Latvia national rugby league team
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| Team information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governing body | Latvia Rugby League | |||||
| Region | Europe | |||||
| Head coach | Steve Leonard (GBR) | |||||
| Captain | Jānis Zuments | |||||
| IRL ranking | 52nd | |||||
| Uniforms | ||||||
| ||||||
| Team results | ||||||
| First international | ||||||
 Estonia 38 - 54 Latvia  (21 October 2007, Tallinn) | ||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||
| Estonia 4 - 74 Latvia (8 August 2009, Tallinn) | ||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||
 Ukraine 112 - 0 Latvia (18 September 2010, Kyiv ) | ||||||
The Latvia national rugby league team was established in 2008 to represent Latvia at rugby league football.
History
Latvia initially competed in the European Bowl, for fourth-tier developing nations. They beat Estonia in a two-game series and therefore won the inaugural tournament after Ukraine could not gain visas to travel. In 2009 they finished in second place after losing to Ukraine and defeating Estonia. In 2010 they played in the European Shield, losing to Russia and Ukraine.[1]
In April 2015, the qualification process for the 2017 World Cup was announced. The 2015 Rugby League European Championship C tournament served as part of this process and on 9 May 2015 Latvia played Spain in a preliminary match for the right to compete in the championship alongside Greece and Malta.[2] Latvia lost the match 32–22 and as a result of this were eliminated from the world cup qualifiers.[3]
In 2024, the Latvian federation was expelled from International Rugby League due to "several years" of inactivity, thus the team is currently dormant.[4]
Results
Overall
| Team | First Played | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | Points For | Points Against | Last Meeting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia |
2007 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 238 | 62 | 2009 |
| Ukraine |
2009 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 152 | 2010 |
 Russia |
2010 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 54 | 2010 |
 Spain |
2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 32 | 2015 |
| TOTAL | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 260 | 300 |
World Cup
| World Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
.svg.png){kind=small}  2017 |
Failed to qualify | |||||||
| Total | 0 Titles | 0/13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Results
| Opponent | Points | Date | Venue | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 54 - 38 | 2007-10-21 | Tallinn | [1] |
| Estonia | 48 - 10 | 2008-06-28 | Tallinn | [5] |
| Estonia | 62 - 10 | 2008-08-03 | Riga | [6] |
| Ukraine | 6 - 40 | 2009-07-24 | Riga | [7] |
| Estonia | 74 - 4 | 2009-08-08 | Tallinn | [8] |
| Russia | 4 - 54 | 2010-07-31 | Riga | [9] |
| Ukraine | 0 - 112 | 2010-09-18 | Kyiv | [10] |
| Spain | 12 - 32 | 2015-05-09 | Riga | [3] |
IRL Rankings
| Official rankings as of December 2025 | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 1 |  |
Australia |
100 |
| 2 | |
New Zealand |
82 |
| 3 | |
 England |
74 |
| 4 | |
 Samoa |
56 |
| 5 | |
 Tonga |
54 |
| 6 | |
 Papua New Guinea |
47 |
| 7 | |
 Fiji |
34 |
| 8 | |
 France |
24 |
| 9 | |
 Cook Islands |
24 |
| 10 | |
 Serbia |
23 |
| 11 | |
 Netherlands |
22 |
| 12 | |
Ukraine |
21 |
| 13 | |
 Wales |
18 |
| 14 | |
 Ireland |
17 |
| 15 | |
 Greece |
15 |
| 16 | |
 Malta |
15 |
| 17 | |
 Italy |
11 |
| 18 | |
 Jamaica |
9 |
| 19 |  1 |
 Poland |
7 |
| 20 | 1 |
 Lebanon |
7 |
| 21 | 1 |
 Norway |
7 |
| 22 |  3 |
 United States |
7 |
| 23 | |
 Germany |
7 |
| 24 | |
 Czech Republic |
6 |
| 25 | |
 Chile |
6 |
| 26 | 1 |
 Philippines |
5 |
| 27 | 1 |
 Scotland |
5 |
| 28 | 2 |
 South Africa |
5 |
| 29 | 1 |
.svg.png){kind=small} Canada |
5 |
| 30 | 1 |
 Brazil |
3 |
| 31 | 1 |
 Morocco |
3 |
| 32 | 1 |
 North Macedonia |
3 |
| 33 | 1 |
 Argentina |
3 |
| 34 | 1 |
 Montenegro |
3 |
| 35 | 4 |
 Ghana |
2 |
| 36 | 5 |
 Kenya |
2 |
| 37 | 3 |
 Nigeria |
2 |
| 38 | 2 |
 Albania |
1 |
| 39 | 2 |
 Turkey |
1 |
| 40 | 2 |
 Bulgaria |
1 |
| 41 | 1 |
 Cameroon |
0 |
| 42 | 1 |
 Japan |
0 |
| 43 | 1 |
Spain |
0 |
| 44 | 3 |
 Colombia |
0 |
| 45 | |
Russia |
0 |
| 46 | |
 El Salvador |
0 |
| 47 | |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
0 |
| 48 | |
 Hong Kong |
0 |
| 49 | |
 Solomon Islands |
0 |
| 50 | |
 Vanuatu |
0 |
| 51 | |
 Hungary |
0 |
| 52 | |
Latvia |
0 |
| 53 | |
 Denmark |
0 |
| 54 | |
.svg.png){kind=small} Belgium |
0 |
| 55 | |
Estonia |
0 |
| 56 | |
 Sweden |
0 |
| 57 | |
 Niue |
0 |
| Complete rankings at www.internationalrugbyleague.com | |||
See also
References
- ^ a b "Rugby League Planet – Latvia snapshot and rugby league results". Rugby League Planet. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ "European Qualifiers for World Cup 20217 Announced". RLIF. 14 April 2017. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Latvia 12 32 Spain". European Rugby League. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "IRL Membership: Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Scotland Reclassified". International Rugby League. 15 March 2024. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Estonia 10 48 Latvia". European Rugby League. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ "Latvia 62 10 Estonia". European Rugby League. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ "Latvia 6 40 Ukraine". European Rugby League. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ "Estonia 4 74 Latvia". European Rugby League. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ "Latvia 4 54 Russia". European Rugby League. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
- ^ "Ukraine 112 0 Latvia". European Rugby League. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
External links
- Latvia: European Rugby League (Archive copy: 2 December 2024)
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