Iran national rugby union team
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The Iran national rugby union team (Persian: تیم ملی راگبی یونیون ایران) is a sporting side that represents Iran in rugby union and is controlled by the I.R. Iran Rugby Federation. The I.R. Iran Rugby Federation is a member of World Rugby and the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU).[1]
NicknameTeam Melli
EmblemFaravahar
UnionIran Rugby Federation
Head coachAlireza Fazlollah Arabi
| |||
| Nickname | Team Melli | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem | Faravahar | ||
| Union | Iran Rugby Federation | ||
| Head coach | Alireza Fazlollah Arabi | ||
| Captain | Soroush Mohammad Hoseini Nokhandan | ||
| Home stadium | Azadi Training Pitch 4 | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 95 (as of 4 November 2024) | ||
| Highest | 94 (2023) | ||
| First international | |||
 Iran 22–11 Pakistan  (18 August 2007) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Iran 52–3 China  (2 June 2012) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Malaysia 48–10 Iran (4 June 2013) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 0 | ||
The team currently competes in Division 3 (West) of the Asian Rugby Championship.
History
On August 18, 2007, Iran played its first international friendly as part of the Pakistan Tour and won 22–11 in Lahore, Pakistan.[2]
Results summary
Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by an Iran national XV at test level up until 10 February 2023, updated after match with 
Qatar.
| Against | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | %Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Chinese Taipei | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% |
 Guam | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 India | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Indonesia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Jordan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Kyrgyzstan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Lebanon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0% |
| Malaysia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% |
| Pakistan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Philippines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% |
| Qatar | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33.33% |
 Thailand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% |
 Uzbekistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
| Total | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 53.85% |
Honours
- 2007 IRB Singer Rugby Asiad Shield Championship
- 2008 Asian Five Nations Central Asia Regional tournament Champions[3]
- 2010 Asian Five Nations Division III tournament Champions
- 2013 West Asia Championship in Dubai
Coaches
Sadegh Nabidoust (2007)- Emil Vartazarian (2007)
Rob Yule (2008–2009)- Sadegh Nabidoust (2010)
- Wayne Marsters (2010–2011)
- Sadegh Nabidoust (2011)
- Mahyar Askari (2012)
- Pedram Baniamerian (2013)
Liam Dunseath (2016)- Mahyar Askari 2019–present
