Belgium national rugby union team

Belgium national rugby union team
Union Belgian Rugby Federation
Nickname(s) Zwarte Duivels / Diables Noirs (Black Devils)
President Jan Coupe
Coach(es) Richard McClintock
Captain(s) Neil Andrew
Top scorer Alan Williams (451)
Team kit
First match
Belgium Belgium 6 - 6 Netherlands Netherlands
(13 March 1932)
Largest win
Belgium Belgium 94 - 3 UAE United Arab Emirates
(8 December 2012)
Largest defeat
Spain Spain 77 - 0 Belgium Belgium
(8 December 1996)
Germany playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2007 Rugby World Cup
Poland playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2011 Rugby World Cup

The Belgium national rugby union team represents Belgium in international rugby competitions. Rugby union in Belgium is administered by the Belgian Rugby Federation. Belgium have been ranked in the Top 30 since 2010.[1]

Belgium have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Belgium participates in the European Nations Cup (the second tier of European International competitions, the Six Nations being the most important one).

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.[2]

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 current International Olympic Committee president, was a member of the Belgium national team.

Rugby World Cup qualification

Current Team

Players used in the 2010-2012 ENC.

Player Position Club
Wende Norman Hooker France Saint Etienne
Dienst Thomas Hooker France Lille Métropole Rugby
Massimi Julien Prop France Saint Etienne
Maxime Jadot Prop France Pau
Wey Jerome Prop France Saint Nazarie
Debaty Christophe Prop France Tyrosse Rugby
Hendrickx Pierre Lock Belgium Boitsfort
Verschelden Mathieu Lock France Saint Etienne
Hanchir Julien Lock France SO Millau
Billi Bertrand Flanker Belgium Soignies
Eppe Denis Flanker Belgium ROC
Forneau Charlie Number eight Australia Melbourne Harlequins
Neill Andrew Number eight France Tournefeuille
Julien Berger Scrum-half France La Rochelle
Williams Alan Fly-half France Montluçon Rugby
Fierro Carlos Fly-half Belgium Soignies
Haghedooren Dirk Centre France AGDE
Piron Guillaume Centre France Montpellier Espoirs
Cauwe Jerome Wing Belgium ASUB Waterloo
Meeus Nicolas Wing Belgium Kituro RC
Torfs Jens Wing France Racing Métro Espoirs
Guns Sebastien Fullback Belgium Boitsfort
De Molder Michaël Flanker Belgium Boitsfort
De Molder Thomas Flanker - N°8 France Pau
Andre Thibaut Fullback Belgium Soignies

Record

Overall

Top 25 Rankings as 27 April 2015[3]
RankChange*TeamPoints
1 Steady  New Zealand 93.70
2 Steady  South Africa88.23
3 Steady  Ireland 85.76
4 Steady  England 85.40
5 Steady  Wales 84.07
6 Steady  Australia 82.95
7 Steady  France 79.74
8 Steady  Argentina 78.23
9 Steady  Samoa 75.39
10 Steady  Scotland 74.79
11 Steady  Japan 74.70
12 Steady  Fiji 74.57
13 Steady  Tonga 74.12
14 Steady  Georgia 72.16
15 Steady  Italy 71.85
16 Steady  United States 67.61
17 Steady  Canada 66.83
18 Steady  Romania 66.23
19 Steady  Russia 64.65
20 Steady  Uruguay 63.58
21 Steady  Spain 62.59
22 Increase1  South Korea 58.38
23 Decrease1  Namibia 58.27
24 Decrease1  Portugal 57.40
25 Steady  Belgium 56.47
*Change from the previous week
Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win percentage
 Armenia10100%
 Canada10100%
 Croatia422050%
 Czech Republic742157.14%
 Czechoslovakia615016.67%
 Denmark531160%
 Fiji10100%
 Germany1045140%
 Hong Kong1100100%
 Italy20200%
 Latvia211050%
 Lithuania2200100%
 Luxembourg4400100%
 Malta2200100%
 Moldova752071.43%
 Monaco1100100%
 Morocco413025%
 Netherlands452318451.11%
 Poland927022.22%
 Portugal1026220%
 Romania20200%
 Russia10100%
 Samoa10100%
 Serbia and Montenegro871087.5%
 Slovenia321066.67%
 Spain1211108.33%
 Sweden1284066.67%
  Switzerland853062.5%
 Tunisia513120%
 Ukraine523040%
 United Arab Emirates1100100%
 West Germany641166.67%
 Zimbabwe1100100%
Total18990881147.62%

Recent results

The following table shows Belgium's results over the past three years.

Date City Opponent Results¹ Attendance Type of game
12 February 2011 Brussels Moldova Moldova 20-5 ??? European Nations Cup
12 March 2011 Gdynia, Poland Poland Poland 21-28 ??? European Nations Cup
19 March 2011 Brussels Germany Germany 28-25 ??? European Nations Cup
23 April 2011 Amsterdam Netherlands Netherlands 30-18 ??? European Nations Cup
5 November 2011 Brussels Czech Republic Czech Republic 55-0 ??? European Nations Cup
25 February 2012 Brussels Netherlands Netherlands 58-3 ??? European Nations Cup
10 March 2012 Chisinau Moldova Moldova 17-16 ??? European Nations Cup
17 March 2012 Heusenstamm Germany Germany 30-29 ??? European Nations Cup
7 April 2012 Brussels Poland Poland 20-13 ??? European Nations Cup
3 November 2012 Frameries Armée française 26-11 ??? Friendly
8 December 2012 Dubai United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates 94-3 ??? 2012 Cup of Nations (rugby union)
11 December 2012 Dubai Zimbabwe Zimbabwe 28-11 ??? 2012 Cup of Nations (rugby union)
14 December 2012 Dubai Hong Kong Hong Kong 24-12 ??? 2012 Cup of Nations (rugby union)
2 February 2013 Brussels Georgia (country) Georgia 13-17 ??? European Nations Cup
9 February 2013 Brussels Spain Spain 21-21 ??? European Nations Cup
9 March 2013 Brussels Romania Romania 14-32 3500 European Nations Cup

See also

References

  1. International Rugby Board, World Rankings Analysis, http://www.irb.com/rankings/analysis/index.html
  2. International Rugby Board, World Rankings Analysis, http://www.irb.com/rankings/analysis/index.html
  3. "World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 23 March 2015.

External links