Wikipedia

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.

Serbia
Team information
NicknameWhite Eagles (Beli orlovi)
Governing bodySerbian Rugby League
RegionEurope
Head coachDarren Fisher
CaptainStevan Stevanović
Most capsDalibor Vukanović (34)
Top try-scorerStevan Stevanović (26)
Top point-scorerDalibor Vukanović (207)
Home stadiumMakiš Stadium, Belgrade
IRL ranking11th
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First international
 Lebanon 102–0 Serbia 
(19 October 2003)
Biggest win
 Germany 6–90 Serbia 
(22 April 2011)
Biggest defeat
 France 120–0 Serbia 
(22 October 2003)

They are coached by Englishman Darren Fisher, and captained by Stevan Stevanović.

History

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1950s–1960s

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Rugby League was first played in Serbia in 1953 when it was introduced by Dragan Marsicevic, secretary of the Yugoslav Sport Association.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

2000s

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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

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Main article: 2008 Rugby League 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

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Main article: 2013 Rugby League 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

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Main article: 2014 Balkans Cup (rugby league)

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.[1]

2017 World Cup qualifying

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Main article: 2017 Rugby League 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.[2]

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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] On 10 November 2016, 15 years was celebrated since the re-forming of Serbian Rugby League a milestone occasion.[7]

2021 World Cup qualifying

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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.

Current squad

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Player Club
Aleksandar Đorđević   Red Star Belgrade
Aleksandar Pavlović   Partizan
Đorđe Krnjeta   Partizan
Dragan Janković   Partizan
Džavid Jašari   Partizan
Enis Bibić   Partizan
Lazar Živković   Radnički Niš
Marko Janković   Red Star Belgrade
Mihajlo Jović   Radnički Niš
Miloš Ćalić   Red Star Belgrade
Miloš Zogović   Red Star Belgrade
Miodrag Tomić   Red Star Belgrade
Nemanja Manojlović   Partizan
Nikola Đurić   Red Star Belgrade
Rajko Trifunović   Red Star Belgrade
Stefan Arsić   Radnički Niš
Stefan Nedeljković   Red Star Belgrade
Stefan Simović   Dorćol Tigers
Stevan Stevanović   Partizan
Vladimir Milutinović   Partizan
Vojislav Dedić   Red Star Belgrade

Past coaches

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Also see Category:Serbia national rugby league team coaches.

Youth national teams

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Serbian youth national teams permanently compete in European cups from 2006. Their first appearance was in France during Under 19s European Nations Cup. They finished 6th after dying minutes defeat by Scotland Under 19s.

In 2007, Serbia hosted Under 16s European Nations Cup. Win over Russia Under 16s in group stage secured match for the 3rd place, but Serbia Under 16s eventually lost 20-22 by Euro Celts Under 16s and finished 4th.

In 2008 Serbia attended Under 18s European Nations Cup in Czech Republic. Ireland Under 18s beat Serbia Under 18s in preliminaries and send them to European Nation Shield semifinals, where they beat Euro Celts Under 18s and qualify for the Shield final. In the most indecisive game of the tournament, Serbs finally lost to Scots after golden point extra time (second extra time) and won 6th place.

In 2009, Serbia hosted Under 16s European Championships for the second time. Serbia Under 16s failed to win a game in the European Shield part of the competition. The both, Euro Celts Under 16s (composed of Irish, Russian, Welsh, Czech, Serbian and French players) and Scotland Under 16s defeated Serbia Under 16s on their home soil and Serbs finished 6th.

Competitive Record

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Overall

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Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Serbia at test level up until 14 January 2021:

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost Win % For Aga Diff
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 1 0 0 100% 50 4 +46
  Bulgaria 1 1 0 0 100% 50 20 +30
  Canada 1 1 0 0 100% 36 8 +28
  Czech Republic 4 3 0 1 75% 158 66 +92
  France† 3 0 0 3 0% 12 206 –194
  Georgia 2 0 0 2 0% 22 89 –67
  Greece 4 1 0 3 25% 104 184 –80
  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 7 3 0 4 42.86% 144 226 –82
  Lebanon 4 0 0 4 0% 24 282 –258
  Morocco 3 0 1 2 0% 30 122 –92
  Netherlands 3 0 0 3 0% 50 88 –38
  Philippines 1 0 0 1 0% 12 18 –6
  Russia 8 1 0 7 12.5% 112 226 –114
  Scotland 1 0 0 1 0% 0 86 –86
  Spain 2 2 0 0 100% 88 24 +64
  Ukraine 3 3 0 0 100% 114 22 +92
  Wales 2 0 0 2 0% 8 138 –130
Total 57 20 1 36 35.09% 1,268 1,972 –704

†Includes matches played against the France Espoirs side.[9]

World Cup

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

European Championship

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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

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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

Rankings

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IRL Men's World Rankings
Official rankings as of 30 June 2024
Rank Change Team Pts %
1     Australia 100
2     New Zealand 82
3     England 80
4     Samoa 67
5     Tonga 49
6   1   Fiji 47
7   1   Papua New Guinea 49
8     France 28
9     Lebanon 22
10     Cook Islands 20
11     Serbia 19
12     Netherlands 17
13     Italy 15
14   1   Greece 15
15   1   Malta 14
16     Ireland 14
17     Wales 13
18     Jamaica 10
19     Scotland 9
20     Ukraine 7
21     Czech Republic 7
22     Germany 6
23   3   Chile 6
24     Poland 6
25   3   Norway 6
26   1   Kenya 5
27   4   Philippines 5
28   3   South Africa 4
29     Nigeria 4
30     Ghana 4
31   2   United States 4
32   4   Montenegro 4
33   2   Brazil 3
34   2   Turkey 3
35   7   North Macedonia 3
36   2   Bulgaria 3
37   2   Cameroon 2
38   1   Spain 2
39   1   Japan 1
40   1   Albania 1
41   5   Canada 1
42   2   Colombia 1
43   2   El Salvador 1
44   1   Morocco 1
45     Russia 0
46   2   Sweden 0
47   2   Bosnia and Herzegovina 0
48   2   Hungary 0
49   3   Argentina 0
50     Hong Kong 0
51   3   Solomon Islands 0
52   5   Niue 0
53   1   Latvia 0
54   1   Denmark 0
55   6   Belgium 0
56   1   Estonia 0
57   6   Vanuatu 0
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

Results

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "RLEF." www.RLEF.eu.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  2. ^ "RLEF." www.RLEF.eu.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Wales to take on Serbia in Llanelli". WalesRugbyLeague.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  4. ^ "RLEF." www.RLEF.eu.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Wales overcome Serbia in World Cup Qualifier - Total Rugby League". TotalRL.com. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  6. ^ "RLEF." www.RLEF.eu.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  7. ^ "15 година Рагби 13 федерације Србије - www.ragbiliga.rs". RagbiLiga.rs. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Squads Announced For Rugby League Euro B Championship". European Rugby League. 29 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Head to Head". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 14 January 2021.


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