Ireland national rugby league team

Not to be confused with Ireland national rugby union team.

Ireland

Team information
Nickname	Wolfhounds
Governing body	Rugby League Ireland
Region	Europe
Head coach	Ged Corcoran
Captain	George King
Most caps	Liam Finn (32)
Top try-scorer	Stuart Littler (13)
Top point-scorer	Liam Finn (170)
Home stadium	Carlisle Grounds, Bray Morton Stadium, Santry
IRL ranking	18th
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First international
Ireland 24–22 United States   (RFK Stadium, Washington DC, 17 March 1995) [1] [2]
Biggest win
Ireland 82–0 Serbia   (Tullamore, Ireland; 18 October 2009)
Biggest defeat
England Knights 62–4 Ireland   (St Helens, England;16 June 2012)   Russia 64–6 Ireland   (Moscow, Russia;16 May 2004)
World Cup
Appearances	5 (first time in 2000 )
Best result	Quarterfinals (2000, 2008)

The Ireland men's national rugby league team, known as the Wolfhounds, is organised by Rugby League Ireland and represents the entire isle of Ireland in international rugby league. The representative team is composed largely of players of Irish descent who compete in the Super League as well as the Australasian National Rugby League. Ireland is also represented by an Ireland A side, which is made up of players from the Irish domestic competition.

Since Ireland began competing in international rugby league in 1995, it has participated in the 1995 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament, the 1996 Super League World Nines, and five Rugby League World Cups – 2000, 2008, 2013, 2017 and 2021. ^[3] They have also competed in the Rugby League European Nations Cup. ^[3]

Although, the island of Ireland is separate from the island of Great Britain, Irish players such as Cork-born Brian Carney have in the past been selected to play for the Great Britain side. ^[4]

History

The seeds of modern-day Rugby League in Ireland were sown in 1989 when Brian Corrigan founded the Dublin Blues Rugby League, a club that was primarily used by union players to keep fit during the summer by playing matches against touring British teams. ^{[5] [2]} In 1995 the British RFL established Ireland's first development officer and later that year Ireland played against the United States in Washington on St Patricks Day with Ireland winning 24–22. ^{[2] [6]} Wigan Warriors player Joe Lydon came on as a substitute despite also serving as the manager. Huddersfield Giants coach Terry Flanagan and former Great Britain Student international Niel Wood were the joint coaches. In August 1995 Ireland beat Scotland at the RDS Arena in Dublin as a curtain raiser to the charity shield match between Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors. ^[7] The matches were played before an attendance of 5,716, a record for an international rugby league match on Irish soil. ^{[7] [8]} Former Great Britain player Des Foy played for Ireland. ^[8] Following their appearance at the 1995 Emerging Nations Tournament, they were invited to the Super League World Nines in Fiji where they finished 8th. ^[9]

Flags and anthems

The Four Provinces Flag of Ireland

The Irish rugby league team is one of many Irish teams that draws its players from across the island of Ireland. It utilises the Four Provinces Flag of Ireland and the all-island anthem, "Ireland's Call". Unlike the Irish rugby union team, the Irish rugby league team neither plays Amhrán na bhFiann, the national anthem of the Irish state, nor God Save the King/Queen, the national anthem of Northern Ireland,^{[ citation needed ]} in addition to Ireland's Call when playing at home.

1995 Emerging Nations Tournament

See also: 1995 Emerging Nations Tournament

Ireland were included in the tournament held in England and were placed in Group B alongside Moldova and Morocco. Ireland beat Moldova 48–24 before beating Morocco 42–6 to progress to the final. In the final Ireland lost 6–22 to the Cook Islands at Gigg Lane in Bury. ^[10] Coached by Terry Flanagan, Ireland's squad included professionals Des Foy and Martin Crompton in an otherwise domestic based squad.

2000 World Cup

Further information: 2000 Rugby League World Cup

1997 saw more England-based Super League players making themselves available by use of the grandparent rule. The Irish team improved its standards but this development gave less opportunity for Irish-based players to get a chance to play. However, Irish-based players were included in the Irish squad for the triangular tournaments in 1998 against France and Scotland and 1999 against Scotland and Wales. Their success was enough to earn a place in the 2000 World Cup. Finishing top of their group, the Irish eventually lost 26–16 to England in the quarter-finals, but the performance set the scene for future developments in Ireland. ^[11]

2008 World Cup

See also: 2008 Rugby League World Cup

Ireland were drawn against Lebanon and Russia in Europe's 2008 Rugby League World Cup Qualifying Pool Two. Ireland topped the group with a 16–16 draw with Lebanon at Dewsbury on 2 November 2007. The draw meant Ireland qualified for the 2008 World Cup on points difference from Lebanon as both nations gained the same number of group points.

Ireland at the 2008 World Cup.

At the 2008 World Cup in Australia, Ireland were in Group C along with Tonga and Samoa. They lost to Tonga on 27 October in Parramatta, Sydney, but were victorious against Samoa, again in Parramatta, on 5 November and topped the group on points difference. ^{[12] [13]} As the group winners, they played Fiji, winners of Group B, for a chance to qualify for the semi-final. ^[14] Fiji won 30–14 eliminating Ireland. ^[14]

2013 World Cup

See also: 2013 Rugby League World Cup

England v Ireland 2013 RLWC

For the 2013 World Cup Ireland were drawn in group A alongside Australia, England and 2008 World Cup rivals Fiji. Ireland was granted automatic entry to the tournament due to their strong showing in the 2008 World Cup. Ireland lost all three group matches including a 0–50 defeat to eventual champions Australia in front of 5,021 fans at Thomond Park. ^[15]

2017 World Cup

See also: 2017 Rugby League World Cup

Ireland kicked off their campaign with a shock 36–12 win over Italy in Cairns. In the next pool match Ireland lost a narrow match to PNG 14–6 with PNG needing a 78th minute try to win the game. Ireland's final pool match was against Wales in Perth where they ran out comfortable winners 34–6. Ireland did not progress to the next round of the tournament despite winning more games than Lebanon or Samoa who qualified for the last 8. ^{[16] [17] [18]}

2021 World Cup

See also: 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup

Ireland started 2021 Rugby League World Cup qualification campaign in the 2018 European Championship, where they finished third with a win against Scotland and two losses against France and Wales. Ireland's third-place finish required them to participate in the 2019 European play-off tournament to ensure qualification. Here they managed to achieve two wins against Italy and Spain, leading to their World Cup qualification. Ireland were drawn into Group C, alongside New Zealand, Lebanon and Jamaica. ^[19] In April 2022 Offaly-born Ged Corcoran took over from Stuart Littler for the World Cup campaign. ^[20] Ireland finished the tournament with a 1–2 record beating Jamaica in their opener, before losing to Lebanon and New Zealand. ^[21]

Demotion to affiliate status and 2026 World Cup ineligibility

In March 2024, the International Rugby League deemed that Ireland had been non-compliant with the terms of the IRL membership policy and consequently would be reclassified as an affiliate member. ^[22]  This decision also made Ireland ineligible to participate in qualifiers for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup. ^[22]

Coaches

Updated as of 30 October 2024

Name	Tenure	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	Championships/Notes
Terry Flanagan	1995–1996	6	4	0	2	66.67%
Steve O'Neill	1997–2001*	10	6	1	3	60%	Triangular Series
Daryl Powell	2003–2005	9	5	0	4	55.56%
Andy Kelly [23]	2006–2010	14	5	2	7	35.71%
Mark Aston [24]	2011–2017	20	8	0	12	40%
Carl De Chenu†	July – September 2015 [25] [26] September – October 2016 [27] [28] [29] June 2018 [30]	7	6	0	1	85.71%
Stuart Littler [20] [31]	2018–2022	5	3	0	2	60%
Ged Corcoran	2022	3	1	0	2	33.33%
Wayne Kerr [32]	2024	2	2	0	0	100%
Total	1995–	76	40	3	33	52.63%	—
* Andy Kelly and Steve O'Neill were considered joint coaches during the 2000 World Cup and for Ireland's 2001 test with France. [33]
†Between 2015 and 2018 Carl De Chenu served as the domestic coach for test matches and assumed the role of assistant coach for the European Championships and World Cup.

Current squad

The 24-man national team squad selected for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup was announced on 29 September 2022. ^[34]

Player	Caps	Points	Club
James Bentley	8	12	Leeds Rhinos
Keanan Brand	0	0	Leigh Leopards
Liam Byrne	7	0	Wigan Warriors
Ed Chamberlain	6	14	Leigh Leopards
Josh Cook	3	0	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Frankie Halton	5	4	Hull Kingston Rovers
James Hasson	9	8	South Sydney Rabbitohs
Jaimin Jolliffe	2	0	Gold Coast Titans
Luke Keary	3	0	Sydney Roosters
Joe Keyes	11	11	Halifax Panthers
George King (c)	13	24	Hull Kingston Rovers
Toby King	4	8	Wigan Warriors
Ben Mathiou	0	0	Featherstone Rovers
James McDonnell	1	4	Wigan Warriors
Ronan Michael	6	0	York Knights
Robbie Mulhern	5	0	Warrington Wolves
Richie Myler	3	0	Leeds Rhinos
Dan Norman	1	0	St Helens
Brendan O'Hagan	3	4	York Knights
Henry O'Kane	1	0	Wests Tigers
Harry Rushton	3	0	Canberra Raiders
Innes Senior	3	4	Huddersfield Giants
Louis Senior	3	24	Hull Kingston Rovers
Michael Ward	5	0	Batley Bulldogs

Individual Records

Statistics are up to date as of 30 October 2022. ^{[35] [36] [37]} Bold indicates current player.

Most caps Rank Name Career Caps Tries Position 1 Liam Finn 2007–18 32 8 SO 2 Bob Beswick 2006–15 27 3 HK 3 Scott Grix 2006–18 22 8 FB 4 Stuart Littler 2004–16 21 13 FB 5 Luke Ambler 2009–16 20 6 FW

Most tries Rank Name Career Caps Tries Position 1 Stuart Littler 2004–16 21 13 FB 2 Casey Dunne 2014–18 13 12 FB 3 Damien Blanch 2006–13 9 9 WG Phil Cantillon 2003–06 7 9 HK Karl Fitzpatrick 2003–09 13 9 FB

Most points Rank Name Career Caps Tries Points Position 1 Liam Finn 2007–18 32 8 170 SO 2 James Kelly 2015–16 7 5 64 SO Casey Dunne 2014–18 13 12 64 FB 4 Stuart Littler 2004–16 21 13 54 FB 5 Karl Fitzpatrick 2003–09 13 9 46 FB

Competitive records

Main article: List of Ireland national rugby league team results

Ireland compete in the Rugby League European Nations Cup and have participated in the Rugby League World Cup.

Head to head record

Ireland's competitive record as of 27 October 2024 ^[38]

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Australia	1	0	0	1	0%	0	50	–50
Belgium	1	1	0	0	100%	34	0	+34
Cook Islands	1	0	0	1	0%	6	22	–16
England	3	0	0	3	0%	28	104	–76
England Knights	2	0	0	2	0%	8	118	–110
Fiji	2	0	0	2	0%	28	62	–34
France	9	1	1	7	11.11%	172	295	–123
Hungary	1	1	0	0	100%	70	0	+70
Italy	3	3	0	0	100%	121	42	+79
Jamaica	2	1	0	1	50%	64	70	–6
Lebanon	4	0	2	2	0%	64	106	–42
Malta	2	2	0	0	100%	92	32	+60
Moldova	1	1	0	0	100%	48	26	+22
Morocco	1	1	0	0	100%	42	6	+36
New Zealand	1	0	0	1	0%	10	48	–38
Māori	1	1	0	0	100%	30	16	+14
Netherlands	1	1	0	0	100%	30	28	+2
Papua New Guinea	1	0	0	1	0%	6	14	–8
Russia	4	3	0	1	75%	184	110	+74
Samoa	2	2	0	0	100%	64	32	+32
Scotland	15	11	0	4	73.33%	335	261	+74
Serbia	2	2	0	0	100%	106	16	+90
Spain	2	2	0	0	100%	88	14	+74
Tonga	1	0	0	1	0%	20	22	–2
United States	3	3	0	0	100%	112	50	+62
Wales	10	4	0	6	40%	199	253	–54
Total	76	40	3	33	52.63%	1,961	1,797	+164

IRL Rankings

IRL Men's World Rankings v t e
Official rankings as of December 2024
Rank	Change	Team	Pts %
1		Australia	100
2		New Zealand	86
3		England	84
4	1	Tonga	63
5	1	Samoa	54
6	1	Papua New Guinea	53
7	1	Fiji	44
8		France	30
9	2	Serbia	23
10		Cook Islands	22
11	1	Netherlands	22
12	5	Wales	18
13	2	Malta	17
14	6	Ukraine	13
15	1	Greece	12
16	7	Lebanon	12
17	4	Italy	11
18	2	Ireland	9
19	1	Jamaica	8
20	1	Czech Republic	8
21	2	Chile	8
22	3	Scotland	7
23	4	Philippines	7
24	7	United States	7
25	1	Poland	5
26	2	South Africa	5
27	5	Germany	5
28	3	Norway	5
29	4	Brazil	4
30	4	Kenya	4
31	10	Canada	4
32		Montenegro	4
33	2	North Macedonia	3
34	15	Argentina	3
35	5	Albania	2
36		Bulgaria	2
37	7	Ghana	2
38	9	Nigeria	2
39	5	Turkey	1
40	3	Cameroon	1
41	2	Japan	1
42	4	Spain	1
43	1	Colombia	1
44	1	El Salvador	0
45		Russia	0
46	1	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0
47	3	Hong Kong	0
48	3	Solomon Islands	0
49	8	Vanuatu	0
50		Niue	0
51	1	Latvia	0
52	2	Denmark	0
53	2	Belgium	0
54	4	Estonia	0
55	9	Sweden	0
56	12	Morocco	0
57	9	Hungary	0
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

World Cup

World Cup Record										World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	P	W	D	L	F	A		Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA
1954	Did not enter									Did not enter
1957
1960
1968
1970
1972
1975
1977
1985–88
1989–92
1995
2000	Quarter-finals	Fifth place	4	3	0	1	94	64		Qualified as co-hosts
2008	Semi-final qualifier	Fifth place	3	1	0	2	68	68		4	2	2	0	142	64
2013	Group stage	14th	3	0	0	3	14	124		Automatic qualifier
2017	Group stage	9th	3	2	0	1	76	32		2	2	0	0	116	22
2021	Group stage	9th	3	1	0	2	72	82		2	2	0	0	67	12
2026	Ineligible to participate in qualifiers									Ineligible to participate in qualifiers
Total	5/16	Fifth place	16	7	0	9	324	370		8	6	2	0	325	98

A red box around the year indicates tournaments played within Ireland.

European Championship

European Championship record
Year	Round	Position		GP	W	L	D
1935–1996	did not enter
2003	Group Stage	3/3		2	1	1	0
2004	Second Place	2/6		3	2	1	0
2005	Group Stage	2/3		2	1	1	0
2009	Fourth Place	4/6		3	1	2	0
2010	Fourth Place	4/4		3	0	3	0
2012	Second Place	2/3		2	1	1	0
2014	Third Place	3/4		3	2	1	0
2015	Third Place	3/4		3	1	2	0
2018	Third Place	3/4		3	1	2	0
Total	0 Titles	9/33		24	10	14	0

Triangular Series

Triangular Series Record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	D
1999	1st Place	1/3	2	2	0	0
Total	1/1	1 Title	2	2	0	0

This one-off tournament was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales. ^{[39] [40]}

Honours

• 1999 Triangular Series

Stadium and Attendances

In 2015 Rugby League Ireland announced that the Carlisle Grounds in Bray, County Wicklow would become the official home ground of the national team. ^[41] Despite this announcement, Ireland have also subsequently used Morton Stadium in Santry as their home ground. ^[42]

Below is a list of the highest attendances for international rugby league matches in Ireland.

Rank	Attendance	Opponent	Date	Venue	Metro area
1	5,716	Scotland	1995-08-13	RDS Arena	Dublin [8]
2	5,021	Australia	2013-11-09	Thomond Park	Limerick [15]
3	3,207	Samoa	2000-10-28	Windsor Park	Belfast [43]
4	3,164	New Zealand Maori	2000-11-04	Tolka Park	Dublin [44]
5	3,100	France	2011-11-05	Thomond Park	Limerick [45]

Ireland A

Main article: Ireland A national rugby league team

Ireland Wolfhounds logo

The Ireland A team is selected from players in the Irish domestic competition, administered by Rugby League Ireland. The Ireland A side competed in the St Patrick's Day Challenge between 2000 and 2012 and in the Amateur Four Nations from 2003 to 2014.

See also

• Sports portal

• Rugby league in Ireland
• Rugby League European Nations Cup
• Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament
• Rugby League World Cup
• Rugby League Ireland
• List of Ireland national rugby league team players
• Ireland national rugby union team

References

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22. "IRL MEMBERSHIP: IRELAND, ITALY, LEBANON, SCOTLAND RECLASSIFIED". INTRL. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
23. "Ireland and Kelly part ways". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
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27. "Casey Dunne scores hat-trick of tries as late Ireland charge sees off Italy". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
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32. "Kerr to oversee new look Ireland team in Netherlands international". International Rugby League. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
33. "Rugby League: World Cup coaching duo reappointed". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
34. "Ireland's 24-man Rugby League World Cup 2021 squad". RLI. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
35. "Ireland". rugbyleagueproject. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
36. "Ireland". rugbyleagueproject. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
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38. "Ireland". rugbyleagueproject. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
39. "Triangular Series 1999". rugbyleagueproject. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
40. "Sport: Rugby League Ireland make most of Eyres dismissal". BBC. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
41. "RL Ireland has a new home". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
42. "Super League stars feature in Ireland train-on squad". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
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External links

• Home page of Rugby League Ireland
• Ireland: European Rugby League