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The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. Nicknamed the Wallabies or currently the Qantas Wallabies for sponsorship reasons, the team represents Australia at international rugby union competitions, including the Rugby World Cup and the Tri Nations. The Wallabies have competed in all five of the rugby union World Cups that have thus far been staged. They won the World Cup on two occasions, in 1991 and 1999 and also lost in the final match in extra time to England in 2003 competition. The Wallabies are governed by the Australian Rugby Union.The Wallabies play in Australia's traditional sporting colours of green and gold, and the Wallaby jersey is considered the most recognisable Australian sporting jersey. The nickname Wallabies is a reference to the Wallaby, a marsupial that is widely distributed throughout Australia. The Wallabies usually play at Telstra Stadium. Current Wallaby captain George Gregan is easily the most capped Australian player, currently with 123 international caps to his name, which is also a current world record.Australia has appeared at every Rugby World Cup since the first tournament in 1987. The Wallabies are arguably the most successful nation at the World Cup, being the only nation to have won the Webb Ellis Cup more than once, winning it twice; in 1991 and 1999. Australia co-hosted the 1987 event with New Zealand. The Wallaby's greatest rivals are considered to be the All Blacks (New Zealand). The two nations compete for the Bledisloe Cup since 1932. In more recent years, particularly after the events of the 2003 World Cup final, England have become a popular rival for Australia. The nations have met twice in World Cup finals, 1991 and 2003. The Australian Rugby Union has announced the appointment of John Connolly as Head Coach to lead the Qantas Wallabies to Rugby Word Cup 2007.
