Belgium national rugby union team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Belgium women's national rugby union team.

Belgium

Nickname	Diables Noirs / Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils)
Union	Belgian Rugby Federation
Head coach	Laurent Dossat
Captain	Jens Torfs
Most caps	Alan Williams (68)
Top scorer	Alan Williams (736)
Top try scorer	Julien Berger (15)
Home stadium	Various
First colours Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current	22 (as of 14 July 2025)
Highest	21 (2012, 2013)
Lowest	55 (2004)
First international
Netherlands 6–6 Belgium   (Amsterdam, Netherlands; 13 March 1932)
Biggest win
United Arab Emirates 3–94 Belgium   (Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 8 December 2012)
Biggest defeat
Spain 77–0 Belgium   (Madrid, Spain; 8 December 1996)
Website	www.rugby.be

The Belgium national rugby union team, ^[1] nicknamed Diables Noirs / Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils), currently competes in the first division of the Rugby Europe International Championships, which they have been playing in since 2023. They have yet to participate in a Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Belgium is administered by the Belgian Rugby Federation.

History

The Belgium rugby team played their first match on 13 March 1932 against the Netherlands.^{[ citation needed ]} They contested annual games against the Netherlands for half a decade starting in 1932. They drew the 1932 game, but lost subsequent matches during the 1930s. They also played Italy and Germany in 1937, losing both games.

During the 1950s, Belgium continued playing the Netherlands, as well as teams like Spain. They managed to obtain a draw in the 1960s against Portugal. In the 1970s they won the majority of their games, as well as playing a broader range of European nations. This trend continued throughout the 1980s. Belgium had a six-game winning streak in the late 1980s. They began playing more games against their regular European opponents as they entered the 1990s. A Belgium side played Argentina prior to the 2007 Rugby World Cup. A Belgium XV played the Barbarians on 24 May 2008.

Belgium has been steadily improving, ranked number 55th in 2004, the 'Black Devils' improved on the following years, obtaining good results against other European Nations, gaining entry to the IRB Ranking's Top 30 in 2010. Since their induction to the first 30 rugby nations in the international ranking, they have managed to maintain their place.

Belgium had a successful campaign during the 2010-2012 European Nations Cup, with a 10 match winning streak from March 2011 to December 2012. Following their promotion in 2023, Belgium is competing in the top division of the Rugby Europe International Championships. In the 2024 season of the Rugby Europe International Championships Belgium earned a historic win over Portugal following their impressive Rugby World Cup campaign.^{[ citation needed ]}

Jacques Rogge, the former International Olympic Committee president, was a member of the Belgium national team.

Rugby World Cup qualification

See also: Rugby World Cup qualification

World Cup record									World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	P	W	D	L	F	A		P	W	D	L	F	A
1987	Not invited								-
1991	did not enter								did not enter
1995	did not qualify
1999	did not qualify
2003	did not qualify
2007	did not qualify
2011	did not qualify
2015	did not qualify
2019	did not qualify
2023	did not qualify
2027	TBD
Total	-

Current squad

On 27 October, Belgium named a 31-player squad ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup Final Qualification Tournament. ^[2]

Head Coach: Laurent Dossat

• Caps Updated: 27 October 2025 (ahead of FQT)

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Alexandre Raynier	Hooker	(1994-03-16) 16 March 1994 (age 31)	19	Auch
Vincent Tauzia	Hooker	(1992-07-17) 17 July 1992 (age 33)	11	Martres de Veyre
Charlesty Berguet	Prop	(2000-01-13) 13 January 2000 (age 25)	11	Vannes
Jean-Baptiste de Clercq	Prop	(1994-02-23) 23 February 1994 (age 31)	15	Albi
Maxime Jadot	Prop	(1991-01-06) 6 January 1991 (age 34)	54	Emak Hor
Basile van Parys	Prop	(2000-06-30) 30 June 2000 (age 25)	13	Brussels Devils
Seppe Verelst	Prop		6	Brussels Devils
Bruno Vliegen	Prop	(2001-07-03) 3 July 2001 (age 24)	16	Olympique Marcquois
Gillian Benoy	Lock	(1995-05-08) 8 May 1995 (age 30)	31	Béziers
Maurice Fromont	Lock	(2003-09-10) 10 September 2003 (age 22)	7	Stade Métropolitain
Maximilien Hendrickx	Lock	(1997-05-21) 21 May 1997 (age 28)	25	Suresnes
Jérémie Brasseur	Back row	(2000-07-03) 3 July 2000 (age 25)	12	Orléans
Toon Deceuninck	Back row	(2000-12-13) 13 December 2000 (age 24)	22	Auch
Jean-Maurice Decubber	Back row	(1996-09-10) 10 September 1996 (age 29)	18	Angoulême
Felipe Geraghty	Back row	(1993-02-27) 27 February 1993 (age 32)	5	Brussels Devils
Lucas Rassinfosse	Back row	(2001-02-23) 23 February 2001 (age 24)	14	Anglet
William Van Bost	Back row	(1998-08-01) 1 August 1998 (age 27)	12	Béziers
Julien Berger	Scrum-half	(1990-01-10) 10 January 1990 (age 35)	63	La Roche-sur-Yon
Isaac Montoisy	Scrum-half	(1998-09-09) 9 September 1998 (age 27)	17	Salles
Timothé Rifon	Scrum-half	(2001-09-12) 12 September 2001 (age 24)	12	Mâcon
Hugo De Francq	Fly-half	(1998-05-13) 13 May 1998 (age 27)	19	Agronomia
Matias Remue	Fly-half	(2003-03-07) 7 March 2003 (age 22)	11	Toulouse Espoirs
Florian Remue	Centre	(2003-03-07) 7 March 2003 (age 22)	25	Valence d’Agen
Jens Torfs	Centre	(1992-05-26) 26 May 1992 (age 33)	39	Barbezieux
Maxime Vacquier	Centre	(2003-01-15) 15 January 2003 (age 22)	5	Béziers
Robin Wedlake	Centre	(1994-08-16) 16 August 1994 (age 31)	0	Camborne
Dazzy Cornez	Wing	(1996-05-02) 2 May 1996 (age 29)	23	Aubenas
Lucas Michiels	Wing	(2004-03-25) 25 March 2004 (age 21)	4	Alcobendas
Ervin Muric	Wing	(1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 (age 28)	17	Olympique Marcquois
Thomas Wallraf	Wing	(1998-01-21) 21 January 1998 (age 27)	30	Langon
Siméon Soenen	Fullback	(2003-01-03) 3 January 2003 (age 22)	13	Albi

Record

Men's World Rugby Rankings

• v
• t
• e

Top 30 as of 3 November 2025 ^[3]

Rank	Change [i]	Team	Points
1		South Africa	092.20
2		New Zealand	091.00
3		Ireland	088.85
4	1	England	088.04
5	1	France	087.82
6		Argentina	083.82
7		Australia	082.90
8		Scotland	081.57
9		Fiji	081.16
10		Italy	077.77
11		Georgia	074.69
12		Wales	074.05
13		Japan	073.25
14		Spain	069.12
15		United States	067.40
16		Samoa	066.94
17		Chile	066.72
18		Tonga	066.66
19		Uruguay	066.59
20		Portugal	066.44
21		Romania	062.67
22		Belgium	061.20
23		Hong Kong	059.98
24		Canada	059.20
25		Zimbabwe	058.80
26		Netherlands	057.01
27		Namibia	056.97
28		Switzerland	055.26
29		Poland	054.36
30		Sweden	053.05

1. Change from the previous week

Belgium's historical rankings

See or edit source data.

Source: World Rugby ^[3]
Graph updated to 3 November 2025

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Belgium national XV at test level up until 8 November 2025, updated after match with   Namibia.

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %
Armenia	1	0	1	0	0.0%
Barbarians	1	0	1	0	0.0%
Brazil	2	0	2	0	0.0%
Canada	4	1	3	0	25%
Chile	1	0	1	0	0%
Croatia	4	2	2	0	50%
Czech Republic	7	4	2	1	57.14%
Czechoslovakia	6	1	5	0	16.67%
Denmark	5	3	1	1	60%
Fiji	1	0	1	0	0.0%
Georgia	7	0	7	0	0.0%
Germany	14	7	6	1	50%
Hong Kong	4	1	3	0	25%
Italy	2	0	2	0	0.0%
Latvia	2	1	1	0	50%
Lithuania	3	3	0	0	100%
Luxembourg	4	4	0	0	100%
Malta	2	2	0	0	100%
Moldova	7	5	2	0	71.43%
Monaco	1	1	0	0	100%
Morocco	4	1	3	0	25%
Namibia	1	1	0	0	100%
Netherlands	49	24	21	4	48.98%
Paraguay	1	1	0	0	100%
Poland	15	6	9	0	40%
Portugal	18	4	12	2	22.22%
Romania	12	0	12	0	0.0%
Russia	7	1	6	0	14.29%
Samoa	1	0	1	0	0.0%
Serbia and Montenegro	8	7	1	0	87.5%
Slovenia	3	2	1	0	66.67%
Spain	17	2	14	1	11.76%
Sweden	12	8	4	0	66.67%
Switzerland	11	7	4	0	63.64%
Tunisia	5	1	3	1	20%
Ukraine	6	3	3	0	50%
United Arab Emirates	1	1	0	0	100%
United States	1	0	1	0	0%
Uruguay	1	0	1	0	0.0%
West Germany	6	4	1	1	66.67%
Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0	100.0%
Total	258	109	137	12	42.02%

Germany playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2007 Rugby World Cup

Poland playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2011 Rugby World Cup

Past coaches

Years	Coach
2004–2014	Richard McClintock
2014–2019	Guillaume Ajac
2020–2022	Frédéric Cocqu
2022	Chris Cracknell
2023	Mike Ford
2024–present	Laurent Dossat

See also

• Rugby union in Belgium

References

1. (French : Équipe de Belgique de rugby à XV) (Dutch: Belgisch nationaal rugbyteam)
2. Belgium names squad to contest World Cup Repechage
3. "Men's World Rankings". world.rugby. Retrieved 3 November 2025.

External links

• http://www.rugbyevents.be
• Belgian Rugby Federation
• Belgium XV Official Games
• Belgium Archived 5 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine on rugbydata.com