The Turkey national rugby league team represents Turkey in international rugby league. The team played their first match in 2018.
History The Turkish Rugby League Association was founded in 2016, however the team didn't play their first match until two years later. The side made their competition debut at the 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship in Sydney, defeating the Solomon Islands 30–22 in their first ever match. The team also beat Japan 60–0, winning qualification for the tournament's trophy stage. Here, they lost to the Philippines 29–16 in the semi-final before beating Vanuatu 27–26, on the back of a field goal from Adem Baskonyali, claiming seventh place at their inaugural competition.
In 2019, the team played their first match in Turkey, losing to Greece 38–24 at the Aysekadin Yerleskesi Futbol Stadium in Istanbul. They also lost to Malta 28–12 six weeks later.
Competitive record Overall Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Turkey at test level up until 25 September 2022:
Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost Win % For Aga Diff 1 1 0 0 100% 38 16 +22 1 0 0 1 0% 24 38 -14 1 1 0 0 100% 60 0 +60 2 1 0 1 50% 48 40 +8 1 0 0 1 0% 18 40 −22 1 0 0 1 0% 16 29 −13 1 1 0 0 100% 30 22 +8 1 1 0 0 100% 27 26 +1 Total 9 5 0 4 56% 261 211 +50
Results
Date Result Opponent Competition Venue Attendance Ref.1 October 2018 30–22 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship Windsor Sporting Complex, Windsor, Sydney, Australia 7504 October 2018 60–0 St. Marys Leagues Stadium, St. Marys, Sydney, Australia 50010 October 2018 16–29 New Era Stadium, Cabramatta, Sydney, Australia 45013 October 2018 27–26 St. Marys Leagues Stadium, St. Marys, Sydney, Australia 25014 September 2019 24–38 International Aysekadin Yerleskesi Futbol Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey 25026 October 2019 12–28 International New Era Stadium, Cabramatta, Sydney, Australia 60025 April 2021 0–46 Australian Defence Forces Friendly Sydney Cricket Ground, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia 14 October 2021 18–40 2021 European Championship D Huseyin Akar Tesisleri Stadium, Bodrum, Turkey 50017 October 2021 36–12 Huseyin Akar Tesisleri Stadium, Bodrum, Turkey 25 September 2022 38–16 International ITU Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey
IRL Rankings
See also Rugby union in Turkey Turkey national rugby union team Turkey women's national rugby league team Turkey women's national rugby union team
Notes
References