International RL Blog

El Salvador registered an historic first win in international RL against Latin American opponents Uruguay. On Saturday 1/10/17, in fine but blustery conditions in Sydney, El Salvador fought hard for a resounding but unexpected 46-10 victory. The big win has immense significance for El Salvador, a nation of just 6.5 million people which has fared poorly for decades in football and Rugby Union. The Trueno Azul (Blue Thunder) were coming off a 32-12 loss to Thailand and a 58-20 loss to Chile in their only previous International RL appearances. But after devoting themselves to a three-month preparation before the Uruguay game, the Salvadorenos reaped the rewards of hard work in a clash that was expected to be tight and go either way. Making the win ever more meritorious, El Salvador played most of the game with just two interchanges, after one player fell gravely ill hours beforehand and another suffered a serious shoulder injury in the first half. Gold Coast-based fullback Anth...

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.