Philippines national rugby league team
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The Philippines national rugby league team (nicknamed the Tamaraws) represent the Philippines in international rugby league football matches. They were established in 2011. In their short history the Tamaraws have been relatively successful, being repeated Asian Cup winners and regularly participating in the Cabramatta International 9s rugby league tournament.
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| Team information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Tamaraws | |||||
| Governing body | Pambansang Ragbi Liga Ng Pilipinas | |||||
| Region | Asia-Pacific | |||||
| Head coach | Paul Sheedy | |||||
| Captain | Isaac Rosario | |||||
| Most caps | Ned Stephenson | |||||
| IRL ranking | 28th | |||||
| Uniforms | ||||||
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| Team results | ||||||
| First international | ||||||
 Thailand 0–86 Philippines  (Bangkok, Thailand; October 21, 2012) | ||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||
| Thailand 0–86 Philippines (Bangkok, Thailand; October 21, 2012) | ||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||
 South Africa 72–14 Philippines (Tugun, Australia; July 22, 2023) | ||||||
History
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The Philippines National Rugby League (PNRL) was established in 2011 with a view of expanding rugby league further into Asia. The PNRL oversees the running of the national team, in 2011 it was announced that the Philippines would be playing their first game of rugby league at the 2012 at the Cabramatta International Nines, while also being involved in other organized international rugby league tournaments in the Asia-Pacific region.[1]
The Philippines have twice been involved in the Cabramatta International 9s rugby league tournament, in 2012 they defeated Burwood-North Ryde 22-18 to take the Bowl Trophy.[2] In 2013 they selected 3 teams to take part in the tournament.[3] and in 2014 four teams: the first side, two development sides, and an under 20s side.[4]
In 2012 the Philippines won over Thailand at the 2012 Rugby League Asian Cup.
They entered the Emerging Nations World Championship in 2018 participating in the third edition of the tournament hosted in Australia. Arwin Marcus was named head coach for the tournament.[5]
Coaches
Clayton Watene (2012–2014)
Arwin Marcus (2016–2021)- Paul Sheedy (2021–)
Current squad
Squad Selected for the 2025 Asian Championships [6]
- Isaac Rosario (c)
- Lito Ramirez
- Jonel Madrona
- Johnsen Lalongisip
- Juliann Viktor Feleo
- Jay R Ramirez
- Joe Mari Rauras
- Larcel Caparros
- Nik Forrest
- Jordan Abanico
- Joshua Pilic
- John Denmer Usman
- Henry Larriestan
- James Osias
- Manuel Olondriz
- Romario Capule
- Miguel Velis
- Paul Sheedy
- Dylan Jones
- Judd Greenhalgh
- Juan Carlos Almonte
Competitive record
World Cup
| World Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
  2013 | Team did not exist when qualifying began | |||||||
   2017 | Did not enter | |||||||
| 2021 | Did not enter | |||||||
| Total | 0 Titles | 0/13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Emerging Nations World Championship
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 |
6th Place | 6/11 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 0 Titles | 0/13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Asian Championship
| Asian Championship record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| 2025[7] |
To bedetermined | |||||||
| Total | 0 Title | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Asian Cup
The Philippines made their international rugby league debut in Bangkok on October 21, 2012, with a match against Thailand, who were also making their international debut. Aided by a host of Australian-based players, Philippines won the match 86-0 in the first Rugby League Asian Cup.[8]
| Asian Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| 2012 |
Champions | 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2013 |
Champions | 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 2 Titles | 1/1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Fixtures and results
- Philippines def. Thailand 86–0 (October 21, 2012)
- Philippines def. Thailand 44–10 (October 21, 2013)
- Niue def. Philippines 36–22 (October 4, 2014)
- Philippines def. Vanuatu 32–16 (October 11, 2014)
- Philippines def. Serbia 18–12 (February 5, 2016)[9][10]
- Malta def. Philippines 44–26 (February 4, 2017)[11]
- Philippines def. Hungary 72–0 (November 5, 2017)[12]
- Philippines def. Thailand 64–2 (November 8, 2017)[13]
- Hungary def. Philippines 30–12 (February 3, 2018)[14]
- Malta def. Philippines 36–10 (October 1, 2018)
- Niue def. Philippines 24–12 (October 7, 2018)
- Philippines def. Turkey 29–16 (October 10, 2018)
- Hong Kong def. Philippines 34–20 (December 1, 2024)[15]
All-time results record
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 | |||
