Serbia national rugby league team

The Serbia national rugby league team represents Serbia in the sport of rugby league football and has been participating in international competition since 2003. Serbian Rugby League was reborn on 10 November 2001 after 40 years of non existence due to the Yugoslav Communist dictatorship banning the game in the mid 1960s because they favoured Rugby Union which Croatia was playing at the time. Rugby League was first played in Serbia in 1953.

Serbia
Team information
NicknameWhite Eagles (Beli orlovi)
Governing bodySerbian Rugby League
RegionEurope
Head coachStuart G. Wilkinson
CaptainStevan Stevanović
Most capsZoran Pešić (28)
Home stadiumMakiš Stadium, Belgrade
RLIF ranking17th
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First international
 Lebanon 102–0 Serbia 
(19 October 2003)
Biggest win
 Germany 6–90 Serbia 
(22 April 2011)
Biggest defeat
 France 120–0 Serbia 
(22 October 2003)

History

1950s–1960s

Rugby League was first played in Serbia in 1953 when it was introduced by Dragan Marsicevic, secretary of the Yugoslav Sport Association. Two French teams toured later that year, and in 1954 the clubs Partizan and Radnički were formed. These clubs played their first match on 26 April 1954. In 1961 a Yugoslav Rugby League team played its only game against a French Select XIII team in Banja Luka. The French team won 13-0. The sport died out soon afterwards not due to the communist regime banning the sport.

2000s

The rebirth of Serbian Rugby League Federation was on 10 November 2001 with the new federation been formed. There is now an eight team domestic competition between Dorcol Spiders, Morava Cheetahs, Red Star Belgrade, Belgrade University, Radnički Nova Pazova, Tsar Lazar, Soko, Stari Grad, and Niš.

Serbia has participated in the Mediterranean Cup competition in 2003 and 2004. Serbia won the 2006 and 2007 Slavic Cup after beating Czech Republic 36-28 in Prague and 56-16 in Belgrade, respectively.

2008 World Cup Qualifying

See also 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying

Serbia failed to qualify for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, losing to Holland, Russia and Georgia in 2006, to be eliminated from the qualification process. Serbia won the 2007 and 2010 European Shield tournaments, by beating both Germany and Czech Republic on both occasions. Serbia took part in then European 2nd tier competition Euro Med Challenge in 2008. After being defeated 4-30 by Russia in Novi Sad and 14-20 by Lebanon in Bhamdoun, Serbs finished third. Serbia was a participant in the 2009 European Cup, having been drawn in a group alongside Wales and Ireland.

2013 World Cup Qualifying
Main article: 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying

Serbia participated in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers in October 2011. They played games against Italy, Lebanon and Russia, but were defeated in all three matches and so were ultimately unsuccessful in qualification for the tournament.

2014 Balkans Cup
Main article: 2014 Balkans Cup (rugby league)

Serbia participated in the inaugural Balkans Cup tournament held in their own country. Serbia finished second in the tournament after a defeat to Greece who had a full squad of Australian born players in the final.[1]

2017 World Cup qualifying
Main article: 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying

Serbia participated in the qualification for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. The first stage of qualifying involved having to finish in the top three in their 2014–15 European Shield competition. During their qualification, Serbia created history after beating Russia for their first ever time on their eighth time of asking.[2]

The final qualification tournament will consist of six teams: the top three teams from the European B tournament, the winners of the European C tournament and seeded nations Wales and Ireland. The tournament will feature two groups of three teams playing in a single round-robin format. The winners of each group will qualify for the World Cup, while the runners-up faced each other in a play-off match on 5 November 2016 to determine the final spot. A seeded draw took place to determine the groups on 5 November 2015. Serbia were placed in Group A. They took on Wales on 15 October 2016, in Llanelli Wales and Italy in Belgrade on 22 October for a place in the 2017 World Cup.[3] In the lead up to the World Cup qualifiers, Serbia played Spain in Valencia and ran out 64-4 winners a dominant display in the first ever meeting between these two nations.[4] In the first World Cup qualifier against a Wales side full of Super League and Championship players, Serbia lost, 50–0, proving that there is still a long way to go but that there was some slight improvement from last time the two nations meet in 2009 when Serbia lost 88-8.[5] In the second and final game of World Cup qualifying Serbia needed victory over Italy to send them through to a one-game playoff against Russia but lost the game at the Maksis Stadium in Belgrade, 14–62, which was a result against an Italian team with many NRL and English Super League players who were Australians of Italian heritage.[6] On 10 November 2016, 15 years was celebrated since the re-forming of Serbian Rugby League a milestone occasion.[7]

Current squad

Squad selected for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers;[8]

  • James Mirceski
  • Jai Smith
  • Matthew Dragisic
  • Nick Cotric
  • Jason Muranka
  • Aleksandar Pavlovic
  • Ilija Radan
  • Tom Opacic
  • Bradley Deitz
  • Dario Abidinovic
  • Dragan Jankovic
  • Dusan Milutinovic
  • Dzavid Jasari
  • Mihajilo Stojiljkovic
  • Nikola Srbljanin
  • Vlado Kusic
  • Ilija Cotric
  • Bogdan Raicevic
  • Mihailo Tomic
  • Vuk Tomic
  • Djordje Stefanovic
  • Djordje Stosic
  • Filip Stosic
  • Lazar Zivkovic
  • Mihajlo Jovic
  • Stefan Arsic
  • Aleksandar Djordjevic
  • Denis Cengaj
  • Marko Jankovic
  • Milos Zogovic
  • Nikola Djuric
  • Petar Milanovic
  • Predrag Keglic
  • Rajko Trifunovic
  • Stefan Nedeljkovic
  • Vladislav Dedic
  • Vojislav Dedic
  • Jordan Grant
  • Zane Bijorac
  • Daniel Marjanovic
  • Aleksa Radic
  • Andrej Mora
  • Nikola Pesterac
  • Relja Petrovic
  • Stevan Stevanovic
  • Milos Calic
  • Vladica Nikolic
  • Ilija Krstic
  • Vladimir Milutinovic
  • Daniel Burke
  • Ben Stevanovic
  • Paul Momirovski
  • Rajko Jankovic

Youth national teams

Serbian youth national teams permanently compete in European cups from 2006. Their first appearance was in France during Under 19s European Nations Cup. They finished 6th after dying minutes defeat by Scotland Under 19s.

In 2007, Serbia hosted Under 16s European Nations Cup. Win over Russia Under 16s in group stage secured match for the 3rd place, but Serbia Under 16s eventually lost 20-22 by Euro Celts Under 16s and finished 4th.

In 2008 Serbia attended Under 18s European Nations Cup in Czech Republic. Ireland Under 18s beat Serbia Under 18s in preliminaries and send them to European Nation Shield semifinals, where they beat Euro Celts Under 18s and qualify for the Shield final. In the most indecisive game of the tournament, Serbs finally lost to Scots after golden point extra time (second extra time) and won 6th place.

In 2009, Serbia hosted Under 16s European Championships for the second time. Serbia Under 16s failed to win a game in the European Shield part of the competition. The both, Euro Celts Under 16s (composed of Irish, Russian, Welsh, Czech, Serbian and French players) and Scotland Under 16s defeated Serbia Under 16s on their home soil and Serbs finished 6th.

Competitive Record

Overall

Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Serbia at test level up until 5 February 2016:

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost Win % For Aga Diff
 Bulgaria1100100%5020+30
 Czech Republic4400100%20454+150
 France30030%12206-194
 Georgia20020%2289-67
 Greece31020%98114-16
 Germany650183.3%28471+213
 Hungary1100100%500+50
 Ireland10010%082-82
 Italy630350%130166-36
 Morocco20110%2478-54
 Netherlands20020%3654-18
 Philippines10010%1218-6
 Russia910812.5%122250-128
 Scotland10010%086-86
 Spain2200100%8624+62
 Ukraine3300100%11422+92
 Wales10010%888-80
Total481912538%1,2371,374-137

World Cup
World Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L D
1954 Did not enter
1957
1960
1968
1970
1972
1975
1977
1985-88
1989-92
1995
2000
2008Failed to Qualify
2013
2017
2021
Total0 Titles0/140000

European Championship
European Championship record
Year** Division Round Pos Pld W D L
2007 B Champions1st2200
2009 A Fifth Place5th2002
2010 B Champions1st220
2012-13 B Third Place3rd6204
2014-15 B Champions1st6501
2018 B Third Place3rd2110
2020 B 0000
Total —
     Champions       Runners-up       Promoted       Relegated

Balkans Cup
Balkans Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L D
2014Second place2/42110
2017Champions1/32200
2019to be determined
Total1 Titles2/24310

Rankings
Official Men's Rankings as of November 2019
RankChange*TeamPts%
1 2 New Zealand
2 1 Australia
3 1 England
4  Tonga
5  Fiji
6 4 Papua New Guinea
7  Samoa
8 2 France
9 1 Scotland
10 1 Lebanon
11 5 Greece
12  Ireland
13 1 Italy
14 3 Wales
15 4 Serbia
16 1 Malta
17 1 Norway
18 3 United States
19 4 Poland
20 7 Jamaica
21 1 Hungary
22 3 Czech Republic
23 5 Cook Islands
24 7 Turkey
25 1 Netherlands
26 4 Spain
27 6 Canada
28  Nigeria
29 2 Solomon Islands
30 10 Sweden
31 4 Germany
32 1 Chile
33  Ghana
34 16 Morocco
35 3 Vanuatu
36  South Africa
37 8 Russia
38  Cameroon
39 2 Ukraine
40 1 Colombia
41 4 Brazil
42  Belgium
43 4 Denmark
44 4 Bulgaria
45 4 Latvia
*Change from July 2019

Results

2000s
DateHomeScoreAwayCompetitionVenueAttendance
19 October 2003  Lebanon 102-0  Serbia 2003 Mediterranean Cup Olympic Stadium, Tripoli
22 October 2003  France 120-0  Serbia Municipal Stadium, Beirut
25 October 2003  Morocco 58-4  Serbia Olympic Stadium, Tripoli
18 June 2006  Serbia 10-26  Netherlands 2005 European Nations Qualifiers FK Radnički Novi Beograd, Belgrade
24 July 2005  Georgia 12-44  Serbia Dinamo Stadium, Tbilisi 8,000


Test # Date Opponent F A Venue City Crowd Tour/Competition
48 9 November
2019		  Greece 6 82 Makis Stadium Belgrade
47 26 October
2019		  Scotland 0 86 Lochinch Sports Ground Glasgow
46 20 October
2018		  Spain 24 20 Belgrade Serbia
45 13 October
2018		  Russia 18 36 Moscow Russia
44 08 October
2017		  Bulgaria 50 20 FC Heroj Polet Belgrade 2017 Balkans Cup
43 08 October
2017		  Greece 50 8 Belgrade Belgrade
42 22 October
2016		  Italy 14 62 Makis Stadium Belgrade
41 15 October
2016		  Wales 0 50 Wales Wales
40 24 September
2016		  Spain 64 4 Quatre Carreres Valencia
39 5 February
2016		  Philippines 12 18 New Era Stadium Cabramatta
38 12 September
2015		  Ukraine 64 4 Avanhard Stadium Uzhhorod 2014/15 European Championship B
37 20 June
2015		  Italy 21 14 Stadio comunale di Tegilo Veneto Gemona del Friuli
36 22 May
2015		  France 8 68 Stade Gilbert Brutus Perpignan
35 16 May
2015		  Russia 20 15 Makiš Stadium Belgrade 2014/15 European Championship B
34 19 October
2014		  Greece 50 22 Makiš Stadium Belgrade 2014 Balkans Cup
33 17 October
2014		  Hungary 50 0 Makiš Stadium Belgrade
32 10 September
2014		  Italy 45 6 Makiš Stadium Belgrade 2014/15 European Championship B
31 21 June
2014		  Russia 6 20 Nara Stadium Naro-Fominsk
30 17 May
2014		  Ukraine 40 14 Železničar Stadium Niš 750
29 14 September
2013		  Italy 20 32 Stadio Augusteo Este 2012-13 European Shield
28 25 May
2013		  Russia 10 24 Makiš Stadium Belgrade
27 18 May
2013		  Germany 46 10 Makiš Stadium Belgrade
26 22 September
2012		  Russia 20 21 Nara Stadium Naro-Fominsk
25 6 September
2012		  Italy 24 18 Makiš Stadium Belgrade 600
24 12 May
2012		  Germany 24 25 Fritz-Grunebaum Sportpark Heidelberg
23 29 October
2011		  Russia 28 36 Makiš Stadium Belgrade 2013 World Cup Qualifiers - Europe
22 23 October
2011		  Italy 6 52 Makiš Stadium Belgrade
21 16 October
2011		  Lebanon 4 96 Olympic Stadium Tripoli
20 30 September
2011		  Ukraine 10 4 Ada Ciganlija Stadium Belgrade Milan Kosanovic Cup
19 22 April
2011		  Germany 90 6 TuS Hochspeyer Kaiserslautern
18 17 July
2010		  Germany 40 14 FK Radnički Novi Beograd Belgrade 300 2010 European Shield – West
17 17 July
2010		  Czech Republic 56 4 RK Petrovice Prague 100
16 8 November
2009		  Italy 14 42 Llynfi Road Maesteg 2009 European Cup
15 25 October
2009		  Wales 8 88 FK Smederevo Stadium Smederevo 93
14 18 October
2009		  Ireland 0 82 Spollanstown Tullamore 295
13 5 October
2008		  Lebanon 14 20 Municipal Stadium Beirut 1,000 2008 Euro-Med Challenge
12 20 September
2008		  Russia 4 30 FK Kabel Novi Sad 500
11 18 August
2007		  Czech Republic 56 16 FK Radnički Novi Beograd Belgrade 650 2007 European Shield
10 7 July
2007		  Germany 38 6 Fritz-Grunebaum Sportpark Heidelberg 264
9 12 August
2006		  Czech Republic 34 26 Ragbyove hřiště v Edenu Prague 2006 Slavic Cup
8 17 June
2006		  Netherlands 26 38 Rotterdamse RC Beekweg Rotterdam 250 2008 World Cup Qualifying – Europe
7 4 June
2006		  Russia 6 44 FK Radnički Novi Beograd Belgrade 500
6 13 May
2006		  Georgia 10 45 FK Radnički Novi Beograd Belgrade 500
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See also

References
  1. "RLEF." www.RLEF.eu.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  2. "RLEF." www.RLEF.eu.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  3. "Wales to take on Serbia in Llanelli". WalesRugbyLeague.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  4. "RLEF." www.RLEF.eu.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  5. "Wales overcome Serbia in World Cup Qualifier - Total Rugby League". TotalRL.com. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  6. "RLEF." www.RLEF.eu.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  7. "15 година Рагби 13 федерације Србије - www.ragbiliga.rs". RagbiLiga.rs. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  8. "Serbia name train on squad for World Cup qualifiers". RLEF. 5 October 2019.

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