Belgium national rugby league team
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The Belgium national rugby league team represents Belgium in the sport of rugby league football.
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| 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 | 54th | |||||
| 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) | ||||||
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]
Their first international competition was in the 2009 RLEF Euro Med Challenge against Catalonia and Morocco.[4] In their 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.
Competitive record
Overall
| 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 |
Results
| Year | Date | Result | Venue | City | Attendance | Competition | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 25 July | Belgium def. Catalonia 28-22 | Wavre, Belgium | 400 | Euro-Med Challenge | match report | |
| 2009 | 15 August | Morocco def. Belgium 46-16 | Stade de la Meditérrannée | Beziers, France | Euro-Med Challenge | match report | |
| 2013 | 29 June | Belgium def. Netherlands 22-6 | Delft, Netherlands | International friendly | match report | ||
| 2014 | 24 May | Spain def. Belgium 12-10 | Centre Sportif | Neder-Over-Heembeek, Belgium | International friendly | match report | |
| 2014 | 8 June | Spain def. Belgium 54-10 | Campo de Rugby la Pelosa | Moncada, Spain | International friendly | match report | |
| 2014 | 28 June | Belgium def. Netherlands 32-16 | Centre Sportif | Neder-Over-Heembeek, Belgium | Tri-Nation Challenge Cup | match report | |
| 2015 | 18 April | Belgium def. Czech Republic 50-12 | Domaine van Puyenbroek | Brussels, Belgium | International Friendly | match report | |
| 2015 | 2 May | Belgium def. Netherlands 60-12 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | International Friendly | match report | ||
| 2015 | 21 June | Malta def. Belgium 35-34 | Headingley Carnegie Stadium | Leeds, England | International Friendly | match report | |
| 2015 | 12 July | Ireland def. Belgium 38-0 | Carlisle Grounds | Bray, Ireland | International Friendly | match report | |
| 2015 | 3 October | Czech Republic def. Belgium 14-4 | Tis, Czech Republic | International Friendly | match report |
IRL Rankings
| Official rankings as of August 2026 | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 1 |  |  Australia | 100 |
| 2 | |  New Zealand | 82 |
| 3 | |  England | 70 |
| 4 | |  Samoa | 56 |
| 5 | |  Tonga | 54 |
| 6 | |  Papua New Guinea | 47 |
| 7 | |  Fiji | 34 |
| 8 |  1 |  Cook Islands | 24 |
| 9 | 2 | Netherlands | 23 |
| 10 | 2 |  Ukraine | 21 |
| 11 |  3 |  France | 21 |
| 12 | 2 |  Serbia | 20 |
| 13 | |  Wales | 18 |
| 14 | | Ireland | 17 |
| 15 | |  Greece | 14 |
| 16 | | Malta | 14 |
| 17 | 12 |  Canada | 13 |
| 18 | 1 |  Italy | 11 |
| 19 | 1 |  Jamaica | 9 |
| 20 | 7 |  Scotland | 8 |
| 21 | 1 |  United States | 8 |
| 22 | 3 |  Poland | 7 |
| 23 | 3 |  Lebanon | 7 |
| 24 | 1 | Germany | 7 |
| 25 | 1 | Czech Republic | 6 |
| 26 | 5 |  Norway | 6 |
| 27 | 2 |  Chile | 5 |
| 28 | 2 |  Philippines | 5 |
| 29 | 1 |  South Africa | 4 |
| 30 | |  Brazil | 3 |
| 31 | | Morocco | 3 |
| 32 | 1 |  Argentina | 3 |
| 33 | 2 |  Ghana | 2 |
| 34 | 2 |  Kenya | 2 |
| 35 | 1 |  Montenegro | 2 |
| 36 | 1 |  Nigeria | 2 |
| 37 | 5 |  North Macedonia | 1 |
| 38 | |  Albania | 1 |
| 39 | |  Turkey | 1 |
| 40 | |  Bulgaria | 1 |
| 41 | |  Cameroon | 0 |
| 42 | |  Japan | 0 |
| 43 | | Spain | 0 |
| 44 | |  Colombia | 0 |
| 45 | |  Russia | 0 |
| 46 | |  El Salvador | 0 |
| 47 | |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 |
| 48 | |  Hong Kong | 0 |
| 49 | |  Solomon Islands | 0 |
| 50 | |  Vanuatu | 0 |
| 51 | |  Hungary | 0 |
| 52 | |  Latvia | 0 |
| 53 | |  Denmark | 0 |
| 54 | | Belgium | 0 |
| 55 | |  Estonia | 0 |
| 56 | |  Sweden | 0 |
| 57 | |  Niue | 0 |
| Complete rankings at www.internationalrugbyleague.com | |||