North Macedonia national rugby league team
| ||||||
| Team information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Lions | |||||
| Governing body | Macedonian Rugby League | |||||
| Region | Europe | |||||
| Head coach | Aaron Zammit | |||||
| Captain | James Mirceski | |||||
| Most caps | 10 Players (3) | |||||
| Top try-scorer | Jayden Gouganovski (3) | |||||
| Top point-scorer | Jayden Gouganovski & James Suleski (12) | |||||
| Home stadium | Forshaw Park | |||||
| IRL ranking | 32nd | |||||
| Uniforms | ||||||
| ||||||
| Team results | ||||||
| First game | ||||||
 North Macedonia 8-40 Poland  (Forshaw Park, Sydney, Australia; 21 October 2023) | ||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||
| North Macedonia 8-40 Poland (Forshaw Park, Sydney, Australia; 21 October 2023) | ||||||
| World Cup | ||||||
| Appearances | 0 | |||||
| Official rankings as of December 2025 | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 1 |  |
.svg.png){kind=small} 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 | |||
The North Macedonia national rugby league team (nicknamed the Lions) represent North Macedonia in international rugby league football competitions.
In October 2022, a North Macedonia team took part in the New South Wales Rugby League Harmony Nines tournament and won the emerging nations competition.[1] North Macedonia applied for membership of the International Rugby League and were awarded observer status in April 2023.[2][3] In October 2023, the Nines team repeated it success in the Harmony Nines tournament[1] and a week later North Macedonia made its full international debut against Poland.[4]
Competitive record
Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Macedonia at test level up until 18 February 2024:
| Team | First Played | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | Points For | Points Against | Last Meeting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chile |
2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 36 | 2024 |
| Malta |
2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 22 | 2024 |
| Poland |
2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 40 | 2023 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 48 | 98 |
Results
| Date | Score[a] | Opponent | Competition | Venue | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 October 2023 | 8–40 | Poland |
Friendly | Forshaw Park, Sydney, Australia | [4] |
| 4 February 2024 | 18–36 | Chile |
Friendly | Forshaw Park, Sydney, Australia | [5] |
| 18 February 2024 | 18–22 | Malta |
Friendly | Forshaw Park, Sydney, Australia | [6] |
Notes
- ^ North Macedonia score given first
References
- ^ a b "Lions roar again at Harmony 9s". NSW Rugby League. 14 October 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ "Slovakia and North Macedonia apply to join International Rugby League". Inside the Games. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ "North Macedonia and Slovakia granted IRL membership". European Rugby League. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
- ^ a b "North Macedonia 8 40 Poland". European Rugby League. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ "North Macedonia 18 36 Chile". European Rugby League. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ "North Macedonia 18 22 Malta". European Rugby League. Retrieved 3 March 2025.