Belgium national rugby league team

Belgium
Team information
Nickname	Golden Lions
Governing body	Rugby League Belgium
Region	Europe
Head coach	Valu Bentley
Captain	Damien Parée
Home stadium	Centre Sportif de Neder Over Hembeek
IRL ranking	55th
Uniforms
	First colours
	First colours
Team results
	First game
	Belgium 28–22 Catalonia ; (Wavre, Belgium; 25 July 2009)
	Biggest win
	Belgium 60–12 Netherlands ; (Rotterdam, Netherlands; 2 May 2015)
	Biggest defeat
	Spain 54–10 Belgium ; (Moncada, Spain; 8 June 2014)

The Belgium national rugby league team represents Belgium in the sport of rugby league football.

History

The success of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup resulted in a popularity surge for the sport around the world. As a result, a number of new nations took up the sport. Belgium followed this trend in 2009.^[1] Rugby League Belgium was started with a single franchise, Brabant Wallon Wavre Rugby XIII, and the creation of a national side to participate in the RLEF Euro Med Challenge and other international matches.^[2]

Under new President Yves-Michael Kazadi, Belgium were granted observer membership of the Rugby League European Federation in June 2013.^[3]

Their first international competition was in the 2009 RLEF Euro Med Challenge against Catalonia and Morocco.^[4] In their first international, Belgium defeated Catalonia in front of a home crowd in Wavre. Belgium came in second in the Euro Med Challenge 2009, losing to Morocco 46-12. Following this tournament, the national team took a 4-year hiatus before being granted affiliate RLEF membership and returning to international competition in 2013.

Competitive record

Overall

Team	First Played	Played	Win	Loss	Points For	Points Against	Last played
Catalonia	2009	1	1	0	28	22	2009
Czech Republic	2015	2	1	1	54	26	2015
Germany	2016	1	1	0	26	12	2016
Ireland	2015	1	0	1	0	34	2015
Malta	2015	1	0	1	34	35	2015
Morocco	2009	1	0	1	12	46	2009
Netherlands	2013	4	4	0	150	48	2016
Spain	2014	2	0	2	20	66	2014
Total		13	7	6	324	289

Results

Year	Date	Result	Venue	City	Attendance	Competition	Report
2009	25 July	Belgium def. Catalonia 28-22		Wavre, Belgium	400	Euro-Med Challenge	match report
2009	15 August	Morocco def. Belgium 46-16	Stade de la Meditérrannée	Beziers, France		Euro-Med Challenge	match report
2013	29 June	Belgium def. Netherlands 22-6		Delft, Netherlands		International friendly	match report
2014	24 May	Spain def. Belgium 12-10	Centre Sportif	Neder-Over-Heembeek, Belgium		International friendly	match report
2014	8 June	Spain def. Belgium 54-10	Campo de Rugby la Pelosa	Moncada, Spain		International friendly	match report
2014	28 June	Belgium def. Netherlands 32-16	Centre Sportif	Neder-Over-Heembeek, Belgium		Tri-Nation Challenge Cup	match report
2015	18 April	Belgium def. Czech Republic 50-12	Domaine van Puyenbroek	Brussels, Belgium		International Friendly	match report
2015	2 May	Belgium def. Netherlands 60-12		Rotterdam, Netherlands		International Friendly	match report
2015	21 June	Malta def. Belgium 35-34	Headingley Carnegie Stadium	Leeds, England		International Friendly	match report
2015	12 July	Ireland def. Belgium 38-0	Carlisle Grounds	Bray, Ireland		International Friendly	match report
2015	3 October	Czech Republic def. Belgium 14-4		Tis, Czech Republic		International Friendly	match report

IRL Rankings

IRL Men's World Rankings v t e
Official rankings as of 30 June 2024
Rank	Change	Team	Pts %
1		Australia	100
2		New Zealand	82
3		England	80
4		Samoa	67
5		Tonga	49
6	1	Fiji	47
7	1	Papua New Guinea	46
8		France	28
9		Lebanon	22
10		Cook Islands	20
11		Serbia	19
12		Netherlands	17
13		Italy	15
14	1	Greece	15
15	1	Malta	14
16		Ireland	14
17		Wales	13
18		Jamaica	10
19		Scotland	9
20		Ukraine	7
21		Czech Republic	7
22		Germany	6
23	3	Chile	6
24		Poland	6
25	3	Norway	6
26	1	Kenya	5
27	4	Philippines	5
28	3	South Africa	4
29		Nigeria	4
30		Ghana	4
31	2	United States	4
32	4	Montenegro	4
33	2	Brazil	3
34	2	Turkey	3
35	7	North Macedonia	3
36	2	Bulgaria	3
37	2	Cameroon	2
38	1	Spain	2
39	1	Japan	1
40	1	Albania	1
41	5	Canada	1
42	2	Colombia	1
43	2	El Salvador	1
44	1	Morocco	1
45		Russia	0
46	2	Sweden	0
47	2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0
48	2	Hungary	0
49	3	Argentina	0
50		Hong Kong	0
51	3	Solomon Islands	0
52	5	Niue	0
53	1	Latvia	0
54	1	Denmark	0
55	6	Belgium	0
56	1	Estonia	0
57	6	Vanuatu	0
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

References

^ "BELGIUM RUGBY LEAGUE NATION OVERVIEW". Rugby League Planet. Archived from the original on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
^ "Rugby 13". Rugby League Belgium XIII. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
^ "RLEF". Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
^ "Catalonia Won 52 to 10 in the Czech Republic". Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga. 22 June 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2009.

External links

[www.belgiumrugby13.com/ Official site of Rugby League Belgium]
Belgium: European Rugby League

[1] "BELGIUM RUGBY LEAGUE NATION OVERVIEW". Rugby League Planet. Archived from the original on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2009.

[2] "Rugby 13". Rugby League Belgium XIII. Retrieved 30 June 2009.

[3] "RLEF". Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2013.

[4] "Catalonia Won 52 to 10 in the Czech Republic". Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga. 22 June 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2009.

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