Team information | ||
---|---|---|
Nickname | The Rhinos | |
Governing body | South African Rugby League | |
Region | Asia-Pacific | |
Head coach | Darryl Fisher | |
Captain | Shane Gillham | |
Home stadium | Brakpan Stadium | |
IRL ranking | 25th | |
Uniforms | ||
| ||
Team results | ||
First international | ||
Great Britain 49 – 30 South Africa (Durban, South Africa; 23 August 1962) | ||
Biggest win | ||
Brazil 0 – 82 South Africa (Noosa, Australia; 5 June 2022) | ||
Biggest defeat | ||
Australia 86 – 6 South Africa (Gateshead, England; 10 October 1995) | ||
World Cup | ||
Appearances | 2 (first time in 1995 ) | |
Best result | Group stage, 1995, 2000 |
The South Africa national rugby league team (Afrikaans : Suid-Afrikaanse nasionale rugbyleaguespan) to date have competed at two Rugby League World Cups in 1995 and 2000.
Rugby league was originally introduced to South Africa in the 1950s with the staging of several series tournaments within the country that saw fixtures between the English and the French however this concept failed to generate the needed interest and was not upheld. The South Africans did not see further international rugby league until the 1960s where the first national side undertook fixtures against the visiting British and a tour to Australia. From the 1960s onwards the international fixture list for the South Africans was minimal and it was not until the early 1990s when they began to play with some lasting regularity.
Since they began playing international rugby league South Africa have always found it difficult to compete against the more established nations and so progress and improvement have been slow. Possibly their greatest achievement to date has been the qualification and participation in two World Cups in both 1995 and 2000 where South Africa failed to win a fixture after being seeded in tough groups at both tournaments where they had to play world champions Australia along with England, Fiji, France, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.
South Africa traditionally play in a predominately green uniform with black shorts, they have commonly been referred to as The Rhinos since the early 1990s. The South African emblem is a red and yellow King Protea plant which is the national flower of South Africa. South African internationals are played at a variety of venues throughout the country with no singular home ground being used.
It has often been said that South Africa has great potential for rugby league, but the sport has a relatively low profile in the country with rugby union being the predominant and more established code. This is exacerbated by the fact that very few schools offer rugby league as an extracurricular activity and there are relatively few youth clubs. The popularity of the South Africa national rugby union team and South Africa national rugby sevens team in the country further hinders the development of rugby league as potential players are groomed to play in the national and provincial Rugby union teams and the national Rugby sevens team from a young age.
Rugby league first gained attention in South Africa when the English and French attempted expansion in the 1950s for the purpose of creating further international opposition. [1] Three games were then played between the two nations on the continent but both sides viewed the matches as nothing more than friendly fixtures so never undertook the games in a serious manner and the public never subsequently took to the three exhibition games. Though rugby league was only seriously played in South Africa beginning in the 1950s, the sport was not unknown to South Africans prior to that decade; for example, a number of notable black and Coloured rugby union players, such as David Barends, Green Vigo, and Enslin Dlambulo, code-switched from union to league and moved overseas, in part because of the allure of professionalism, while also escaping the apartheid regime. [2]
Over the next several years, rugby league lay dormant in South Africa and it was not until the 1960s when talks of creating a national side began. After much discussion within South Africa, it was eventually agreed for a national side to play a touring Great Britain and then undertake a tour of Australasia. The first South African national side played their first competitive fixture on 23 August 1962 and put on a good showing against the much stronger British but eventually lost by nineteen points 49–30. The following two fixtures turned out to be much the same with the South Africans being defeated on another two occasions but putting in good performances whilst never being comprehensively beaten. The South Africans embarked on their first tour eleven months later with a twenty-four-man squad that included several former Springboks. The tour started with several friendly fixtures against various minor representative sides where they gained two comfortable victories; the first international fixture of the tour took place in Brisbane against the world champion Australians and the South Africans performed with courage[ citation needed ] but eventually lost the match 34–6. The following test was played a week later in Sydney that again saw the team put in a tough effort but lost again 54–21. South Africa left Australia without an international win and be low on confidence heading to New Zealand to play a sole fixture against the New Zealand national side whom were expected to win comfortably. However, the match turned out to be a tough encounter and surprisingly saw the team gain its first international victory 4–3 [3] The South Africans featured several Australian players bought in to cover injuries and improve the quality of the side and so the match against New Zealand is not counted as a test match. [4]
Official rankings as of 21 December 2023 | |||
Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
1 | Australia | 100.00 | |
2 | New Zealand | 91.00 | |
3 | 1 | England | 74.00 |
4 | 1 | Samoa | 70.00 |
5 | Tonga | 54.00 | |
6 | Papua New Guinea | 50.00 | |
7 | Fiji | 49.00 | |
8 | 1 | France | 24.00 |
9 | 1 | Lebanon | 24.00 |
10 | 3 | Cook Islands | 22.00 |
11 | 1 | Serbia | 19.00 |
12 | 6 | Netherlands | 17.00 |
13 | 1 | Italy | 15.00 |
14 | 5 | Malta | 15.00 |
15 | 1 | Greece | 14.00 |
16 | 4 | Ireland | 14.00 |
17 | 6 | Wales | 13.00 |
18 | 3 | Jamaica | 10.00 |
19 | 2 | Scotland | 9.00 |
20 | 8 | Ukraine | 7.00 |
21 | 6 | Czech Republic | 7.00 |
22 | 1 | Germany | 6.00 |
23 | 10 | Philippines | 6.00 |
24 | 5 | Poland | 6.00 |
25 | 1 | South Africa | 5.00 |
26 | 4 | Chile | 5.00 |
27 | 4 | Kenya | 0.00 |
28 | 6 | Norway | 4.00 |
29 | 6 | Nigeria | 4.00 |
30 | 6 | Ghana | 4.00 |
31 | 6 | Brazil | 4.00 |
32 | 12 | Turkey | 3.00 |
33 | 4 | United States | 3.00 |
34 | 1 | Bulgaria | 3.00 |
35 | 5 | Cameroon | 2.00 |
36 | 2 | Montenegro | 2.00 |
37 | 5 | Spain | 2.00 |
38 | 6 | Japan | 1.00 |
39 | Albania | 1.00 | |
40 | 4 | Colombia | 1.00 |
41 | 6 | El Salvador | 1.00 |
42 | North Macedonia | 1.00 | |
43 | 1 | Morocco | 1.00 |
44 | 3 | Sweden | 0.00 |
45 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.00 | |
46 | 3 | Canada | 0.00 |
47 | Niue | 0.00 | |
48 | 9 | Solomon Islands | 0.00 |
49 | 1 | Belgium | 0.00 |
50 | 10 | Hungary | 0.00 |
51 | 5 | Vanuatu | 0.00 |
52 | 3 | Argentina | 0.00 |
53 | 3 | Denmark | 0.00 |
54 | 3 | Latvia | 0.00 |
55 | Estonia | 0.00 | |
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT |
After this first string of international fixtures the South Africans became disheartened after only winning four of the thirteen tour matches and rugby league again lay dormant for decades.
The Rugby League World Cup tournament had been scheduled to be held in France in 1965, this time with the inclusion of the South African team. [5] However the tournament was abandoned.
The early 1990s saw new South African administrators begin to rebuild the international facet of South African rugby. During 1992, the South African national side again played for the first time in years against several combined African representative teams and the following years saw things look more promising for the Africans with their qualification into the 1995 World Cup and more regularity in international fixtures. Their first World Cup saw the South Africans seeded into the toughest group of the competition containing Australia, England and Fiji. The South Africans found their three group matches extremely difficult and failed to win a match during the tournament.
The following years saw the South Africans play on an inconsistent basis against several touring sides and qualify for their second consecutive World Cup in 2000. Leading into the tournament they were hopeful of gaining their first Cup win after being drawn into an easier yet still competitive group with France, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. [6] After initial optimism leading into the competition the South Africans faced Tonga in their first world cup fixture and be comprehensively beaten 66–18. [7] The following world cup matches added further disappointment and diminish all optimism the South Africans originally had with further heavy losses to both Papua New Guinea [8] and the French. [9]
After a second disappointing World Cup the side again began playing irregularly with one off fixtures over the next several years and it was not until 2006 when they again undertook another tour. A tour to Italy was undertaken in June 2006, which saw the South Africans play in two tests and a nines competition in Montelanico.
In 2008, the South Africa Rhinos were scheduled to participate in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers in the Atlantic pool also featuring the USA, Japan and the West Indies. The winner of the tournament entered into the repecharge round for the chance to qualify for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. South Africa withdrew alongside the West Indies due to financial reasons, leaving the tournament as a one off fixture between the US and Japan. As a result of their withdrawal South Africa forfeited the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup.
In 2011 however, the South Africa national rugby league team participated in the Atlantic Qualification Tournament as part of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers. The winner of the tournament qualified for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup that is to be held in England and Wales. Despite beating Canada 36–22 in a warm-up match before the beginning of the tournament, [10] South Africa nevertheless lost to USA 40–4 in the opening match of the tournament. [11]
In 2015 South Africa were confirmed to take on Lebanon in a one-off 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifier in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. However the match was shifted to a two match playoff in Pretoria, South Africa due to a controversial arrest of the leader of UAE rugby league who was in charge of organizing the initial match at the Dubai Sports City complex. [12]
Since rugby league has been known to the nation of South Africa since the 1950s many players of South African birth or heritage have gone on to attain notability in representing either South Africa, other nations or appearing in major domestic leagues around the world, some of the more notable South Africans have included:
Player | Position | Association to South Africa | Distinctions |
---|---|---|---|
Fred Anderson | Hooker | Born Cape Town | Former South African Captain Played for Canterbury & South Sydney |
Jamie Bloem | Fullback / Wing | Born Cape Town | Former South African Captain 1995 & 2000 World Cup appearances |
Tom van Vollenhoven | Wing | Born South Africa | Debatably greatest South African player Dual international |
Jarrod Saffy | Second Row | Born Benoni | Played in the NRL with the Wests Tigers and St. George Illawarra Dragons |
Sean Rutgerson | Prop/Second Row | Played in the NRL with the Canberra Raiders and in the Super League with the Salford Red Devils. Played for South Africa in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. | |
Christiaan Roets | Centre | Born in Pretoria | He represented South Africa in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying competition. He played for Wales in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. He has played his club rugby league with the South Wales Scorpions and the North Wales Crusaders in the Kingstone Press Championship 1. |
Country | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win% | For | Aga | Diff |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0% | 33 | 174 | –141 |
Brazil | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 82 | 0 | +82 |
Canada | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 36 | 22 | +14 |
Cook Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 6 | 66 | –60 |
England | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 46 | –46 |
Fiji | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 6 | 52 | –46 |
France | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 23 | 86 | –63 |
Great Britain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0% | 86 | 133 | –47 |
Italy | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 50% | 164 | 94 | +70 |
Jamaica | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 28 | 70 | –42 |
Kenya | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 138 | 14 | +124 |
Lebanon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 28 | 90 | –62 |
Malta | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 30 | 24 | +6 |
New Zealand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 4 | 3 | +1 |
Niue | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0% | 26 | 142 | –116 |
Papua New Guinea | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 16 | –16 |
Philippines | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 104 | 42 | +62 |
Poland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 38 | 16 | +22 |
Russia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 45 | 52 | –7 |
Tonga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 18 | 66 | –48 |
United States | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 4 | 40 | –36 |
Wales | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 12 | 40 | –28 |
Total | 37 | 11 | 0 | 26 | 29.73% | 911 | 1288 | –377 |
Opposition | Venue | Date | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Lancashire | Lancashire | 5 October | 55–12 |
Cumbria | Cumbria | 8 October | 44–34 |
Yorkshire | Leeds | 12 October | 66–6 |
BARLA | Hull | 17 October | --- |
Date | Result | Competition | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
9 October 2011 | South Africa def. Canada 36–22 | Friendly | Fletcher's Field, Markham, Ontario | 1,005 [14] |
15 October 2011 | United States def. South Africa 40–4 | 2013 Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers | Philadelphia | 300 approx |
19 October 2011 | Jamaica def. South Africa 20–6 | Not known |
Date | Result | Competition | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 May 2015 | Niue def. South Africa 48–4 | Friendly | Leumeah | Not Known |
25 October 2015 | Lebanon def. South Africa 40–12 | 2017 Rugby League World Cup Qualifier | Brakpan Stadium, Pretoria | Not Known |
31 October 2015 | Lebanon def. South Africa 50–16 | Not Known |
Date | Result | Competition | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
29 October 2016 | Niue def. South Africa 55-22 | Friendly | Brakpan Stadium, Pretoria | TBC |
11 November 2016 | Niue def. South Africa 44-0 | TBC |
Date | Result | Competition | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
24 June 2018 | South Africa def. Malta 30-24 | St Mary's Stadium, Sydney | TBC | |
12 October 2018 | Italy def South Africa 18-8 | Kellyville Ridge Sadium, Sydney | TBC |
Date | Result | Competition | Venue | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
21 June 2019 | Cook Islands def. South Africa 66-6 | 2021 Rugby League World Cup qualification | Wentworthville Ringrose park, NSW | 78 |
The Russia national rugby league team, nicknamed The Bears, represents Russia in international rugby league tournaments and other rugby league fixtures. The Bears, played their first fixtures against two British club sides: York Wasps and Fulham RLFC. In 2013, Russia became a full member of the Rugby League International Federation.
The Samoa national rugby union team represents the Samoa Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. They are also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perform a traditional Samoan challenge called the siva tau before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. They are ranked 11th in the world.
The Fiji national rugby union team represents Fiji in men's international rugby union. Fiji competed in the Pacific Tri-Nations and now competes in its successor tournament Pacific Nations Cup. Fiji also regularly plays test matches during the June and November test windows. They have beaten the major rugby playing sides of Wales, Scotland, Australia, France, Italy, Argentina and England. The only major sides Fiji are yet to beat are New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland.
The United States national rugby league team represents the United States in international rugby league competitions. The team is managed by the USA Rugby League (USARL).
The Canada men's national rugby union team represents the Canada in men's international rugby union competitions. They are overseen by Rugby Canada the governing body of rugby union in Canada.
The Tonga national rugby league team represents Tonga in rugby league football. They are currently the fifth ranked team in the world. The team was formed to compete in the 1986 Pacific Cup, and have competed at six Rugby League World Cups, starting in 1995 and continuing consecutively until the most recent tournament. Their best result was at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, where they were semi-finalists.
The Cook Islands national rugby league team have represented the Cook Islands in international rugby league football since 1986. Administered by the Cook Islands Rugby League Association (CIRLA), the team has competed at three Rugby League World Cups, in 2000, 2013 and 2021, and are coached by Karmichael Hunt.
The Greece national rugby league team represents Greece in rugby league. The team has been participating in international competition since 2003.
The Netherlands national rugby league team is the national rugby league team of The Netherlands. It was formed in January 2003. The national team played its first international match in 2003 against Scotland A, where they lost 22–18.
The Italy national rugby league team represents Italy in rugby league football. With origins dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, the team has competed regularly in international competitions since 2008, when their current governing body, the Federazione Italiana Rugby League, was formed. They are currently ranked 13th in the IRL World Rankings.
The Serbia national rugby league team represents Serbia in the sport of rugby league football. They have competed in international competition since 2003 under the administration of the Serbian Rugby League.
Rugby league is a team sport played in South Africa. There has been three dynasties of rugby league in South Africa that attempted to establish a thriving rugby league. Not all attempts were in the interest of South Africans; rather an interest in financial windfall. Others took to the townships and promoted the league at the grass roots, which saw some of the most successful periods of rugby league in South Africa. The game has changed over 50 years of involvement in South Africa and today is played by a small number of teams in three competitions—the Rhino Cup, Protea Cup and Western Province Rugby League—which are administered by the South African Rugby League.
Rugby union in Fiji is a popular team sport and is considered to be the national sport of the country. The sport was introduced to Fiji in the 1880s. Fiji is defined as a tier two rugby nation by World Rugby. The national team has competed at the Rugby World Cup and made it as far as the quarter-finals. Their sevens team is also noted for their success, winning multiple Olympic gold medals, World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens.
This is a history of the Tonga national rugby league team.
This is a history of the South Africa national rugby league team.
Rugby league is a full contact football code and spectator sport played in various countries around the world. It is govererned globally by the International Rugby League.
The Spain national rugby league team represents Spain in the sport of rugby league football, running under the auspices of the Asociación Española de Rugby League.
International rugby league matches were played throughout 2018.
Rugby league in Africa refers to the involvement of the sport of rugby league in the African continent.
A list of men and women international rugby league matches played throughout 2019 and does not include wheelchair rugby league international matches. A † denotes a recognised, but unofficial match that did not contribute to the RLIF World Rankings.