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