# Serbia national rugby league team

The Serbia national rugby league team represents Serbia in the sport of rugby league football. They have competed in international competition since 2003 under the administration of the Serbian Rugby League.
They are coached by Englishman Darren Fisher, and captained by Stevan Stevanović.

## History
### 1950s–1960s

Rugby League was first played in Serbia in 1953 when it was introduced by Dragan Marsicevic, secretary of the Yugoslav Sport Association. Two French teams toured later that year, and in 1954 the clubs Partizan and Radnički were formed. These clubs played their first match on 26 April 1954. In 1961 a Yugoslav Rugby League team played its only game against a French Select XIII team in Banja Luka. The French team won 13–0. The sport died out soon afterwards due to the communist regime banning the sport.

### 2000s

The rebirth of Serbian Rugby League Federation was on 10 November 2001 with the new federation been formed. There is now an eight team domestic competition between Dorcol Spiders, Morava Cheetahs, Red Star Belgrade, Belgrade University, Radnički Nova Pazova, Tsar Lazar, Soko, Stari Grad, and Niš.
Serbia has participated in the Mediterranean Cup competition in 2003 and 2004. Serbia won the 2006 and 2007 Slavic Cup after beating Czech Republic 36–28 in Prague and 56–16 in Belgrade, respectively.

### 2008 World Cup Qualifying

Serbia failed to qualify for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, losing to Holland, Russia and Georgia in 2006, to be eliminated from the qualification process. Serbia won the 2007 and 2010 European Shield tournaments, by beating both Germany and Czech Republic on both occasions. Serbia took part in then European 2nd tier competition Euro Med Challenge in 2008. After being defeated 4-30 by Russia in Novi Sad and 14-20 by Lebanon in Bhamdoun, Serbs finished third. Serbia was a participant in the 2009 European Cup, having been drawn in a group alongside Wales and Ireland.

### 2013 World Cup Qualifying

Serbia participated in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers in October 2011. They played games against Italy, Lebanon and Russia, but were defeated in all three matches and so were ultimately unsuccessful in qualification for the tournament.

### 2014 Balkans Cup

Serbia participated in the inaugural Balkans Cup tournament held in their own country. Serbia finished second in the tournament after a defeat to Greece who had a full squad of Australian born players in the final.

### 2017 World Cup qualifying

Serbia participated in the qualification for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. The first stage of qualifying involved having to finish in the top three in their 2014–15 European Shield competition. During their qualification, Serbia created history after beating Russia for their first ever time on their eighth time of asking.
The final qualification tournament consisted of six teams: the top three teams from the European B tournament, the winners of the European C tournament and seeded nations Wales and Ireland. The tournament featured two groups of three teams playing in a single round-robin format. The winners of each group qualified for the World Cup, while the runners-up faced each other in a play-off match on 5 November 2016 to determine the final spot. A seeded draw took place to determine the groups on 5 November 2015. Serbia were placed in Group A. They took on Wales on 15 October 2016, in Llanelli Wales and Italy in Belgrade on 22 October for a place in the 2017 World Cup.
In the lead up to the World Cup qualifiers, Serbia played Spain in Valencia and ran out 64-4 winners a dominant display in the first ever meeting between these two nations.
In the first World Cup qualifier against a Wales side full of Super League and Championship players, Serbia lost, 50–0, proving that there is still a long way to go but that there was some slight improvement from last time the two nations meet in 2009 when Serbia lost 88–8.
In the second and final game of World Cup qualifying Serbia needed victory over Italy to send them through to a one-game playoff against Russia but lost the game at the Makiš Stadium in Belgrade, 14–62, which was a result against an Italian team with many NRL and English Super League players who were Australians of Italian heritage. On 10 November 2016, 15 years was celebrated since the re-forming of Serbian Rugby League a milestone occasion.

### 2021 World Cup qualifying

Serbia were eliminated very early in qualifying, but caught a lucky break when Russian Rugby League Federation were disqualified due to internal issues. Serbia reluctantly took Russia's place in the final stages of qualifying but were easily eliminated losing on 26 October 2019 to Scotland 86–0 in Glasgow , then losing the deciding match in Belgrade to Greece on 9 November 2019 by another embarrassing score-line of 6–82.

## Coaching history

Also see Category:Serbia national rugby league team coaches.
* John Risman 2004
* Marko Janković 2006–08
* Gerard Stokes 2008–09
* Marko Janković 2010–15
* Radoslav Novaković 2015 (interim)
* Jason Green 2016
* Ljubomir Bukvić 2016–17
* Radoslav Novaković 2018 (caretaker)
* Brett Davidson 2018
* Stuart Wilkinson 2019
* Darren "Daz" Fisher 2021

## Current squad

The 19-man national team selected for the match against Ukraine in October 2024:
* Nicholas O'Meley (Burleigh Bears)
* Nick Cotric (Catalans Dragons)
* Andrej Mora (Dorcol Tigers)
* David Nofoaluma (Baroudeurs De Pia XIII)
* Sasha Popovic (Glebe Dirty Reds)
* Jake O'Meley (Lakes United Seagulls)
* Ilija Cotric (Mounties)
* Jesse Soric (NZ Warriors)
* Aleksandar Pavlovic (Partisan 1953)
* Djordje Krnjeta (Partisan 1953)
* Dzavid Jasari (Partisan 1953)
* Enis Bibic (Partisan 1953)
* Stevan Stevanovic (Partisan 1953)
* Marko Jankovic (Red Star)
* Milos Calic (Red Star)
* Nikola Djuric (Red Star)
* Rajko Trifunovic (Red Star)
* Vukw Strbac (Red Star)
* Jason Muranka (Free Agent)
* Jordan Grant (Panthers NSW cup)

## Competitive Record
### Overall

Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Serbia at test level up until 27 October 2024:
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % | For | Aga | Diff |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 50 | 4 | +46 |
| Bulgaria | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 78 | 36 | +42 |
| Canada | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 36 | 8 | +28 |
| Czech Republic | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 75% | 186 | 82 | +92 |
| France† | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0% | 22 | 284 | –262 |
| Georgia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 22 | 89 | –67 |
| Greece | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 25% | 144 | 190 | –46 |
| Germany | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 80% | 238 | 61 | +177 |
| Hungary | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 50 | 0 | +50 |
| Ireland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 16 | 106 | –90 |
| Italy | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 100% | 196 | 230 | –34 |
| Lebanon | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0% | 24 | 282 | –258 |
| Montenegro | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 76 | 50 | +26 |
| Morocco | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0% | 30 | 122 | –92 |
| Netherlands | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0% | 66 | 180 | –114 |
| Philippines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 12 | 18 | –6 |
| Russia | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 22.22% | 174 | 236 | –62 |
| Scotland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 86 | –86 |
| Spain | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 88 | 24 | +64 |
| Ukraine | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 218 | 50 | +168 |
| Wales | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0% | 8 | 186 | –178 |
| Total | 70 | 29 | 1 | 40 | 41.43% | 1,688 | 2,320 | –632 |
†Includes matches played against the France Espoirs side.

### World Cup

World Cup record :
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D |
| 1954 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1957 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1960 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1968 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1970 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1972 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1975 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1977 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1985-88 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1989-92 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 1995 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 2000 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 2008 | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify |
| 2013 | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify |
| 2017 | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify |
| 2021 | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify |
| 2026 | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify | Failed to Qualify |
| Total | 0 Titles | 0/14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### European Championship

European Championship record :
| Year** | Division | Round | Pos | Pld | W | D | L |
| 2007 | B | Champions | 1st | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | A | Fifth place | 5th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2010 | B | Champions | 1st | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012-13 | B | Third place | 3rd | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 2014-15 | B | Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 2018 | B | Third place | 3rd | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | B | Champions | 1st | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Champions Runners-up Promoted Relegated ||||||||

### Balkans Cup

Balkans Cup record :
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D |
| 2014 | Second place | 2/4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | Champions | 1/3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | to be determined | | | | | |
| Total | 1 Titles | 2/2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |

### Results

| Date | Score | Opponent | Competition | Venue | Attendance |
| 19 October 2003 | 0–102 | Lebanon | 2003 Mediterranean Cup | Olympic Stadium, Tripoli | |
| 22 October 2003 | 0–120 | France | 2003 Mediterranean Cup | Municipal Stadium, Beirut | |
| 25 October 2003 | 4–58 | Morocco | 2003 Mediterranean Cup | Olympic Stadium, Tripoli | |
| 18 June 2005 | 10–26 | Netherlands | 2005 European Nations Qualifiers | FK Radnički Novi Beograd, Belgrade | |
| 24 July 2005 | 44–12 | Georgia | 2005 European Nations Qualifiers | Dinamo Stadium, Tbilisi | 8,000 |
| 13 May 2006 | 10–45 | Georgia | 2008 World Cup Qualifying – Europe | FK Radnički Novi Beograd, Belgrade | 500 |
| 4 June 2006 | 6–44 | Russia | 2008 World Cup Qualifying – Europe | FK Radnički Novi Beograd, Belgrade | 500 |
| 17 June 2006 | 26–38 | Netherlands | 2008 World Cup Qualifying – Europe | , Rotterdam | 250 |
| 12 August 2006 | 34–26 | Czech Republic | 2006 Slavic Cup | Ragbyove hřiště v Edenu, Prague | |
| 7 July 2007 | 38–6 | Germany | 2007 European Shield | Fritz-Grunebaum Sportpark, Heidelberg | 264 |
| 18 August 2007 | 56–16 | Czech Republic | 2007 European Shield | FK Radnički Novi Beograd, Belgrade | 650 |
| 20 September 2008 | 4–30 | Russia | 2008 Euro-Med Challenge | FK Kabel, Novi Sad | 500 |
| 5 October 2008 | 14–20 | Lebanon | 2008 Euro-Med Challenge | Municipal Stadium, Beirut | 1,000 |
| 18 October 2009 | 0–82 | Ireland | 2009 European Cup | Spollanstown, Tullamore | 295 |
| 25 October 2009 | 8–88 | Wales | 2009 European Cup | FK Smederevo Stadium, Smederevo | 93 |
| 8 November 2009 | 14–42 | Italy | 2009 European Cup | Llynfi Road, Maesteg | |
| 17 July 2010 | 56–4 | Czech Republic | 2010 European Shield – West | RK Petrovice, Prague | 100 |
| July 2010 | 40–14 | Germany | 2010 European Shield – West | FK Radnički Novi Beograd, Belgrade | 300 |
| 22 April 2011 | 90–6 | Germany | | TuS Hochspeyer, Kaiserslautern | |
| 30 September 2011 | 10–4 | Ukraine | Milan Kosanovic Cup | Ada Ciganlija Stadium, Belgrade | |
| 16 October 2011 | 4–96 | Lebanon | 2013 World Cup Qualifiers - Europe | Olympic Stadium, Tripoli | |
| 23 October 2011 | 6–52 | Italy | 2013 World Cup Qualifiers - Europe | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | |
| 29 October 2011 | 28–36 | Russia | 2013 World Cup Qualifiers - Europe | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | |
| 12 May 2012 | 24–25 | Germany | 2012-13 European Shield | Fritz-Grunebaum Sportpark, Heidelberg | |
| 6 September 2012 | 24–18 | Italy | 2012-13 European Shield | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | 600 |
| 22 September 2012 | 20–21 | Russia | 2012-13 European Shield | Nara Stadium, Naro-Fominsk | |
| 18 May 2013 | 46–10 | Germany | 2012-13 European Shield | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | |
| 25 May 2013 | 10–24 | Russia | 2012-13 European Shield | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | |
| 14 September 2013 | 20–32 | Italy | 2012-13 European Shield | Stadio Augusteo, Este | |
| 17 May 2014 | 40–14 | Ukraine | 2014–15 Rugby League European Championship B | Železničar Stadium, Niš | 750 |
| 21 June 2014 | 6–20 | Russia | 2014–15 Rugby League European Championship B | Nara Stadium, Naro-Fominsk | |
| 10 September 2014 | 45–6 | Italy | 2014–15 Rugby League European Championship B | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | |
| 17 October 2014 | 50–0 | Hungary | 2014 Balkans Cup | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | |
| 19 October 2014 | 50–22 | Greece | 2014 Balkans Cup | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | |
| 16 May 2015 | 20–15 | Russia | 2014–15 Rugby League European Championship B | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | |
| 22 May 2015 | 8–68 | France | | Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan | |
| 20 June 2015 | 21–14 | Italy | 2014–15 Rugby League European Championship B | Stadio comunale di Tegilo Veneto, Gemona del Friuli | |
| 12 September 2015 | 64–4 | Ukraine | 2014–15 Rugby League European Championship B | Avanhard Stadium, Uzhhorod | |
| 5 February 2016 | 12–18 | Philippines | | New Era Stadium, Cabramatta | |
| 24 September 2016 | 64–4 | Spain | | Quatre Carreres, Valencia | |
| 15 October 2016 | 0–50 | Wales | | | |
| 22 October 2016 | 14–62 | Italy | | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | |
| 8 October 2017 | 50–8 | Greece | | , Belgrade | |
| 8 October 2017 | 50–20 | Bulgaria | | FC Heroj Polet, Belgrade | |
| 13 October 2018 | 18–36 | Russia | | , Moscow | |
| 20 October 2018 | 24–20 | Spain | | , Belgrade | |
| 26 October 2019 | 0–86 | Scotland | | Lochinch Sports Ground, Glasgow | |
| 9 November 2019 | 6–82 | Greece | | Makiš Stadium, Belgrade | |
| 6 June 2021 | 50–4 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2021 Serbia tour of the Balkans | NK Rijeka, Vitez | |
| 19 June 2021 | 28–16 | Bulgaria | 2021 Serbia tour of the Balkans | FC Trebich, Sofia | |
| 27 June 2021 | 22–12 | Montenegro | 2021 Serbia tour of the Balkans | FK Arsenal Stadium, Tivat | |
| 4 July 2021 | 22–12 | Albania | 2021 Serbia tour of the Balkans | Kompleksi Zmijani, Shkodër | ≈100 |
| 3 October 2021 | 66–10 | Russia | 2021 European Championship B | City Stadium, Paraćin | ≈500 |
| 9 October 2021 | 54–18 | Ukraine | 2021 European Championship B | FK Heroj Polet, Belgrade | ≈150 |
| 13 May 2023 | 40–6 | Greece | Friendly | Nea Smyrni Stadium, Athens | ≈1,000 |
| 27 May 2023 | 52–4 | Italy | Friendly | Rugby Club Pasian di Prato, Udine | |
| 26 August 2023 | 28–16 | Czech Republic | Friendly | Městský Stadion, Krupka | |
| 25 September 2023 | 10–78 | France | Friendly | FC Obilic, Belgrade | |
| 14 October 2023 | 10–40 | Netherlands | Friendly | RC Zwolle, Zwolle | |
| 17 February 2024 | 52–34 | Montenegro | Friendly | Stadion u Parku, Tivat | |
| 28 September 2024 | 6–52 | Netherlands | Friendly | FC Masinac, Niš | |
| 22 October 2024 | 0–48 | Wales | 2026 World Cup European Qualifiers | Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne | |
| 26 October 2024 | 50–10 | Ukraine | Friendly | Stade Municipal, Saint-Estève | |

## 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 ||||