, representing each state and the Australian Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory. It also manages national representative rugby union teams, including the Wallabies and the Wallaroos.
Matthew Coleman Burke is an Australian former international rugby union player and sport presenter on Sydney's 10 News First.
David Ian Campese, AM, also known as Campo, is a former Australian rugby union player (1982-1996), who was capped by the Wallabies 101 times, and played 85 Tests at wing and 16 at fullback.
Stephen Larkham is a retired Australian rugby union professional player, currently in the role of head coach for Brumbies. He spent his career with the Brumbies in Super Rugby, for whom he played from the inception of the professional Super 12 in 1996 through 2007. He is best known for his long tenure with the Wallabies at international level, for whom he played 102 times. After initial selection at fullback from 1996 to 1997, Larkham was the first-choice Australian fly-half from 1997 to 2007, playing in the 1999, 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cups. He is married to Jacqueline and has two children, Jaimee and Tiahna.
George Smith is an Australian retired rugby union player. He was a flanker for 12 years (2000–10,13) at the ACT Brumbies in Super Rugby, earning 142 caps.
Rugby union in Australia has a history of organised competition dating back to the late 1860s. Although traditionally most popular in Australia's rugby football strongholds of New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT, it is played throughout the nation.
Matthew James Giteau is an Australian rugby union professional player who plays for San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR).
Phillip Waugh is the chief executive of Rugby Australia and a former rugby union footballer who played 136 matches in Super Rugby for the NSW Waratahs, and in 79 Test matches for the Wallabies. His usual position was openside flanker.
Rocky Elsom is a former Australian rugby union player. He played the positions of flanker and number eight. He was selected for 75 caps for Australia. He is the most capped Australian blindside flanker. Elsom was the 76th Australian test captain, having replaced Stirling Mortlock in 2009 for two years. He played for the Wallabies from 2005 until 2011. Elsom played professionally for New South Wales, Brumbies and Leinster.
Dan Crowley is a retired Australian rugby union player who played for the Australia national team 38 times and earned over 100 caps for the Queensland Reds during his rugby career. He became one of only 43 players who have won the Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions.
Australia A is the second national Rugby union team of Australia, behind the Wallabies. Matches played under the 'Australia A' title are traditionally non-test match fixtures and often offer a stepping-stone to Wallaby national selection. Aspiring Wallaby players were given a chance to impress selectors during these games. In the past, the team would also play touring sides, such as the British & Irish Lions, or play mid-week games when the Wallabies are on tour.
Pat McCabe is a former professional Australian rugby union player, now practising lawyer. He played for the Brumbies in the Super Rugby, and Warringah in Sydney, and represented Australia at various age grade levels before a senior debut in 2010. He was a utility player, able to cover inside centre, outside centre, winger or fullback.
Lane Cove Rugby Union Football Club is a rugby union club founded in 1949 and which participates in the New South Wales Suburban Rugby Union ("Subbies") competition. The club is situated in Lane Cove in Sydney, Australia. The home ground is Tantallon Oval. The club was successful in Sydney Rugby through the 1950s and 1960s and competitive in Division One Sub-Districts into the 1980s with victories including the Under 21 New South Wales State Premiership, the Bruce Graham Shield, Kentwell Cup, Whiddon Cup, Judd Cup trophies among others. Notable players have included Wallabies Ken Yanz and Saxon White, and Kangaroo Greg Florimo. Having been historically a Division One Club, Lane Cove seniors currently plays in New South Wales' Subbies' Division Five, while the thriving Lane Cove Juniors participate in the Gordon Juniors competition.
Sekope Kepu is an Australian professional rugby union player. He is a prop and currently plays for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby. He has previously played for Australian club New South Wales Waratahs, the French club Bordeaux, and London Irish. He also plays for Australia's Wallabies in international matches. Kepu made his international debut for Australia in 2008 and has been a regular in match-day squads ever since, now having played over 100 tests. Kepu is the most-capped prop to ever play for the Wallabies and is also one of the most-capped rugby players in history.
Richard Lewis Lloyd Harry is a retired Australian rugby union player.
Rugby union in Victoria describes the sport of rugby union being played and watched in the state of Victoria in Australia. The code was first introduced some time between the 1850s and 1880s but remained a minor sport played primarily in the private schools and amongst interstate expats. This has changed, particularly since the professionalisation of the game in the mid 1990s.
The contest between The Wallabies and The Springboks is one of the major rivalries in rugby union. Since 2000s, the two teams have competed for the Mandela Challenge Plate.
Rugby union was first introduced into Lebanon both by the mandated French forces, and subsequently by the Lebanese returning from the diaspora. Introduced into other parts of the Middle East, by the British military in the mid 20th Century, rugby has begun to develop across the Arabian peninsula with the establishment of many national rugby federations and the development of the Dubai Sevens.
Giteau's law, or the Giteau law, is a name given to a practice by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) introduced in 2015 to allow overseas-based Australian rugby union players to be eligible to play for the Australian national rugby union team. The policy change is colloquially named after Matt Giteau, as the rule was seen primarily to bring Giteau into the Australian side for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
