International RL Blog

RLEF Central & Eastern Europe regional director,  Jovan Vujosevic,  recently announced plans for the Balkan Cup in October 2017.  He described progress made by the Turkish RL Association, how they will host the GB Student Pioneers and continued: "the national team will play in the Belgrade Euro 9s in June and the Balkan Cup in October 2017 alongside Serbia, Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria who are so far confirmed.”

Serbia have confirmed themselves as a driving force behind European RL development by launching the Balkan Super League (BSL) This ambitious competition includes four clubs from Serbia and a team each from Bosnia Herzegovina, Turkey, and Bulgaria. It has the potential to become an elite club competition and is the result of hard work being done to develop the game domestically in a number of European countries. It is expected that Greece will enter at least one club in the BSL after the RLEF recently granted them Observer status. The travel distances and costs across southern/eastern Europe make the BSL an attractive proposition for clubs and it provides players with an opportunity to develop skills and play at a higher level. Serbian RL President and BSL Director, Blagoje Stoiljković believes bigger things are on the horizon. “We are confident that this is just a first step in the prosperous future of the sport in region. Serbia as a rugby league leader in this part of th

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 officials around the globe who do great things for this sport. One of the Board’ objectives in awar

A magnificent display from man of the match, Kadıköy full-back Alican Acar – who crossed for five of their 13 tries – saw the Bulls triumph 66-14 in the first-ever Turkish Rugby League Grand Final. Centre Aykut Kanaclar also claimed a hat trick, as the unbeaten Bulls took the trophy at the Maltepe Stadium in Istanbul. Eren Kemal Sen grabbed a brace of touchdowns, Onur Ersoy, Doruk Celiktutan and Taylan Kokuroglu also crossing, whilst Behzad Jalili kicked seven goals. Kadıköy captain Doruk Celiktutan commented: “It was much higher quality than I expected even though it’s the first time we have held such a competition in Turkey. It shows the huge potential here. All our teams have improved with each game played.” Their coach Julien Treu, the instigator of the competition, added: “I would like to congratulate all the teams who took part of this first rugby league championship, the fixtures were fulfilled and we had some very exciting matches. Thanks also needs to go to everybody

Two new sides and the return of three other teams will see a strengthening of the domestic competition in Ireland in 2017, which kicks off next month. In Northern Ireland Belfast Eagles, who have been solely running junior rugby league have now extended to include an open age side within their setup. They will join the existing three Ulster teams to make a four-team championship, whilst in the south Galway Bay Pirates will make their debut. The Pirates will play friendlies in their inaugural season and will be dual registered with neighbours and current champions Galway Tribesmen to assist in their development. Meanwhile, in the North, a trio of familiar names return. “There is a feeling of nostalgia and progress for the upcoming season,” says Ulster provincial official Steve Hogan. “Limerick’s finest, Treaty City Titans, return after a troubled 2016 season which culminated in the team standing down mid-season. They come back hoping to return to former glories and are joined b

Italian rugby league club Saluzzo Roosters have completed their debut season in French competition, celebrating by winning their final match of the campaign. The town, situated in the north west 40km from the French border, played in the French Federation’s Provence Alpes-Côte d’Azur championship and completed their season with a 26-16 victory in the final match against St Martin XIII, triggering euphoric scenes in the Centro Sportivo di Manta. Elio Giacoma, coach of the Roosters, was ecstatic after leading his side on an unprecedented journey, labelling it, “a wonderful adventure.” “I am so proud of my boys,” he said. “We ended the season with an unexpected victory. We took so many risks with this decision and were aware of all the difficulties to start a new life in rugby league. We invested lot of time to start this new adventure but we had great return, not just with the final weekend victory, but the whole region answered our call and supported us.” FIRL and the club beg

Rotterdam Pitbulls begin the defence of their NRLB title this weekend when they face newcomers Harderwijk Dolphins. In the other match to open proceedings, Amsterdam Cobras play host to Den Haag Knights. This season the teams will meet each other home and away for the Minor Premiership with the top two then contesting the Championship title and the others battling for third place in a double-header Grand Final, in Rotterdam on 10 June. NRLB development officer Jason Bruygoms, who is also player/coach of the of the Pitbulls said at the season launch:   “After an undefeated 2016 season, our main focus is to retain our title and, with more challenges than last year, we have a lot of work ahead of us.” Lou Benders of the Amsterdam Cobras commented:  “Having trained all year round and played winter games which were lots of fun, the guys have grown and improved as a team. We also have some fresh new talent and now a steady base of league-only players to hopefully compete for a p