International RL Blog

Following the success of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, the new world rankings have been announced for the men’s game and, significantly, for the first time, the women. Australia, after picking up the silverware in both tournaments, are at the head of the respective tables. “One of our goals since 2016 has been to restore the Kangaroos to the position of number one in the world,”   said Kangaroos head coach Mal Meninga, in the afterglow of retaining the World Cup.  “We achieved that following the Four Nations Final last year and it has been enormously satisfying to stay there. “We believe a strong international programme is essential and see our success, and the manner in which we fought for it, as a catalyst in continuing this push to prioritise Test match rugby league. The players have been central to this achievement and I know they are very proud and humble to maintain the status quo.” Nine nations make up the inaugural Women’s rankings. Australia head coach...

The honours have been shared as the Serbian rugby league season comes to an end, after Partizan held on to defeat rivals Red Star 32-26 to win the inaugural, regional Balkan Super League title, at the FK BASK Arena in the capital city, in the second ‘battle of Belgrade.’ The competition, which is scheduled to expand in 2018 with more nations and teams involved, also featured sides from Turkey, Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The week before, for the second time in their history, Red Star became Serbian champions after defeating Partizan 44-22 in the SRL Grand Final, held at the Ada Ciganlija Stadium. The Balkan Super League decider saw the lead change hands four times in the first half. But touchdowns from the competition’s leading try scorer, Vladimir Milutinović, and Branko Čarapić in five minutes in the lead up to the break – which established a 28-16 for Admir Hadžić’s Partizan side – turned out to be crucial. Red Star’s fight back was too late, Brodie Feeney with a b...

Chile win Latin American Championship

Wins for Argentina and Chile at Day 1 of Latin America Championship

​Hong Kong lost against Japan 22-24 in a thrilling encounter that saw Japan hold off a spirited second half comeback by Hong Kong to claim the inaugural East Asia Cup. Hong Kong, playing in their first ever international RL match, started off slowly in the first half, struggling with a high error count and low set completion rate that allowed Japan to dominate territory and possession. Japanese hooker Kazuki Fukushige and half back Kenshin Tsutsui controlled the game well, Fukushige in particular causing Hong Kong plenty of problems with his quick snipes out from dummy half. Japan raced ahead to a 14-0 lead through scores by Fukushige, Itaru Matuso and Tsutsui, who scored collected his own kick to go over for a brilliant individual score. Hong Kong looked to gain back some possession through some strong running in the middle and eventually scored their first ever international try through barnstorming forward Ben Ryan, who was a standout performer from both sides. However, another s...

FIRST 9S TOURNAMENT PLAYED IN ISTANBUL