The Lithuania national rugby union team,() nicknamed The Knights (Vytis), is one of the tier three teams in European rugby. They currently compete in the second division of the Rugby Europe International Championships in the Rugby Europe Trophy, a competition which is just below the Rugby Europe Championship where the top six countries in Europe (apart from the teams in the Six Nations) compete. They are yet to participate in any Rugby World Cup and play in black with a pattern involving the colours red, yellow and green (the colours of the Lithuanian flag).

History

Rugby was first introduced into Lithuania in 1961. However, as the country was a part of USSR, the national team could not be formed. After the collapse of the USSR, Lithuania could finally form their very own national team where they would start playing unofficial friendlies against Latvia, their traditional rivals as well as representative team from Kaliningrad before finally playing their first official game against Germany, in 1993 where they lost with the score 31-5.

After the reestablishment of independence in 1990, Lithuania's rugby authorities worked to gain international recognition after gaining continental recognition in 1991 by FIRA Europe (as it was known at the time) and by 1993, the national team were participating in the qualifying for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Lithuania also participated in the 1992-1994 FIRA Trophy competition at the bottom of the pyramid but failed to win any of their games. Later on in 1996, Lithuania had achieved their first official victory against Luxembourg during the qualifying competition for the 1999 World Cup. Overall, the 1990s were a poor decade for the national team, yet it must be considered that they were a relatively new country, never mind the fact that Lithuania started playing test match rugby in 1993.

Up until 2006, Lithuania was lingering in the middle of the third division of the European Nations Cup. However, a 100 percent record in their 2006-2008 European Nations Cup Third Division campaign earned them promotion from Division 3B to Division 3A. This effort was followed by another perfect record in the 2008-2010 European Nations Cup Third Division and a further promotion to Division 2A. Moreover, victories over Israel and the Netherlands would take them to the semifinal round of the European qualification tournament for a spot in the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final Place Play-off. The rise in form of the national had thus resulted in an increase in the popularity of the sport in Lithuania.

During their 2008–10 European Nations Cup campaign, Lithuania was credited with setting a new record for consecutive Test wins in men's rugby. Their 77–5 away win over Serbia on April 24, 2010 was listed as their 18th straight, surpassing the previous record set by New Zealand in 1965–69 and by South Africa in 1997–98. This undefeated campaign, which could have led to a Lithuanian presence at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, ended in the 27–16 loss to Ukraine in the European qualifying semifinal. However, on later review, it was found that the first game in the 18-game sequence was in fact a loss, and as such are now credited with having held an equal record with South Africa and New Zealand (the record would later be broken by Cyprus in 2013).

Record World Cup World Cup recordWorld Cup Qualification recordYearRound 1987Part of USSR: Not an independent countryPart of USSR: Not an independent country 1991Part of USSR: Not an independent countryPart of USSR: Not an independent country 1995did not qualify20021138 1999410370157 2003521212789 20076204169130 20111090123983 2015410369109 201943019347 2023Automatically eliminatedTotal0/90000003518116778653

European Competitions Season Division2000European Nations Cup Fourth Division Pool 32101 55 54 +1 4 3rd2001-02European Nations Cup Third Division Pool 24301 87 66 +21 10 2nd2002-03European Nations Cup Third Division Pool B4301 147 53 +94 10 2nd2003-04European Nations Cup Third Division Pool B4202 89 32 +57 8 3rd2004-06European Nations Cup Third Division Pool B4202 94 69 +25 8 3rd2006-08European Nations Cup Third Division 3B8800 315 56 +259 24 1st2008-10European Nations Cup Third Division 3A7700 198 50 +220 21 1st2010-12European Nations Cup Second Division 2A8512 233 125 +108 28 2nd2012-14European Nations Cup Second Division 2A8206 149 199 -50 11 5th2014-16European Nations Cup Second Division 2B4400 144 75 +69 20 1st2016-17Rugby Europe Conference 1 North4301 93 47 +46 14 2nd2017-18Rugby Europe Conference 1 North4400 127 78 +49 19 1st2018-19Rugby Europe Trophy5104 63 175 -112 5 5th2019-20Rugby Europe Trophy5113 61 103 -42 7 5th2021-22*Rugby Europe Trophy5104 108 177 -69 5 6th

Overall

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Lithuania national XV at test level up until 18 April 2026, updated after match with .

Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn % Won 5 4 1 0 % 2 1 1 0 % 4 3 1 0 % 3 0 3 0 0% 2 2 0 0 % 5 4 0 1 % 8 4 4 0 % 2 2 0 0 % 5 1 4 0 % 3 0 3 0 0% 2 0 2 0 0% 8 6 2 0 % 4 4 0 0 % 16 10 6 0 % 7 5 2 0 % 7 3 4 0 % 3 0 3 0 0% 1 1 0 0 % 6 1 5 0 % 3 3 0 0 % 4 0 4 0 0% 1 0 1 0 0% 2 2 0 0 % 2 0 1 1 0% 13 2 10 1 % 9 4 5 0 % 8 3 5 0 % 1 0 1 0 0% Total 137 65 69 3 %

Recent Matches Matches

Current squad The following players are in the match day squad for the 2021–22 Rugby Europe Trophy game against Switzerland on 13 November 2021.

Head Coach: Gediminas Marcišauskas

Recent call-ups The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months. PlayerPosDate of birth (age)CapsClubLatest call-up Lukas Gylys Prop BaltRex Šiauliai v. Germany, 30 October 2021 Naglis Dunčikas Lock Azuolas Kaunas v. Germany, 30 October 2021 Airidas Savickas Lock RK Vairas Šiauliai v. Ukraine, 23 October 2021 Domantas Tautkus Back row 2 June 1993 (age 28) Azuolas Kaunas v. Germany, 30 October 2021 Deniss Aleksejevs Back row RK Geležinis Vilkas v. Ukraine, 23 October 2021 Kęstutis Riskus Back row RK Vairas Šiauliai v. Ukraine, 23 October 2021 Alanas Alasauskis Centre Azuolas Kaunas v. Ukraine, 23 October 2021 Rokas Lipnickas RK Vairas Šiauliai v. Germany, 30 October 2021 Domas Malinauskas Azuolas Kaunas v. Ukraine, 23 October 2021

Current coaching staff The current coaching staff of the Lithuanian national team:

NameNationalityRoleAusteja MinkeviciuteManagerGediminas MarcišauskasHead coachZygimantas RadziusAssistant coach Dr LiutkusTeam doctorArūnas AugaPhysiotherapistMantvydas TveragaWater Carrier

Former coaches Name Years Tests Won Drew Lost Win percentage Simon Verbickas 2021 1 0 0 1 0% Gediminas Marcišauskas 2021 2 1 0 1 50%

See also Rugby union in Lithuania Lietuvos Regbio Federacija Lithuania national rugby sevens team Lithuania women's national rugby sevens team Sport in Lithuania

References

External links Lietuvos Regbio Federacija - Official Site