Turkey national rugby league team

Turkey

Team information
Governing body	Turkish Rugby League Association
Region	Europe
Head coach	Scott Hartas
Captain	Arda Dalcik
Most caps	11 players (4)
Top try-scorers	Ali Bökeyhan Sürer (5) Arda Dalcik (5)
Top point-scorer	Ali Bökeyhan Sürer (50)
IRL ranking	40th
Team results
First international
Solomon Islands 22–30 Turkey (Windsor, Australia; 1 October 2018)
Biggest win
Japan 0–60 Turkey (St Marys, Australia; 4 October 2018)
Biggest defeat
Australian Defence Force 46–0 Turkey (Sydney, Australia; 25 April 2021)
World Cup
Appearances	0

The Turkey national rugby league team represents Turkey in international rugby league. The team played their first match in 2018.

History

The Turkish Rugby League Association was founded in 2016, however the team didn't play their first match until two years later. The side made their competition debut at the 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship in Sydney, defeating the Solomon Islands 30–22 in their first ever match. ^[1] The team also beat Japan 60–0, qualifying them for the tournament's trophy stage. ^[2] Here, they lost to the Philippines 29–16 in the semi-final before beating Vanuatu 27–26, winning thanks to a field goal from Adem Baskonyali and claiming seventh place at their inaugural competition. ^{[3] [4]}

In 2019, the team played their first match in Turkey, losing to Greece 38–24 at the Aysekadin Yerleskesi Futbol Stadium in Istanbul. ^[5] They also lost to Malta 28–12 six weeks after. ^[6]

Competitive record

Overall

Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Turkey at test level up until 25 September 2022:

Opponent	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Bulgaria	1	1	0	0	100%	38	16	+22
Greece	1	0	0	1	0%	24	38	-14
Japan	1	1	0	0	100%	60	0	+60
Malta	2	1	0	1	50%	48	40	+8
Netherlands	1	0	0	1	0%	18	40	−22
Philippines	1	0	0	1	0%	16	29	−13
Solomon Islands	1	1	0	0	100%	30	22	+8
Vanuatu	1	1	0	0	100%	27	26	+1
Total	9	5	0	4	56%	261	211	+50

Results

Date	Result [a]	Opponent	Competition	Venue	Attendance	Ref.
1 October 2018	30–22	Solomon Islands	2018 Emerging Nations World Championship	Windsor Sporting Complex, Windsor, Sydney, Australia	750	[7]
4 October 2018	60–00	Japan		St. Marys Leagues Stadium, St. Marys, Sydney, Australia	500	[8]
10 October 2018	16–29	Philippines		New Era Stadium, Cabramatta, Sydney, Australia	450	[9]
13 October 2018	27–26	Vanuatu		St. Marys Leagues Stadium, St. Marys, Sydney, Australia	250	[10]
14 September 2019	24–38	Greece	International	Aysekadin Yerleskesi Futbol Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	250	[11]
26 October 2019	12–28	Malta	International	New Era Stadium, Cabramatta, Sydney, Australia	600	[12]
25 April 2021	00–46	Australian Defence Forces	Friendly	Sydney Cricket Ground, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia		[13]
14 October 2021	18–40	Netherlands	2021 European Championship D	Huseyin Akar Tesisleri Stadium, Bodrum, Turkey	500	[14]
17 October 2021	36–12	Malta		Huseyin Akar Tesisleri Stadium, Bodrum, Turkey		[15]
25 September 2022	38–16	Bulgaria	International	ITU Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey		[16]

IRL Rankings

IRL Men's World Rankings v t e
Official rankings as of July 2025
Rank	Change	Team	Pts %
1		Australia	100
2		New Zealand	83
3		England	80
4		Tonga	62
5		Samoa	53
6		Papua New Guinea	51
7		Fiji	43
8		France	29
9	2	Netherlands	22
10		Cook Islands	22
11	2	Serbia	18
12		Wales	18
13		Malta	16
14	1	Greece	14
15	1	Ukraine	13
16		Lebanon	11
17		Italy	10
18		Ireland	9
19	5	United States	8
20	1	Jamaica	8
21	1	Czech Republic	8
22		Scotland	7
23	2	Chile	7
24	1	Philippines	7
25		Poland	5
26	1	Germany	5
27	1	Norway	5
28	2	South Africa	5
29		Brazil	4
30		Kenya	4
31		Canada	4
32		Montenegro	3
33		North Macedonia	3
34	22	Morocco	3
35	1	Argentina	3
36	1	Albania	2
37	1	Bulgaria	2
38	1	Ghana	2
39	1	Nigeria	2
40	1	Turkey	1
41	1	Cameroon	1
42	1	Japan	1
43	1	Spain	1
44	1	Colombia	1
45	1	El Salvador	0
46	1	Russia	0
47	1	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0
48	1	Hong Kong	0
49	1	Solomon Islands	0
50	1	Vanuatu	0
51	6	Hungary	0
52	1	Latvia	0
53	1	Denmark	0
54	1	Belgium	0
55	1	Estonia	0
56	1	Sweden	0
57	7	Niue	0
Complete rankings at www.internationalrugbyleague.com

See also

• Rugby union in Turkey
• Turkey national rugby union team
• Turkey women's national rugby league team
• Turkey women's national rugby union team

Notes

1. Turkey score given first

References

1. "Solomon Islands vs. Turkey - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
2. "Japan vs. Turkey - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
3. "Philippines vs. Turkey - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
4. "Turkey vs. Vanuatu - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
5. "Turkey vs. Greece - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
6. "Malta vs. Turkey - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
7. "Match Report: Solomon Islands vs. Turkey". RLENWC. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018.
8. "Match Report: Japan vs. Turkey". RLENWC. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018.
9. "Match report: Philippines withhold Turkey to reach trophy final". RLENWC. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018.
10. "Match report: Turkey defeat Vanuatu in golden point thriller". RLENWC. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018.
11. "Turkey 24 38 Greece". International Rugby League. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
12. "International Results". Malta Rugby League. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020.
13. "ADF romps to win over Turkey in inaugural clash". National Rugby League. 25 April 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
14. "Netherlands 40 18 Turkiye". European Rugby League. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
15. "Malta 18 36 Turkiye". European Rugby League. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
16. "Turkiye 38 16 Bulgaria". European Rugby League. Retrieved 27 February 2024.