Australia national rugby sevens team

For the women's sevens team, see Australia women's national rugby sevens team. For the rugby sevens tournament, see Australian Sevens.

The Australia national rugby sevens team participates in international competitions such as the World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens. Australia also competes at other international tournaments for rugby sevens, including at the Commonwealth Games. The current captain of the team is Nick Malouf, and the head coach is John Manenti .

Australia

Union	Rugby Australia
Head coach	Liam Barry
Captain	Nick Malouf
Top scorer	James Stannard (1,239)
Top try scorer	Lewis Holland (111)
First colours Second colours
Rugby World Cup Sevens
Appearances	8 (First in 1993)
Best result	Runners-up (1993, 2001)

Rugby sevens is an Olympic sport and made its debut at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Australia qualified for the tournament after winning the 2015 Oceania Sevens Championship.

Team name

The Australia national sevens side does not have a nickname as of 2016.^[1] The team is sometimes erroneously referred to as the Aussie Thunderbolts in sections of the media,^[2][3] but that name refers to Australia's developmental sevens side (the second team) rather than the official national team.^[1][4]

At the inaugural Hong Kong Sevens tournament in 1976, Australia was represented by a selected team under the name Wallaroos,^[5] originally the name of one of the foundation clubs of the Southern Rugby Union in 1874,^[6] but now used for the Australian women's team in 15-a-side rugby. Australia has also been represented at international sevens tournaments by the Australian Barbarians club.^[7][8]

Honours

Australia has won the following:

World Rugby Sevens Series

• Champion: 2021–22
• Runner-up: 2000–01
• Third place: 1999–2000, 2004–05

World Cup Sevens

• Silver medal: 2009, 2022
• Bronze medal: 2005

Commonwealth Games Sevens

• Silver medal: 2010
• Bronze medal: 1998, 2014

Rugby sevens at the World Games 

• Silver medal: 2001

Australia vs Spain at the 2013 World Cup 7s

Major tournament wins

• Hong Kong Sevens: 1979, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 2022
• Australian Sevens: 1987, 2002, 2018
• London Sevens: 2010, 2022
• Paris Sevens: 1998
• Wellington Sevens: 2001
• Kuala Lumpur Sevens: 2001
• Shanghai Sevens: 2001
• Tokyo Sevens: 2012

Regional and other tournament wins

• Oceania Sevens: 2010, 2012, 2015, 2019
• Oktoberfest Sevens: 2017

Tournament record

A red box around the year indicates a tournament played in Australia. An asterisk (*) indicates a shared placing.

Rugby World Cup Sevens

Rugby World Cup 7s
Year	Round	Position	P	W	L	D
1993	Final		10	7	3	0
1997	Quarterfinals	5 *	5	3	1	1
2001	Final		8	7	1	0
2005	Semifinals	*	7	5	2	0
2009	Plate final	10	6	3	3	0
2013	Quarterfinals	5 *	4	2	1	1
2018	Challenge final	10	4	2	2	0
2022	Bronze Final	4	4	2	2	0
2026	to be determined
Total	0 Titles	8/8	48	31	15	2

World Games

World Games Rugby 7s a
Year	Round	Position	P	W	L	D
2001	Final		6	5	1	0
2005	did not participate
2009
2013
Total	0 Titles	1/4	6	5	1	0

Olympic Games

Olympic Games Rugby 7s
Year	Round	Position	P	W	L	D
2016	Quarter-finals	8	6	2	4	0
2020	Quarter-finals	7	6	2	4	0
2024	Bronze match	4	6	4	2	0
2028	to be determined
2032	Qualified as host
Total	0 Titles	3/3	18	8	10	0

Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games 7s
Year	Round	Position	P	W	L	D
1998	Third playoff		5	4	1	0
2002	Quarterfinals	5 *	4	3	1	0
2006	Third playoff	4	6	3	3	0
2010	Final		6	4	2	0
2014	Third playoff		6	5	1	0
2018	Fifth playoff	5	5	4	1	0
2022	Third playoff	4	6	3	3	0
Total	0 Titles	6/6	38	26	12	0

Oceania Sevens

Oceania Rugby 7s
Year	Round	Position	P	W	L	D
2008	did not participate
2009
2010	Final		6	6	0	0
2011	Third playoff	4	7	4	3	0
2012	Final		6	6	0	0
2013	Third playoff		6	4	2	0
2014	Third playoff	4	6	4	2	0
2015	Final		6	6	0	0
2016	Third playoff		6	4	2	0
2017	Semifinals	*	4	3	1	0
2018	Third playoff	4	5	3	2	0
2019	Final		6	6	0	0
2021	round-robin		5	1	4	0
2022b	round-robin		6	4	2	0
2023b	Seventh playoff	7	5	3	2	0
2024b	Fifth playoff	5	6	4	2	0
2025b	to be determined
Total	4 Titles	13/16	75	55	20	0

Notes:

^^a Rugby Sevens was discontinued at the World Games after 2013 due to the sport returning to the Olympics in 2016.

^^b Australia VII or development team entered

World Rugby Sevens Series

Logo 2008–2017

Key to tournament locations
	Africa and Middle East Asia
	Americas Europe
	Oceania					Australian event

2000s

World Sevens Series
I 99–00		II 00–01	III 01–02	IV 02–03	V 03–04
	5th Dubai	rd* Dubai	no status** Dubai	rd* Dubai	6th Dubai
	5th Stellenbosch	rd* Durban	5th Durban	rd* George	7th* George
	rd* Wellington	st Wellington	7th* Wellington	rd* Wellington	10th Wellington
	nd Brisbane	cancelled‡ Brisbane	st Brisbane	5th Brisbane	–
	rd* Suva	–	–	–	–
	5th Punta del Este	–	7th* Santiago	–	9th Los Angeles
	rd* Mar del Plata	–†	5th Mar del Plata	–	–
	rd* Hong Kong	rd* Hong Kong	5th* Hong Kong	5th* Hong Kong	5th* Hong Kong
	rd* Tokyo	nd Tokyo	rd* Singapore	cancelled § Singapore	7th* Singapore
	–	st Shanghai	rd* Beijing	cancelled§ Beijing	–
	–	st Kuala Lumpur	rd* Kuala Lumpur	–	–
	–	nd London	5th London	5th London	7th* London
	rd* Paris	nd Cardiff	rd* Cardiff	6th Cardiff	6th Bordeaux
10/10 118 pts rd [9]		9/9 150 pts nd [10]	11/11 108 pts 5th [11]	7/7 66 pts 5th [12]	8/8 34 pts 8th [13]
Notes: * Shared placing (play-off matches for third were eventually introduced in 2012). ** Downgraded to non-series status in wake of September 11 attacks in 2001. † Mar del Plata hosted the Sevens World Cup instead of a leg in the 2001 series. ‡ Tournament cancelled by IRB in response to government sanctions against Fiji. § Tournament cancelled due to concerns about the SARS outbreak in Asia in 2002.

IRB Sevens World Series
VI 04–05		VII 05–06	VIII 06–07	IX 07–08	X 08–09
	7th* Dubai	7th* Dubai	7th* Dubai	9th Dubai	7th* Dubai
	9th George	7th* George	9th George	11th* George	10th George
	5th Wellington	7th* Wellington	11th* Wellington	rd* Wellington	11th* Wellington
	–	–	5th Adelaide	7th* Adelaide	6th Adelaide
	–	–	–	–	–
	rd* Los Angeles	7th* Los Angeles	7th* San Diego	12th San Diego	9th San Diego
	–	–	–	–	–
	–†	5th* Hong Kong	5th* Hong Kong	5th* Hong Kong	5th* Hong Kong
	6th Singapore	7th* Singapore	–	–	–
	–	–	–	–	–
	–	–	–	–	–
	6th London	11th* London	6th London	9th London	7th* London
	7th* Paris	rd* Paris	11th* Edinburgh	9th Edinburgh	6th Edinburgh
7/7 42 pts 7th [14]		8/8 40 pts 8th [15]	8/8 32 pts 7th [16]	8/8 30 pts 8th [17]	8/8 30 pts 8th [18]
Notes: * Shared placing (play-off matches for third were eventually introduced in 2012). † Hong Kong hosted the Sevens World Cup instead of a leg in the 2005 series.

Summary for Series I to X

2010s

World Sevens Series
XI 09–10		XII 10–11	XIII 11–12	XIV 12–13	XV 13–14
	5th Dubai	6th Dubai	5th Dubai	15th* Dubai	9th Dubai
	7th* George	7th* George	7th* Port Elizabeth	9th Port Elizabeth	10th Port Elizabeth
	5th Wellington	rd* Wellington	10th Wellington	5th Wellington	5th Wellington
	rd* Adelaide	7th* Adelaide	4th Gold Coast	7th* Gold Coast	nd Gold Coast
	rd* Las Vegas	7th* Las Vegas	10th Las Vegas	13th Las Vegas	6th Las Vegas
	–	–	–	cancelled† Mar Del Plata	–
	5th Hong Kong	6th Hong Kong	7th* Hong Kong	7th* Hong Kong	4th Hong Kong
	–	–	st Tokyo	7th* Tokyo	5th Tokyo
	st London	6th London	5th London	nd London	nd London
	nd Edinburgh	nd Edinburgh	5th Glasgow	9th Glasgow	7th* Glasgow
8/8 122 pts rd [19]		8/8 80 pts 5th [20]	9/9 110 pts 6th [21]	9/9 89 pts 8th [22]	9/9 116 pts 5th [23]
Notes: * Shared placing (play-off matches for third were introduced in 2012). † Event cancelled due to demands on UAR joining The Rugby Championship.

World Rugby Sevens Series
XVI 14–15		XVII 15–16	XVIII 16–17	XIX 17–18	XX 18–19
	nd Dubai	6th Dubai	5th Dubai	5th Dubai	4th Dubai
	rd Port Elizabeth	7th* Cape Town	11th* Cape Town	9th Cape Town	7th* Cape Town
	6th Wellington	5th Wellington	10th Wellington	rd Hamilton	7th* Hamilton
	7th* Gold Coast	nd Sydney	4th Sydney	st Sydney	6th Sydney
	5th Las Vegas	nd Las Vegas	6th Las Vegas	6th Las Vegas	7th* Las Vegas
	–	rd Vancouver	7th* Vancouver	6th Vancouver	9th Vancouver
	5th Hong Kong	4th Hong Kong	rd Hong Kong	11th* Hong Kong	11th* Hong Kong
	9th Tokyo	7th* Singapore	4th Singapore	nd Singapore	7th* Singapore
	nd London	10th London	6th London	7th* London	nd London
	7th* Glasgow	6th Paris	10th Paris	11th* Paris	11th* Paris
9/9 120 pts 5th [24]		10/10 134 pts 4th [25]	10/10 113 pts 6th [26]	10/10 123 pts 4th [27]	10/10 104 pts 7th
	Notes: * Shared placing (play-off matches for third were only introduced in 2012).

Summary for Series XI to XX

2020s

World Rugby Sevens Series
	XXI 2019–20[a]	XXII 2021[b]	XXIII 2021–22	XXIV 2022–23	XXV 2023–24
	5th Dubai 12th Cape Town	cancelled‡ Dubai cancelled‡ Cape Town	5th Dubai I  nd Dubai II cancelled‡ Cape Town	7th* Dubai 10th Cape Town	7th* Dubai  nd Cape Town
	rd Hamilton 4th Sydney	cancelled‡ Hamilton cancelled‡ Sydney	cancelled‡ Hamilton cancelled‡ Sydney	5th Hamilton 7th* Sydney	–    nd Perth
	nd Vancouver 4th Los Angeles	– Vancouver – Edmonton cancelled‡ Los Angeles	rd Vancouver  rd Los Angeles	rd Vancouver 4th Los Angeles	10th Vancouver 7th Los Angeles
	cancelled‡ Hong Kong cancelled‡ Singapore	cancelled‡ Hong Kong cancelled‡ Singapore	cancelled‡ Hong Kong  rd Singapore	Hong Kong I 12th* Hong Kong II – Singapore	4th Hong Kong 4th Singapore
	cancelled‡ Paris cancelled‡ London	cancelled‡ Paris cancelled‡ London	7th* Toulouse 4th Málaga  nd Seville  st London	– Toulouse – London	–   –
	6/6 81 pts 4th	0/2   —	9/9 126 pts st	8/8 99 pts 6th	7/7 83 pts 4th
	Notes ‡  Event cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic Although originally scheduled for ten rounds, the 2019–20 series was cut short after six tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only two tournaments were played in the 2021 series and many top teams did not take part.[28]

Players

Current squad

The following players have been selected to represent Australia during the 2023–24 SVNS tournament beginning in December 2023.

Note: Caps reflect the total number of SVNS events competed in as of the 2023 Dubai Sevens.

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Tim Clements	Forward	(1997-04-08) 8 April 1997 (age 27)	14	Sydney University
Nathan Lawson	Forward	(1999-01-23) 23 January 1999 (age 26)	18	Southern Districts
Nick Malouf (c)	Forward	(1993-03-19) 19 March 1993 (age 32)	54	University of Queensland
Josh Turner	Forward	(1995-09-23) 23 September 1995 (age 29)	27	Manly
Dally Bird	Back	(2002-07-20) 20 July 2002 (age 22)	10	Eastwood
Ben Dowling	Back	(2000-03-05) 5 March 2000 (age 25)	7	Randwick
Matt Gonzalez	Back	(1994-06-01) 1 June 1994 (age 30)	68	Eastwood
Maurice Longbottom	Back	(1995-01-30) 30 January 1995 (age 30)	39	Randwick
Dietrich Roache	Back	(2001-07-06) 6 July 2001 (age 23)	21	Western Sydney Two Blues
Hayden Sargeant	Back	(1998-03-11) 11 March 1998 (age 27)	7	Bond University
James Turner	Back	(1998-08-29) 29 August 1998 (age 26)	8	Norths Rugby

Records and statistics

Player records

The following shows leading career Australia players based on statistics from the World Rugby Sevens Series. Players in bold are still active.

Tries scored[29] No. Player Tries 1 Henry Hutchison 115 2 Lewis Holland 114 3 Maurice Longbottom 113 4 Ed Jenkins 109 5 Peter Miller 107

Points scored No. Player Points 1 Maurice Longbottom 792 2 Dietrich Roache 753 3 Nick Malouf 410 4 Nathan Lawson 345 5 Josh Turner 277

Matches played No. Player Matches 1 Nick Malouf 304 2 Maurice Longbottom 221 3 Josh Turner 170 4 Dietrich Roache 159 5 Nathan Lawson 139

Award winners

The following Australia Sevens players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2004:^[30]

World Rugby Men's 7s Player of the Year Year Nominees Winners 2018 Ben O'Donnell — 2022 Nick Malouf Corey Toole

World Rugby Men's 7s Dream Team Year No. Player 2024 5. Nathan Lawson

Olympic squads

Captains

Name	Year	Ref
Ed Jenkins	2011–2016	[31]
Sam Myers	2016	[32]
Lewis Holland	2018–2019
James Stannard	2018
Con Foley	2018	[33]
Jesse Parahi	2018	[34]

Coaches

Name	Tenure	Ref
Bill Millard	2002–2005	[35]
Glen Ella	2005–2007	[36]
Bill Millard	2007–08 (interim)	[35]
Michael O'Connor	2008–2014	[37][38]
Geraint John	2014–15	[38][39]
Tim Walsh	2015 (interim)	[39]
Scott Bowen	2015–16 (interim)	[40]
Andy Friend	2016–2018	[41]
Jarred Hodges	2018 (interim)	[33]
Tim Walsh	2018–2021	[42]
John Manenti	2022–present	[43]

See also

• Sports portal
• Australia portal

• National Rugby Sevens Championships
• Australia national rugby union team