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