International RL Blog

Lebanon are aiming to retain the Mediterranean Cup when they face Italy in Beirut on 3 June. Originally played for in 2002, the Cup was relaunched last season when the Cedars edged a superb game, 26-22, against the Azzurri in Sicily. That encounter was between teams comprised of only domestically-produced players and the same stipulation will apply this year as the Federazione Italiana Rugby League and Lebanese Rugby League Federation continue to strengthen a bilateral relationship that also saw an historic women’s Test match played in February. Lebanon’s Director of Performance Tarek Houchar who, as interim head coach, led the Cedars to a 24-4 win against Malta earlier this month, commented: “The players take nothing for granted in Lebanon; their passion, commitment and attitude towards representing the nation is exemplary. I’m excited to see some fresh new faces in our train-on squad. “Our biggest aim is to create a culture amongst the players that can hopefully leave a grea...

USA RL Season VII delivers a blockbuster summer of USA Rugby League 2017.  USA RL will see eight teams competing in the NORTH Conference  and  four teams in the SOUTH Conference. VIEW THE FULL SCHEDULE:  http://www.usarl.org/competitions The 21st season of club Rugby League in America kicks off on Saturday 3/6/17 when the  White Plains Wombats XIII  take on the  Boston 13s RLFC  in the season opener.

Following two victories at the start of 2017, their initial successes in the international arena – beating Uruguay 50-4 and Thailand 44-10 – Hungary rugby league secured the highest rise in the recently published Rugby League International Federation World Rankings, moving up five places to 33rd. It comes as the result of a chance coming together in late 2015, which has seen rugby league begin to blossom under the Magyars banner. Michael Hay began working with the Hungarian Rugby League Federation after finishing his playing career in France, where he’d met a Hungarian and moved to her home country to get married. Since then he has coached the Magyar Bulls national team and improved league knowledge and skills in domestic players. Around the same time, Stephen Nemeth, a Hungarian citizen born in Australia, contacted the HRLF through Facebook. He had been living in Budapest for five months, grown up playing rugby league in Australia and, as it turned out, he and Hay played agains...

In November, Australia will go into RLWC2017 (which they co-host with NZ) further strengthened in their World Rankings Number 1 position after their recent ANZAC Test victory. Two new nations appear for the first time with the inclusion of Thailand and Uruguay. This takes the total to 42 and reflects the greater number of sanctioned internationals being played globally. Leilani Latu’s last-gasp try for Tonga to beat Fiji 26-24 in last week’s Pacific triple-header saw them move up one rung on the ladder, whilst the biggest gainers are Hungary who rise five places to 33.

A dominant first half performance saw Lebanon take the next step in preparing for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, as they defeated Malta 24-4 at the New Era Stadium in Cabramatta. They will play in the same group as Australia, England and France come the tournament. The Cedars led 18-4 at the break, Malta containing the hosts to just a converted try in the second period. Star of the show was Lebanon stand off Abbas Miskie who crossed for a hat-trick of tries and kicked a perfect four goals. “With limited time together leading into the game, we came together well and everyone performed,” Miskie said. “There’s always an extra bit of drive inside of you when you’re representing your country and the boys definitely showed that passion. “The tactical side will come with time but it was definitely pleasing to see the comradery shown among the group which I think is one of the main recipes for a successful campaign come the World Cup.” Stand in coach, LRLF director of performance ...

The next four-year International Rugby League calendar has been confirmed today (May 9th 2017) at a meeting of the Board of the Rugby League International Federation in Sydney. Headlining the calendar is the return of Kangaroos and Lions Tours. The four-year cycle, beginning in 2018, will include a New Zealand tour to Europe and an Emerging Nations championship in 2018, followed by a Lions Tour to the Southern Hemisphere in 2019, and a Kangaroos Tour to Europe in 2020. The Kangaroos Tour will feature at least three Test matches against England and one Test against France. The final year of the next cycle, 2021, will feature the Rugby League Men’s and Women’s World Cups in the UK. To support the development of Tier Two nations, the RLIF will work with the Continental Federations to strengthen existing regional competitions in Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas and Middle East/Africa. The RLIF also authorised the creation a dedicated mid-season international weekend, giving nati...