Belgium national rugby union team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Belgium women's national rugby union team.

Belgium
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Diables Noirs / Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils)
UnionBelgian Rugby Federation
Head coachFrédéric Cocqu
CaptainJulien Berger
Most capsAlan Williams (55)
Top scorerAlan Williams (527)
Top try scorerBaptiste Lescarboura (11)
Julien Berger (11)
Home stadiumStade Communal Fallon
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current27 (as of 21 November 2020)
Highest22 (2012)
Lowest51 (2004)
First international
 Netherlands 0–6 Belgium 
(Amsterdam, Netherlands; 1 July 1930)
Biggest win
 United Arab Emirates 3-94 Belgium 
(Dubai, UAE; 8 December 2012)
Biggest defeat
 Romania A 83-5 Belgium 
(Bucharest, Romania; 19 April 1996)
Biggest defeat by full international
 Spain 77–0 Belgium 
(Madrid, Spain; 8 December 1996)
Websitewww.rugby.be

The Belgium national rugby union team (French: Équipe nationale de Belgique de Rugby de XV) (German: Belgische Rugby-Nationalmannschaft) represents Belgium in men's international rugby union competitions, nicknamed Diables Noirs / Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils). Although Belgium are currently 27th in World Rugby rankings, they are yet to participate in a Rugby World Cup and currently compete in the first division of the European Nations Cup, which they have been playing in since 2017. Rugby union in Belgium is administered by the Belgian Rugby Federation.

History

The Belgium rugby team played their first match on 13 March 1932 against the Netherlands. They contested annual games against the Netherlands for half a decade starting in 1932. They drew the 1932 game, but lost subsequent matches during the 1930s. They also played Italy and Germany in 1937, losing both games.

During the 1950s, Belgium continued playing the Netherlands, as well as teams like Spain. They managed to obtain a draw in the 1960s against Portugal. In the 1970s they won the majority of their games, as well as playing a broader range of European nations. This trend continued throughout the 1980s. Belgium had a six-game winning streak in the late 1980s. They began playing more games against their regular European opponents as they entered the 1990s. A Belgium side played the Argentina national rugby union team prior to the 2007 Rugby World Cup. A Belgium XV played the Barbarians on 24 May 2008.

Belgium has been steadily improving, ranked number 55th in 2004, the 'Black Devils' improved a whole lot on the following years, obtaining good results against other European Nations, gaining entry to the IRB Ranking's Top 30 in 2010. Since their induction to the first 30 rugby nations in the international ranking, they have managed to maintain their place.

Belgium had a very successful campaign during the 2010-2012 European Nations Cup, with a 10 match winning streak from March 2011 to December 2012. They gained promotion to the ENC 1A for the 2012-14 competition, where they play against sides such as Spain, Portugal, and the latest 2011 Rugby World Cup participants, Romania, Georgia and Russia.

Jacques Rogge, the former International Olympic Committee president, was a member of the Belgium national team.

Rugby World Cup qualification

See also: Rugby World Cup qualification
  • 1987 - Not invited
  • 1991 - Did not qualify
  • 1995 - Did not qualify
  • 1999 - Did not qualify
  • 2003 - Did not qualify
  • 2007 - Did not qualify
  • 2011 - Did not qualify
  • 2015 - Did not qualify
  • 2019 - Did not qualify

Current squad

Belgium's 23-man squad for their November international match against Canada on 13 November 2021.

  • Head Coach: France Frédéric Cocqu
  • Note - Players in Italics denotes uncapped players.

Record

Men's World Rugby Rankings
Top 30 as of 26 September 2022[1]
Rank Change* Team Points
1 Steady  Ireland 090.03
2 Steady  France 089.41
3 Steady  South Africa 089.00
4 Steady  New Zealand 087.30
5 Steady  England 086.25
6 Increase1  Scotland 081.93
7 Increase2  Wales 081.28
8 Decrease1  Argentina 081.21
9 Decrease2  Australia 080.65
10 Steady  Japan 077.74
11 Steady  Samoa 075.75
12 Steady  Fiji 075.08
13 Steady  Georgia 074.51
14 Steady  Italy 073.29
15 Steady  Spain 069.27
16 Steady  Tonga 067.79
17 Steady  Romania 066.33
18 Steady  Uruguay 065.97
19 Steady  United States 065.17
20 Steady  Portugal 065.08
21 Steady  Chile 061.24
22 Steady  Hong Kong 061.03
23 Steady  Canada 060.99
24 Steady  Namibia 060.56
25 Steady  Russia 058.06
26 Steady  Belgium 055.97
27 Steady  Brazil 055.23
28 Steady  Netherlands 053.69
29 Steady  Poland 053.03
30 Steady  Germany 052.79
* Change from the previous week

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Belgium national XV at test level up until 7 March 2020.

Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win %
 Armenia 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Barbarians 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Brazil 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Canada 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Croatia 4 2 2 0 50.0%
 Czech Republic 7 4 2 1 57.1%
 Czechoslovakia 6 1 5 0 16.7%
 Denmark 5 3 1 1 60.0%
 Fiji 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Georgia 7 0 7 0 0.0%
 Germany 11 5 5 1 45.0%
 Hong Kong 4 1 3 0 25.0%
 Italy 2 0 2 0 0.0%
 Latvia 2 1 1 0 50.0%
 Lithuania 2 2 0 0 100.0%
 Luxembourg 4 4 0 0 100.0%
 Malta 2 2 0 0 100.0%
 Moldova 7 5 2 0 71.4%
 Monaco 1 1 0 0 100.0%
 Morocco 4 1 3 0 25.0%
 Netherlands 45 23 18 4 51.1%
 Poland 9 2 7 0 22.2%
 Portugal 15 3 10 2 21.4%
 Romania 7 0 7 0 0.0%
 Russia 7 1 6 0 14.29%
 Samoa 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Serbia and Montenegro 8 7 1 0 87.5%
 Slovenia 3 2 1 0 66.7%
 Spain 17 2 14 1 12.5%
 Sweden 12 8 4 0 66.7%
 Switzerland 8 5 3 0 62.5%
 Tunisia 5 1 3 1 20.0%
 Ukraine 5 2 3 0 40.0%
 United Arab Emirates 1 1 0 0 100.0%
 Uruguay 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 West Germany 6 4 1 1 66.7%
 Zimbabwe 1 1 0 0 100.0%
Total 222 94 116 12 42.72%
Germany playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2007 Rugby World Cup
Poland playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2011 Rugby World Cup

See also

References

  1. ^ "Men's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 19 September 2022.

External links

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