Belgium_national_rugby_league_team References

Belgium
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	49th
Uniforms
	First colours
	First colours
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.

For more Belgian stats, news, team results and more visit Belgium's RLEF Page.

History

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]

International Results

Their first international competition was in the 2009 RLEF Euro Med Challenge against Catalonia and Morocco.^[4] In their very 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.

National Team Results

Year	Date	Result	Venue	City	Competition
2009	25 July	Belgium def. Catalonia 28-22		Wavre, Belgium	Euro-Med Challenge
2009	15 August	Morocco def. Belgium 46-16		Beziers, France	Euro-Med Challenge
2013	29 June	Belgium def. Netherlands 22-6 match report		Delft, Netherlands	International friendly
2014	24 May	Spain def. Belgium 12-10 match report	Centre Sportif	Neder-Over-Heembeek, Belgium	International friendly
2014	8 June	Spain def. Belgium 54-10 match report	Campo de Rugby la Pelosa	Moncada, Spain	International friendly
2014	28 June	Belgium def. Netherlands 32-16 match report	Centre Sportif	Neder-Over-Heembeek, Belgium	Tri-Nation Challenge Cup
2015	18 April	Belgium def. Czech Republic 50-12 match report	Domaine van Puyenbroek	Brussels, Belgium	International Friendly
2015	2 May	Belgium def. Netherlands 60-12 match report		Rotterdam, Netherlands	International Friendly
2015	21 June	Malta def. Belgium 35-34 match report	Headingley Carnegie Stadium	Leeds, England	International Friendly
2015	12 July	Ireland def. Belgium 38-0 match report	Carlisle Grounds	Bray, Ireland	International Friendly
2015	3 October	Czech Republic def. Belgium 14-4 match report		Tis, Czech Republic	International Friendly

All-Time Results Record

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

IRL Men's World Rankings v t e
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

Current squad

The current Squad is managed by well experienced coach Valu Bentley a former player himself he served as an assistant to the former national coach Tony Benson and was awarded the full time role upon his predecessors departure.

2018^[5] The Belgium squad that took on the Czech Republic on 3 October.

References

^ "BELGIUM RUGBY LEAGUE NATION OVERVIEW". Rugby League Planet. Archived from the original on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
^ "Rugby 13". Rugby League Belgium XIII. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
^ "RLEF". Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
^ "Catalonia Won 52 to 10 in the Czech Republic". Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga. 22 June 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
^ "RLEF". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2015.

External links

[www.belgiumrugby13.com/ Official site of Rugby League Belgium]

[1] "BELGIUM RUGBY LEAGUE NATION OVERVIEW". Rugby League Planet. Archived from the original on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2009.

[2] "Rugby 13". Rugby League Belgium XIII. Retrieved 30 June 2009.

[3] "RLEF". Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2013.

[4] "Catalonia Won 52 to 10 in the Czech Republic". Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga. 22 June 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2009.

[5] "RLEF". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2015.

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v t e Rugby League European Federation
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Competitions	European Championship European Championship B (second tier) European Championship C (third tier) European Championship D (fourth tier) Euro Med Challenge (defunct)