Australian national sports team nicknames

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In Australia, the national representative team of many sports has a nickname, used informally when referring to the team in the media or in conversation. These nicknames are typically derived from well-known symbols of Australia. Often the nickname is combined with that of a commercial sponsor, such as the "Qantas Wallabies" or the "Telstra Dolphins". Some names are a portmanteau word with second element -roo, from kangaroo; such as "Olyroos" for the Olympic association football team.

History

Summarize
Perspective

The oldest nicknames are Kangaroos and Wallabies for the rugby league football and rugby union teams. The other names are more recent, mostly invented to help publicise sports not traditionally popular in Australia.[1] Some journalists have criticised the practice as embarrassing,[2] gimmicky, or PR-driven.[3]

The name "Wallabies" was chosen by the 1908 rugby union side, making its first tour of the Northern Hemisphere.[4] British newspapers had already nicknamed the 1905 New Zealand touring team the "All Blacks" from their sporting uniform predominant colour;[5] the 1906 South African tourists had adopted "Springboks".[6] "Rabbits" was first suggested for Australia, but rejected since rabbits there are notorious as pests.[4] Until the 1980s, only touring sides were "Wallabies"; players on the eight tours up to 1984 were "the First Wallabies" up to "the Eighth Wallabies".[4]

The rugby league tour side arrived in Britain later in 1908 with a live kangaroo as mascot and were nicknamed "Kangaroos".[7][8] "Kangaroos" originally referred only to teams on "Kangaroo Tours" to Britain and France.[8][9][10] In 1994 the Australian Rugby League extended the nickname to all internationals for sponsorship reasons, drawing criticism for the break with tradition.[8][9][10] The first such game was a 58–0 win over France at Parramatta Stadium on 6 July 1994.[10][11]

Among the longer-established sports, the test cricket and Davis Cup tennis teams have no common nickname. Harry Beitzel's 1967 Australian Football World Tour team was unofficially nicknamed the Galahs from their flashy uniform. Though this side was a precursor of subsequent Australian international rules football teams, the nickname has not been retained.

Australian Tennis magazine invited readers to suggest a nickname for the Davis Cup team in 1996.[12] The Australia Fed Cup team has been called the Cockatoos, first suggested by player Casey Dellacqua in a press conference at the April 2012 match against Germany. The name has been embraced by teammates and used on the website of governing body Tennis Australia.[13][14]

As part of a 1998 strategic business plan, Cricket Australia surveyed "stakeholders" in 1998 about a possible nickname, to enhance marketing opportunities.[15] State cricket teams in the Sheffield Shield had benefited from adopting nicknames in the 1990s.[15] 69% opposed a national nickname, partly from a sense of decorum[16] and partly because the best names were already taken by other teams.[16][17]

Athletics Australia held a competition for a nickname for its squad for the 2001 World Athletics Championships.[18] The winning entry was "the Diggers", from the nickname for ANZAC soldiers.[18] This was quickly abandoned[19] after criticism from the Returned and Services League of Australia and others that this was an inappropriate use of the term.[18] The team previously had a little-used[18] nickname, "the Blazers".[20]

In December 2004, the Australian Soccer Association renamed itself Football Federation Australia (FFA) and announced an effort to rebrand association football as "football" rather than "soccer" in Australia.[21] The national team had been nicknamed "the Socceroos" by journalist Tony Horstead on a 1967 tour to South Vietnam.[22] FFA chairman Frank Lowy commented "It has been commonly used and is a much loved name but we may see it fade out as evolution takes place", and suggested few national football teams had nicknames.[21] By 2016, the FFA announcement of Caltex as sponsors was titled "Caltex Australia with the Socceroos all the way".[23]

Table

More information Sport, Team (link to team / event) ...
Sport Team (link to team / event) Nickname (link for origin) Name sponsor
Rugby union Men's test Wallabies[4] Cadbury[24]
Women's Wallaroos[25] Paper to Paper[26]
Under-21 side Junior Wallabies
Men's Sevens Thunderbolts
Women's Sevens Pearls
Rugby league Men's test Kangaroos[27][28] (Previously VB[29][30] and Holden[31])
Women's Jillaroos[32][33] Harvey Norman[34]
Under-20 side Junior Kangaroos Holden[31]
Wheelchair rugby Paralympic Steelers (official[35]) Wheelabies (unofficial[36][37])
Soccer[38] Men's Socceroos Subway[39]
Women's (incl. Olympic) Matildas (from Waltzing Matilda) Commonwealth Bank[40]
Olympic men's Olyroos Subway[39]
Under-20 (men) Young Socceroos Subway[39]
Under-20 (women) Young Matildas Commonwealth Bank[40]
Under-17 (men) Joeys Subway[39]
Under-17 (women) Junior Matildas U17s Commonwealth Bank[40]
World Medical Football Championships Docceroos[41]
Men's blind Bilbies [42]
Beach Handball Australian Women's National Team Aussie Beach Gliders
Futsal[43] National team Futsalroos
Goalball Australian women's national team Aussie Belles[44]
Australian men's national team Aussie Storm [45]
Netball Women's national team Diamonds[46][47] Origin Energy[48]
Men's national team Kelpies, previously known as Sonix.[49][50]
Touch Football Australian Touch Football Team Emus[51]
Quizzing Australian Quiz Team Quokkas[52]
Athletics Australian Athletics Team Australian Flame
Cricket National team Baggy Greens (officially for the caps, metonymically for the players) Commonwealth Bank
Women's Southern Stars[53] Commonwealth Bank
Swimming Australian Swim Team (Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championships) Dolphins (dropped 2009, revived 2015)[54][55] Hancock Prospecting
Softball Men's Aussie Steelers[56]
Women's (Olympic / World's) Dingeroos/Aussie spirit [57]
Women's U-19 Aussie Pride[58]
Rowing Rowsellas
Water polo Men's Sharks[59]
Women's Stingers
Basketball[60] Men's Boomers Airbnb[61]
Women's Opals Jayco
Under-21 (men) Crocs[62]
Under-21 (women) Sapphires
Under-19 (men) Emus
Men's 3 x 3 Gangurrus[63]
Women's 3 x 3 Gangurrus[64]
Under-19 (women) Gems
Intellectual disability (men) Boomerangs
Intellectual disability (women) Pearls
Deaf (men) Goannas [65]
Deaf (men) - U21 Dingos [66]
Deaf (women) Geckos[67]
Deaf (women) - U21 Ringtails [68]
Men's wheelchair Rollers
Women's wheelchair Gliders
U-23 wheelchair (men) Spinners
U-25 wheelchair (women) Devils[69]
Wheelchair (women) 3 x 3 Wombats[70]
Wheelchair (men) 3 x 3 Wombats[71]
Cycling World Championships/World Cup Cyclones[72] Toshiba
Field hockey Men's[73][74] Kookaburras
Women's[73][74] Hockeyroos None for 2007 (ANZ for 2004 Olympics)[75]
Under-21 (men)[74] Burras
Under-21 (women)[74] Jillaroos
Ice hockey Men's Mighty Roos[76] (after The Mighty Ducks)
Women's Mighty Jills
Para Hockey IceROOS
Lacrosse Men's Sharks[77]
Women's Mellies[citation needed]
Men's U23s Aussie Roos [78]
Women's U23s Team Koala [78]
Men's U19s Crocodiles[79]
Women's U19s Stars[citation needed] (after the Southern Cross)
Women's U17s Team Koala
Box lacrosse Men's Boxaroos[80]
Bowls Men's Jackaroos – a pun on jack, the target ball[81]
Women's Sapphires[82]
Orienteering National team Boomerangs[83]
Team handball Men's Crocodiles[84]
Women's Redbacks[84][85]
Ultimate frisbee[86] Open Dingos
Women's Firetails
Mixed Barramundis
Women Masters Flying Foxes
Open Masters Wombats
Open Grand Masters Numbats
Under-23s Open Goannas[87]
Under-23s Women Stingrays[87]
Under-23s Mixed Bluebottles[88]
Under-19s Open Thunder
Under-19s Women Southern Terra
Disc Golf National Team Sugar Gliders[89]
Tennis Fed Cup Cockatoos[14]
Roller derby Men Wizards of AUS[90]
Universiade National team Australian Uniroos[91]
Baseball Men's Southern Thunder[92]
Women's Emeralds[93]
Volleyball Men's and Women's Volleyroos.[94] 1988 – 1992 The Kookaburras.
Fistball Men's Wombats[95]
Women's Possums
Men's Masters Dugongs
Quidditch National Team Dropbears
National Development Team Aurora Australis
Badminton National team Falcons
Surfing Olympics Irukandjis
Finska/Mölkky National Team Finskaroos Planet Finska
Backyard ultra Marathon National Team (Mixed) Redback Yarders
Kilikiti National team AussieRoos
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References

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