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. Some journalists have criticised the practice as embarrassing, gimmicky, or PR-driven.
The name "Wallabies" was chosen by the 1908 rugby union side, making its first tour of the Northern Hemisphere. British newspapers had already nicknamed the 1905 New Zealand touring team the "All Blacks" from their sporting uniform predominant colour; the 1906 South African tourists had adopted "Springboks". "Rabbits" was first suggested for Australia, but rejected since rabbits there are notorious as pests. 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".
The rugby league tour side arrived in Britain later in 1908 with a live kangaroo as mascot and were nicknamed "Kangaroos". "Kangaroos" originally referred only to teams on "Kangaroo Tours" to Britain and France. In 1994 the Australian Rugby League extended the nickname to all internationals for sponsorship reasons, drawing criticism for the break with tradition. The first such game was a 58–0 win over France at Parramatta Stadium on 6 July 1994.
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. 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.
As part of a 1998 strategic business plan, Cricket Australia surveyed "stakeholders" in 1998 about a possible nickname, to enhance marketing opportunities. State cricket teams in the Sheffield Shield had benefited from adopting nicknames in the 1990s. 69% opposed a national nickname, partly from a sense of decorum and partly because the best names were already taken by other teams.
Athletics Australia held a competition for a nickname for its squad for the 2001 World Athletics Championships. The winning entry was "the Diggers", from the nickname for ANZAC soldiers. This was quickly abandoned after criticism from the Returned and Services League of Australia and others that this was an inappropriate use of the term. The team previously had a little-used nickname, "the Blazers".
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. The national team had been nicknamed "the Socceroos" by journalist Tony Horstead on a 1967 tour to South Vietnam. 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. By 2016, the FFA announcement of Caltex as sponsors was titled "Caltex Australia with the Socceroos all the way".
Table SportTeam (link to team / event)Nickname (link for origin)Name sponsorRoundnetAustralian National TeamQuokkasRugby union Men's test Wallabies Cadbury Women's Wallaroos Paper to Paper Under-21 side Junior WallabiesMen's Sevens Thunderbolts Women's Sevens PearlsRugby league Men's test Kangaroos (Previously VB and Holden) Women's Jillaroos Harvey Norman Under-20 side Junior Kangaroos Holden Wheelchair rugby Paralympic Steelers (official) Wheelabies (unofficial)Soccer Men's Socceroos Commonwealth Bank Women's (incl. Olympic) Matildas (from Waltzing Matilda) Commonwealth Bank Olympic men's Olyroos Commonwealth Bank Under-20 (men) Young Socceroos Commonwealth Bank Under-20 (women) Young Matildas Commonwealth Bank Under-17 (men) Joeys Commonwealth Bank Under-17 (women) Junior Matildas U17s Commonwealth Bank World Medical Football ChampionshipsDocceroos Men's blind Bilbies Beach HandballAustralian Women's National TeamAussie Beach Gliders Futsal National team Futsalroos GoalballAustralian women's national teamAussie BellesAustralian men's national teamAussie Storm Netball Women's national team Diamonds Origin EnergyMen's national teamKelpies; previously known as SonixTouch FootballAustralian Touch Football TeamEmusQuizzingAustralian Quiz TeamQuokkasAthleticsAustralian Athletics TeamAustralian Flame Cricket National team Baggy Greens (officially for the caps, metonymically for the players) Commonwealth Bank Women's Southern Stars Commonwealth Bank Swimming Australian Swim Team (Olympic, Paralympic, and World Championships) Dolphins; dropped in 2009, re-introduced in 2015Hancock ProspectingSoftball Men's Aussie Steelers Women's (Olympic / World's) Dingeroos/Aussie spirit Women's U-19 Aussie Pride Rowing RowsellasWater polo Men's Sharks Women's StingersBasketball Men's Boomers Airbnb Women's Opals Jayco Under-21 (men) Crocs Under-21 (women) Sapphires Under-19 (men) Emus Men's 3 x 3 Gangurrus Women's 3 x 3 Gangurrus Under-19 (women) Gems Intellectual disability (men) Boomerangs Intellectual disability (women) Pearls Deaf (men) Goannas Deaf (men) - U21 Dingos Deaf (women) Geckos Deaf (women) - U21 Ringtails Men's wheelchair Rollers Women's wheelchair Gliders U-23 wheelchair (men) Spinners U-25 wheelchair (women) Devils Wheelchair (women) 3 x 3 Wombats Wheelchair (men) 3 x 3 Wombats Cycling World Championships/World Cup Cyclones ToshibaField hockey Men's Kookaburras Women's Hockeyroos None for 2007 (ANZ for 2004 Olympics) Under-21 (men) Burras Under-21 (women) JillaroosIce hockey Men's Mighty Roos (after The Mighty Ducks) Women's Mighty Jills Para Hockey IceROOS Lacrosse Men's Sharks Women's Mellies Men's U23s Aussie Roos Women's U23s Team Koala Men's U19s Crocodiles Women's U19s Stars (after the Southern Cross) Women's U17s Team KoalaBox lacrosse Men's BoxaroosBowls Men's Jackaroos (a pun on jack, the target ball) Women's Sapphires Orienteering National team Boomerangs Team handball Men's Crocodiles Women's Redbacks Ultimate frisbee Open Dingos Women's Firetails Mixed Barramundis Women Masters Flying FoxesOpen Masters WombatsOpen Grand Masters Numbats Under-23s Open Goannas Under-23s Women StingraysUnder-23s Mixed Bluebottles Under-19s Open Thunder Under-19s Women Southern TerraDisc Golf National Team Sugar GlidersTennis Fed Cup CockatoosRoller derby Men Wizards of AUS Universiade National teamAustralian UniroosBaseballMen'sSouthern ThunderWomen'sEmeraldsVolleyballMen's and Women'sVolleyroos; previously Kookaburras from 1988 – 1992Fistball Men's Wombats Women's Possums Men's Masters DugongsQuidditch/QuadballNational TeamDropbearsNational Development TeamAurora AustralisBadmintonNational teamFalconsSurfing OlympicsIrukandjisFinska/MölkkyNational TeamFinskaroosPlanet FinskaBackyard ultra MarathonNational Team (Mixed)Redback YardersKilikitiNational teamAussieRoos
See also
Athletic nickname, in the United States Lists of nicknames – nickname list articles on Wikipedia
References