Belgium national rugby union team
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| 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) | |
| ||
| First match | ||
.svg.png){kind=small} Belgium 6 - 6 Netherlands  (13 March 1932) | ||
| Largest win | ||
Belgium 94 - 3 UAE  (8 December 2012) | ||
| Largest defeat | ||
 Spain 77 - 0 Belgium (8 December 1996) | ||
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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
- 1987 - Not invited
- 1991 - Did not qualify
- 1995 - Did not qualify
- 1999 - Did not qualify
- 2003 - Did not qualify. Finished last in 2001 Round 2 Pool B.
- 2007 - Did not qualify. Finished second behind Germany in 2005-06 Round 3A.
- 2011 - Did not qualify. Finished second behind Ukraine in 2008-2010 ENC 2A.
- 2015 - Did not qualify.
Current Team
Players used in the 2010-2012 ENC.
| Player | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Wende Norman | Hooker |  Saint Etienne |
| Dienst Thomas | Hooker | Lille Métropole Rugby |
| Massimi Julien | Prop | Saint Etienne |
| Maxime Jadot | Prop | Pau |
| Wey Jerome | Prop | Saint Nazarie |
| Debaty Christophe | Prop | Tyrosse Rugby |
| Hendrickx Pierre | Lock | Boitsfort |
| Verschelden Mathieu | Lock | Saint Etienne |
| Hanchir Julien | Lock | SO Millau |
| Billi Bertrand | Flanker | Soignies |
| Eppe Denis | Flanker | ROC |
| Forneau Charlie | Number eight |  Melbourne Harlequins |
| Neill Andrew | Number eight | Tournefeuille |
| Julien Berger | Scrum-half | La Rochelle |
| Williams Alan | Fly-half | Montluçon Rugby |
| Fierro Carlos | Fly-half | Soignies |
| Haghedooren Dirk | Centre | AGDE |
| Piron Guillaume | Centre | Montpellier Espoirs |
| Cauwe Jerome | Wing | ASUB Waterloo |
| Meeus Nicolas | Wing | Kituro RC |
| Torfs Jens | Wing | Racing Métro Espoirs |
| Guns Sebastien | Fullback | Boitsfort |
| De Molder Michaël | Flanker | Boitsfort |
| De Molder Thomas | Flanker - N°8 | Pau |
| Andre Thibaut | Fullback | Soignies |
Record
Overall
| Top 25 Rankings as 27 April 2015[3] | |||
| Rank | Change* | Team | Points |
| 1 |  |  New Zealand | 93.70 |
| 2 | |  South Africa | 88.23 |
| 3 | |  Ireland | 85.76 |
| 4 | |  England | 85.40 |
| 5 | |  Wales | 84.07 |
| 6 | | Australia | 82.95 |
| 7 | | France | 79.74 |
| 8 | |  Argentina | 78.23 |
| 9 | |  Samoa | 75.39 |
| 10 | |  Scotland | 74.79 |
| 11 | |  Japan | 74.70 |
| 12 | |  Fiji | 74.57 |
| 13 | |  Tonga | 74.12 |
| 14 | |  Georgia | 72.16 |
| 15 | |  Italy | 71.85 |
| 16 | |  United States | 67.61 |
| 17 | |  Canada | 66.83 |
| 18 | |  Romania | 66.23 |
| 19 | |  Russia | 64.65 |
| 20 | |  Uruguay | 63.58 |
| 21 | | Spain | 62.59 |
| 22 |  1 |  South Korea | 58.38 |
| 23 |  1 |  Namibia | 58.27 |
| 24 | 1 |  Portugal | 57.40 |
| 25 | | Belgium | 56.47 |
| *Change from the previous week | |||
| Opponent | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Armenia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Canada | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Croatia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50% |
 Czech Republic | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 57.14% |
 Czechoslovakia | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16.67% |
 Denmark | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 60% |
| Fiji | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Germany | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 40% |
 Hong Kong | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Italy | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
 Latvia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
 Lithuania | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Luxembourg | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Malta | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Moldova | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 71.43% |
 Monaco | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Morocco | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 25% |
| Netherlands | 45 | 23 | 18 | 4 | 51.11% |
 Poland | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 22.22% |
| Portugal | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 20% |
| Romania | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Russia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Samoa | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Serbia and Montenegro | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 87.5% |
 Slovenia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% |
| Spain | 12 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 8.33% |
 Sweden | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 66.67% |
 Switzerland | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 62.5% |
 Tunisia | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 20% |
 Ukraine | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40% |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| West Germany | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 66.67% |
 Zimbabwe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Total | 189 | 90 | 88 | 11 | 47.62% |
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 |
20-5 | ??? | European Nations Cup |
| 12 March 2011 | Gdynia, Poland | Poland |
21-28 | ??? | European Nations Cup |
| 19 March 2011 | Brussels | Germany |
28-25 | ??? | European Nations Cup |
| 23 April 2011 | Amsterdam | Netherlands |
30-18 | ??? | European Nations Cup |
| 5 November 2011 | Brussels | Czech Republic |
55-0 | ??? | European Nations Cup |
| 25 February 2012 | Brussels | Netherlands |
58-3 | ??? | European Nations Cup |
| 10 March 2012 | Chisinau | Moldova |
17-16 | ??? | European Nations Cup |
| 17 March 2012 | Heusenstamm | Germany |
30-29 | ??? | European Nations Cup |
| 7 April 2012 | Brussels | Poland |
20-13 | ??? | European Nations Cup |
| 3 November 2012 | Frameries | Armée française | 26-11 | ??? | Friendly |
| 8 December 2012 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates |
94-3 | ??? | 2012 Cup of Nations (rugby union) |
| 11 December 2012 | Dubai | Zimbabwe |
28-11 | ??? | 2012 Cup of Nations (rugby union) |
| 14 December 2012 | Dubai | Hong Kong |
24-12 | ??? | 2012 Cup of Nations (rugby union) |
| 2 February 2013 | Brussels | Georgia |
13-17 | ??? | European Nations Cup |
| 9 February 2013 | Brussels | Spain |
21-21 | ??? | European Nations Cup |
| 9 March 2013 | Brussels | Romania |
14-32 | 3500 | European Nations Cup |
See also
References
- ↑ International Rugby Board, World Rankings Analysis, http://www.irb.com/rankings/analysis/index.html
- ↑ International Rugby Board, World Rankings Analysis, http://www.irb.com/rankings/analysis/index.html
- ↑ "World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
External links
- http://www.rugbyevents.be
- Belgian Rugby Federation
- Belgium XV Official Games
- Belgium on rugbydata.com
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