Belgium national rugby union team

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Belgium
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Diables Noirs / Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils)
UnionBelgian Rugby Union
Head coachLaurent Dossat
CaptainJens Torfs
Most capsAlan Williams (68)
Top scorerAlan Williams (736)
Top try scorerJulien Berger (15)
Home stadiumVarious
First
colours
Second
colours
World Rugby ranking
Current26 (as of 5 February 2024)
Highest21 (2012, 2013)
Lowest55 (2004)
First international
 Netherlands 6–6 Belgium 
(Amsterdam, Netherlands; 13 March 1932)
Biggest win
 United Arab Emirates 3–94 Belgium 
(Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 8 December 2012)
Biggest defeat
 Romania 83–5 Belgium 
(Bucharest, Romania; 19 April 1996)
Websitewww.rugby.be

The Belgium national rugby union team (French: Équipe de Belgique de rugby à XV) (Dutch: Belgisch nationaal rugbyteam) represents Belgium in men's international rugby union competitions, nicknamed Diables Noirs / Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils). They are yet to participate in a Rugby World Cup and currently compete in the first division of the Rugby Europe International Championships, which they have been playing in since 2023. Rugby union in Belgium is administered by the Belgian Rugby Federation.

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.

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. Currently, Belgium plays in the top division of the Rugby Europe International Championships.

Jacques Rogge, the former 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
  • 2007 - Did not qualify
  • 2011 - Did not qualify
  • 2015 - Did not qualify
  • 2019 - Did not qualify
  • 2023 - Did not qualify

Current squad

Belgium's 23-man squad for their November international match against Canada on 13 November 2021.

  • Head Coach: England Mike Ford
  • Note - Players in Italics denotes uncapped players.

Record

Top 30 as of 18 March 2024[1]
Rank Change* Team Points
1 Steady  South Africa 094.54
2 Steady  Ireland 090.69
3 Steady  New Zealand 089.80
4 Steady  France 087.92
5 Steady  England 085.75
6 Steady  Scotland 082.82
7 Steady  Argentina 080.68
8 Increase1  Italy 079.41
9 Increase1  Australia 077.48
10 Decrease2  Wales 077.26
11 Steady  Fiji 076.38
12 Steady  Japan 074.27
13 Steady  Georgia 074.02
14 Steady  Samoa 072.23
15 Increase1  Tonga 071.57
16 Decrease1  Portugal 070.28
17 Steady  
United States
067.94
18 Steady  Uruguay 067.39
19 Steady  Spain 064.37
20 Steady  Romania 061.66
21 Steady  Canada 060.90
22 Steady  Namibia 060.56
23 Steady  Chile 060.49
24 Steady  Hong Kong 059.80
25 Steady  Russia 058.06
26 Steady   Switzerland 057.44
27 Steady  Netherlands 057.29
28 Increase1  Belgium 055.89
29 Decrease1  Brazil 055.37
30 Increase1  Korea 053.46
* Change from the previous week
Belgium's historical rankings
See or edit source data.
Source: World Rugby[1]
Graph updated to 4 March 2024

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Belgium national XV at test level up until 2 March 2024.

Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win %
 Armenia 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Barbarians 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Brazil 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Canada 3 0 3 0 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 0.0%
 Georgia 7 0 7 0 0.0%
 Germany 13 6 6 1 46.15%
 Hong Kong 4 1 3 0 25%
 Italy 2 0 2 0 0.0%
 Latvia 2 1 1 0 50%
 Lithuania 3 3 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 48 23 21 4 47.92%
 Poland 14 5 9 0 35.71%
 Portugal 17 4 11 2 23.53%
 Romania 11 0 11 0 0.0%
 Russia 7 1 6 0 14.29%
 Samoa 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 
Serbia and Montenegro
8 7 1 0 87.5%
 Slovenia 3 2 1 0 66.67%
 Spain 17 2 14 1 11.76%
 Sweden 12 8 4 0 66.67%
  Switzerland 9 5 4 0 55.56%
 Tunisia 5 1 3 1 20%
 Ukraine 6 3 3 0 50%
 United Arab Emirates 1 1 0 0 100%
 Uruguay 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 West Germany 6 4 1 1 66.67%
 Zimbabwe 1 1 0 0 100.0%
Total 248 104 132 12 41.94%
Germany playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2007 Rugby World Cup
Poland playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2011 Rugby World Cup

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Men's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 18 March 2024.

External links