# Belgium national rugby league team

The Belgium national rugby league team represents Belgium in the sport of rugby league football.

## 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. 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.
Under new President Yves-Michael Kazadi, Belgium were granted observer membership of the Rugby League European Federation in June 2013.
Their first international competition was in the 2009 RLEF Euro Med Challenge against Catalonia and Morocco. 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

IRL Men's World Rankingsvte :
| Official rankings as of December 2024 ||||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 1 | | Australia | 100 |
| 2 | | New Zealand | 86 |
| 3 | | England | 84 |
| 4 | 1 | Tonga | 63 |
| 5 | 1 | Samoa | 54 |
| 6 | 1 | Papua New Guinea | 53 |
| 7 | 1 | Fiji | 44 |
| 8 | | France | 30 |
| 9 | 2 | Serbia | 23 |
| 10 | | Cook Islands | 22 |
| 11 | 1 | Netherlands | 22 |
| 12 | 5 | Wales | 18 |
| 13 | 2 | Malta | 17 |
| 14 | 6 | Ukraine | 13 |
| 15 | 1 | Greece | 12 |
| 16 | 7 | Lebanon | 12 |
| 17 | 4 | Italy | 11 |
| 18 | 2 | Ireland | 9 |
| 19 | 1 | Jamaica | 8 |
| 20 | 1 | Czech Republic | 8 |
| 21 | 2 | Chile | 8 |
| 22 | 3 | Scotland | 7 |
| 23 | 4 | Philippines | 7 |
| 24 | 7 | United States | 7 |
| 25 | 1 | Poland | 5 |
| 26 | 2 | South Africa | 5 |
| 27 | 5 | Germany | 5 |
| 28 | 3 | Norway | 5 |
| 29 | 4 | Brazil | 4 |
| 30 | 4 | Kenya | 4 |
| 31 | 10 | Canada | 4 |
| 32 | | Montenegro | 4 |
| 33 | 2 | North Macedonia | 3 |
| 34 | 15 | Argentina | 3 |
| 35 | 5 | Albania | 2 |
| 36 | | Bulgaria | 2 |
| 37 | 7 | Ghana | 2 |
| 38 | 9 | Nigeria | 2 |
| 39 | 5 | Turkey | 1 |
| 40 | 3 | Cameroon | 1 |
| 41 | 2 | Japan | 1 |
| 42 | 4 | Spain | 1 |
| 43 | 1 | Colombia | 1 |
| 44 | 1 | El Salvador | 0 |
| 45 | | Russia | 0 |
| 46 | 1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 |
| 47 | 3 | Hong Kong | 0 |
| 48 | 3 | Solomon Islands | 0 |
| 49 | 8 | Vanuatu | 0 |
| 50 | | Niue | 0 |
| 51 | 1 | Latvia | 0 |
| 52 | 2 | Denmark | 0 |
| 53 | 2 | Belgium | 0 |
| 54 | 4 | Estonia | 0 |
| 55 | 9 | Sweden | 0 |
| 56 | 12 | Morocco | 0 |
| 57 | 9 | Hungary | 0 |
| Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT ||||