International RL Blog

Two tries in three minutes at the start of the second half saw the Czech R. emerge triumphant, 26-6, against Hungary at the KFKI Sporttelep in Budapest. Centre Martin Košťál and second rower Richard Gach did the damage after the break, the visitors running in five tries in all in the first official Test match between the nations. “The game gave us an excellent opportunity to bring through new players and expose them to a higher standard of rugby league,” said Czech assistant coach Petr Šedina.  “All six debutants have made us proud of their efforts. The Hungarians fought until the end and earned our respect for the way they contested for 80 minutes. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in Budapest and look forward to welcoming them in less than a month.” Winger András Nemes crossed for a late, deserved consolation for the hosts. HRLF official and player Zsolt Luakcs noted: “It was honour to host the Czech Republic on the day of the sixth anniversary of Hungarian Rugby Leag...

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.

Ambitious enthusiasts from all corners of the globe will converge on Sydney in November 2018 for the Rugby League Emerging Nations World Championship (ENWC) following a decision at today’s RLIF Board to award a grant of $100,000 to the event.  A celebration of the sport’s global expansion and diverse communities, the ENWC will feature Tier Two and Tier Three nations from around the world where the sport is developing. The Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) event will be a two-week gathering of communities from a geographical spread never seen before in rugby league.   “The 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship will feature more global teams than any previous rugby league competition,”  RLIF Chairman Nigel Wood said.   “It will put the spotlight on the fact that rugby league is played in more than 60 countries and give recognition to the many volunteer players and offic...