Catalonia national rugby league team
The Catalonia national rugby league team represents Catalonia in the sport of rugby league football, running under the auspices of the Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga.
| Team information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Governing body | Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga | |
| Region | Europe | |
| Head coach | Eric Delherbe | |
| Captain | Albert Homs | |
| Uniforms | ||
| ||
| Team results | ||
| First game | ||
 Catalonia 12–62 Morocco  (Perpignan, 21 June 2008) | ||
| Biggest win | ||
 Czech Republic 16–66 Catalonia (Prague, 10 July 2010) | ||
| Biggest defeat | ||
| Catalonia 12–62 Morocco (Perpignan, 21 June 2008) | ||
History
Rugby league started in Catalonia in autumn 2007, with the advice of people from the French Catalan region, where this sport has been played since the 1930s.
The number of clubs grew since 3 clubs participated in the first competition in southern Catalonia in 2008 (FC Barcelona, Aligots Girona and Nord-Català),[1] to reach 9 teams in the first Catalonia Championships in April 2009: CR Tarragona, CR Valls, CR Sant Cugat, INEF Lleida, GEiEG, Poble Nou Enginyers, BUC, RC Garrotxa and Vic Crancs.[2] Also, the first Rugby League Catalan University Championship was played in February 2009, with 9 teams in competition.[3]
Catalonia used to be an unranked member of the Rugby League European Federation;[4] however, their participation in some international rugby league competitions, such as the World Cup, has been questioned as Catalonia is not a sovereign nation.
Catalonia played their first match in January 2008 when they participated in the French Interleague Championship held near Perpignan, France. In June of the same year, Morocco beat Catalonia in a match played in Perpignan, 62–12.
In June 2009, Catalonia beat the Czech Republic[5] in a match played prior to the Catalans Dragons vs Warrington Wolves Super League game. This match was an international warm-up ahead of the Euro Med Challenge contested by Catalonia, Morocco and Belgium. They lost 6–29 at home to Morocco, and 28–22 at Belgium.[3][6]
In 2010 Catalonia played only friendlies, with a win over Czech Republic 16–66 in Prague.[7]
Following further disputes over their RLEF status, the Catalonia national team did not subsequently participate in international competition and their RLEF affiliation was later dropped. They are currently not active in international competition, and any further international activity will likely fall under the umbrella of the Spain national rugby league team.[8]
All-time results
| Team | 1st Played | Play | Win | Draw | Loss | Points For | Points Agn. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2008 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 91 |
| Czech Republic | 2009 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 118 | 26 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium | 2009 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 28 |
Team matches to date
| French championships interleagues – Short game[9] | |||||
| Date | Opponents | Result | Venue | Crowd | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 January 2008 | Languedoc-Roussillon | 0–24 | Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque | 200 | French Interleague Championship |
| 27 January 2008 | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | 4–14 | Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque | 200 | French Interleague Championship |
| 27 January 2008 | Île-de-France | 14–26 | Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque | 200 | French Interleague Championship |
| Date | Venue | Home | Result | Away | Crowd | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 June 2008 | Girona | Catalonia |
18–64 |  French Universities |
150 | Friendly |
| 21 June 2008 | Perpignan | Catalonia |
12–62 | Morocco |
2,000 | Friendly |
| 20 June 2009 | Barcelona | Catalonia |
52–10 | Czech Republic |
18,150 | Friendly |
| 4 July 2009 | Torroella de Montgrí | Catalonia |
6–29 | Morocco |
1,000 | RLEF Euro Med Challenge |
| 25 July 2009 | Wavre | Belgium |
28–22 | Catalonia |
400 | RLEF Euro Med Challenge |
| 10 July 2010 | Prague | Czech Republic |
16–66 | Catalonia |
Friendly |
Players
2009
|
Catalonia vs. Morocco, 4 July 2009
|
|
Catalonia vs. Belgium, 25 July 2009.[10]
|
2010
|
Catalonia vs. Czech Republic, July 10, 2010.[11]
|
References
- "El FC Barcelona guanya la primera Copa Catalunya de Rugbi Lliga". vilaweb.cat (in Catalan). 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- "Associació Catalana – Rugby Lliga – I Campionat de Catalunya de rugby lliga". rugbylliga.cat. 2011. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- "Catalonia – Introduction". rlef.eu.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- Archived March 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- "Catalonia won 52 to 10 in the Czech Republic". Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- "Derrota per la mínima contra Bèlgica". rugbylliga.cat (in Catalan). 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- "Catalonia win over Czech Republic" (in Catalan). ACRL. July 13, 2010. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
- "Rugby League World Cup 2021".
- "Debut molt satisfactori de la Selecció Catalana de rugbi a XIII". rugbylliga.cat (in Catalan). 2011. Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- "Catalunya prepara el partit contra Bèlgica". rugbylliga.cat (in Catalan). 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- "Roster Czech Republic-Catalonia" (in Catalan). ACRL. 2010-07-08.