Vanuatu national rugby league team
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| ||||||
| Team information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governing body | Vanuatu Rugby League | |||||
| Region | Asia-Pacific | |||||
| Head coach | Lionel Harbin | |||||
| Captain | James Wood | |||||
| Home stadium | Port Vila Municipal Stadium | |||||
| IRL ranking | 50th | |||||
| Team results | ||||||
| First international | ||||||
 Vanuatu 14–24 Greece  (Port Vila, Vanuatu; 20 October 2012) | ||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||
Vanuatu 48–30 Solomon Islands  (Mackay, Australia; 7 October 2013) | ||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||
Vanuatu 16–32 Philippines  (Luganville, Vanuatu; 11 October 2014) | ||||||
| World Cup | ||||||
| Appearances | 0 | |||||
The Vanuatu national rugby league team represents Vanuatu in international rugby league matches. The team was founded in 2011 and is administered by the Vanuatu Rugby League (VRL).
The Vanuatu national team was founded in 2011 after Australian Dane Campbell began to promote rugby league in Vanuatu.[1] Campbell was the inaugural head coach of the team. They played their first match in the Cabramatta International Nines on 4 February 2012. Joe Meninga, nephew of Mal Meninga, was selected in Vanuatu's squad for the tournament.[2] The team were undefeated in reaching the final, where they lost to the Australian Aboriginal team.
Vanuatu played their first test match against Greece on 20 October 2012, which they lost 14-24.[3][4] On 20 August 2013, David Simpson was announced as head coach, succeeding the inaugural head coach Dane Campbell.[5]
Vanuatu finished in eighth place at the 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship.[6]
Competitive record
Below is a list Vanuatu national team record as of 23 December 2020.[7]
Overall
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % | For | Aga | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 14 | 64 | –50 |
 Hungary | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 13 | 18 | –5 |
 Niue | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 22 | 20 | +2 |
| Philippines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 16 | 32 | –16 |
 Poland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 4 | 44 | –40 |
| Solomon Islands | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 112 | 65 | +47 |
 Turkey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% | 26 | 27 | –1 |
| Total | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 40% | 207 | 270 | –63 |
Results
| Date | Opponent | Score | Venue | Attendance | Competition | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 October 2012 | Greece | 14–24 | Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila | Friendly | ||
| 7 October 2013 | Solomon Islands | 48–30 |  Stadium Mackay, Mackay | 1,648 | Friendly | |
| 12 October 2013 | Niue | 22–20 | Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila | 3,022 | Friendly | |
| 11 October 2014 | Philippines | 16–32 | Chapius Stadium, Luganville | 2,021 | Friendly | |
| 16 October 2016 | Solomon Islands | 24–16 | Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila | 1,000 | Friendly | |
| 4 October 2018 | Hungary | 13–18 | St Marys Leagues Stadium, Sydney | 300 | 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship | [6][8] |
| 7 October 2018 | Greece | 0–38 | Kellyville Ridge Stadium, Sydney | 130 | 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship | [6][9] |
| 10 October 2018 | Poland | 4–44 | New Era Stadium, Sydney | 170 | 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship | [6][10] |
| 10 October 2018 | Turkey | 26–27 | St Marys Leagues Stadium, Sydney | 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship | [6][11] |
IRL Rankings
| Official rankings as of July 2025 | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 1 |  | Australia | 100 |
| 2 | |  New Zealand | 83 |
| 3 | |  England | 80 |
| 4 | |  Tonga | 62 |
| 5 | |  Samoa | 53 |
| 6 | |  Papua New Guinea | 51 |
| 7 | |  Fiji | 43 |
| 8 | |  France | 29 |
| 9 |  2 |  Netherlands | 22 |
| 10 | |  Cook Islands | 22 |
| 11 |  2 |  Serbia | 18 |
| 12 | |  Wales | 18 |
| 13 | |  Malta | 16 |
| 14 | 1 | Greece | 14 |
| 15 | 1 |  Ukraine | 13 |
| 16 | |  Lebanon | 11 |
| 17 | |  Italy | 10 |
| 18 | |  Ireland | 9 |
| 19 | 5 |  United States | 8 |
| 20 | 1 |  Jamaica | 8 |
| 21 | 1 |  Czech Republic | 8 |
| 22 | |  Scotland | 7 |
| 23 | 2 |  Chile | 7 |
| 24 | 1 | Philippines | 7 |
| 25 | | Poland | 5 |
| 26 | 1 |  Germany | 5 |
| 27 | 1 |  Norway | 5 |
| 28 | 2 |  South Africa | 5 |
| 29 | |  Brazil | 4 |
| 30 | |  Kenya | 4 |
| 31 | |  Canada | 4 |
| 32 | |  Montenegro | 3 |
| 33 | |  North Macedonia | 3 |
| 34 | 22 |  Morocco | 3 |
| 35 | 1 |  Argentina | 3 |
| 36 | 1 |  Albania | 2 |
| 37 | 1 |  Bulgaria | 2 |
| 38 | 1 |  Ghana | 2 |
| 39 | 1 |  Nigeria | 2 |
| 40 | 1 | Turkey | 1 |
| 41 | 1 |  Cameroon | 1 |
| 42 | 1 |  Japan | 1 |
| 43 | 1 |  Spain | 1 |
| 44 | 1 |  Colombia | 1 |
| 45 | 1 |  El Salvador | 0 |
| 46 | 1 |  Russia | 0 |
| 47 | 1 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 |
| 48 | 1 |  Hong Kong | 0 |
| 49 | 1 | Solomon Islands | 0 |
| 50 | 1 | Vanuatu | 0 |
| 51 | 6 | Hungary | 0 |
| 52 | 1 |  Latvia | 0 |
| 53 | 1 |  Denmark | 0 |
| 54 | 1 |  Belgium | 0 |
| 55 | 1 |  Estonia | 0 |
| 56 | 1 |  Sweden | 0 |
| 57 | 7 | Niue | 0 |
| Complete rankings at www.internationalrugbyleague.com | |||
