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

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 kit 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 reader 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

Sport Team (link to team / event) Nickname (link for origin) Name sponsor
Rugby union Men's test Wallabies[4] Qantas[4]
Women's Wallaroos[24] Paper to Paper[25]
Under-21 side Junior Wallabies
Men's Sevens Thunderbolts
Women's Sevens Pearls
Rugby league football Men's test Kangaroos[26][27] Holden[28] (Previously VB[29][30])
Women's Jillaroos[31][32] Harvey Norman[33]
Under-20 side Junior Kangaroos Holden[28]
Wheelchair rugby Paralympic Steelers (official[34]) Wheelabies (unofficial[35][36])
Soccer [37] Men's Socceroos Caltex[38]
Women's (incl. Olympic) Matildas (from Waltzing Matilda) Westfield
Olympic men's Olyroos
Under-20 (men) Young Socceroos
Under-20 (women) Young Matildas Westfield
Under-17 (men) Joeys
Under-17 (women) Young Matildas U17s Westfield
Futsal[39] National team Futsalroos
Goalball Australian women's national team Aussie Belles[40]
Gridiron (American football) National team Australian Outback – formerly Australian Cyclones (1999),[41] Australian Bushrangers (1997)[42]
Netball National team Diamonds[43][44] Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
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[45] Commonwealth Bank
Swimming Australian Swim Team (Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championships) Dolphins (dropped 2009, revived 2015)[46][47]
Softball Men's Aussie Steelers[48]
Women's (Olympic / World's) Aussie Spirit[49]
Women's U-19 Aussie Pride[50]
Water polo Men's Sharks[51]
Women's Stingers
Basketball[52] Men's Boomers Airbnb
Women's Opals Jayco
Under-21 (men) Crocs[53]
Under-21 (women) Sapphires
Under-19 (men) Emus
Under-19 (women) Gems
Intellectual disability (men) Boomerangs
Intellectual disability (women) Pearls
Deaf (men) Goannas
Men's wheelchair Rollers
Women's wheelchair Gliders
Cycling World Championships/World Cup Cyclones[54] Toshiba
Field hockey Men's[55][56] Kookaburras
Women's[55][56] Hockeyroos None for 2007 (ANZ for 2004 Olympics)[57]
Under-21 (men)[56] Burras
Under-21 (women)[56] Jillaroos
Ice hockey Men's Mighty Roos[58] (after The Mighty Ducks)
Women's Mighty Jills
Lacrosse Men's Sharks
Women's Sharkettes
Men's U19s Crocodiles
Women's U19s Stars (after the Southern Cross)
Women's U17s Team Koala
Box lacrosse Men's Boxaroos[59]
Bowls Men's Jackaroos – a pun on jack, the target ball[60]
Women's Sapphires[61]
Orienteering National team Boomerangs[62]
Team handball Men's Crocodiles[63]
Women's Redbacks[63][64]
Ultimate frisbee[65] Open Dingos
Women's Firetails
Mixed Barramundis
Women Masters Taipans
Open Masters Wombats
Under-23s Open Goannas[66]
Under-23s Women Stingrays[66]
Under-19s Open Thunder
Under-19s Women Southern Terra
Tennis Fed Cup Cockatoos[14]
Roller derby Men Wizards of AUS[67]
Universiade National team Australian Uniroos[68]
Baseball Men's Southern Thunder[69]
Women's Emeralds[70]
Volleyball Men's and Women's Volleyroos.[71] 1988 - 1992 The Kookaburras. Under the management of the Australian Gridiron Football League.

See also

References

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  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 http://www.news.com.au/national/holden-signs-10-million-deal-to-sponsor-nrl-kangaroos-and-state-of-origin/story-fncynjr2-1226565702395
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  33. ↑ http://www.nrl.com/Default.aspx?TabId=10874&newsid=85815
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  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  66. ↑ 66.0 66.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  67. ↑ http://wizardsofaus.com.au/
  68. ↑ http://www.unisport.com.au/HighPerformance/Pages/AustralianUniroos.aspx
  69. ↑ http://southernthunder.baseball.com.au/
  70. ↑ http://emeralds.baseball.com.au/
  71. ↑ http://www.avf.org.au/
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