RUGBY LEAGUE NATION

 

 

Foundation Year - 1908

International Team - Dragons

Highest finish in World Cup - Semi Final (1995, 2000)

Top level domestic competition - 9 teams play in the Wales Conference. The Celtic Crusaders participate in the European Super League. The South Wales Scorpions play in the Co-Operative Championship One.

History - Welsh players have a long history of travelling over to the north of England to earn money playing rugby league. Wales played the touring New Zealand All Golds in January of 1908 in the first ever rugby league test match of its kind.

The Welsh have played in the European Nations Cup since it's inception back in 1935. They have been fairly successful in the tournament winning the Euro Cup four times. In 1975 Wales played in their first ever World Cup. The Welsh were grouped with Australia, New Zealand, England and France. To the surprise of many Wales won three of their eight games and finished 3rd overall.

In 1995 Wales played in their first Rugby League World Cup since 1975. The Welsh were grouped with Samoa and France. With the likes of Jonathan Davies in the ranks the Welsh team went through the group stages undefeated. In the semi-final Wales meet England in a highly entertaining game. It wasn't to be for the Welsh as they narrowly lost to England 25 -10.

In the 2000 World Cup Wales were grouped with New Zealand, Lebanon and the Cook Islands. The First game saw Wales easily account for the Cook Islands 38 - 6. In Wales second group game they just defeated Lebanon 24 -22. The following week New Zealand proved why they would later play in the final by handing Wales a rugby league lesson winning 58 - 18. The Welsh bounced back a week later in the Quarter Final to defeat Papua New Guinea 22 - 8 and booked a place in the semi finals. The Dragons meet the Kangaroos in the Semi-final. Wales nearly pulled of the upset of the tournament when the went into the half time break leading Australia. It was all to good to be true and the Kangaroos raced back in the second half eventually winning the game 46 - 22.

Wales kicked of their 2008 World Cup qualifying campaign in 2006. In a major upset Wales lost against Scotland in the first qualifying game 21 - 14. In the return match in 2007 Wales defeated Scotland 18 -16. Unfortunately for the Welsh the for and against tally was in Scotland's favour. Wales were forced to enter the repechage rounds to qualify for the remaining place in the World Cup. Wales faced Lebanon in the repechage game but could not match the enthusiasm of the Lebanese losing 50 - 26. Wales were bundled out of the qualifiers and failed to qualify for their 3rd consecutive World Cup appearance.

In 2008 Wales were ranked 6th in European seedings by the Rugby League European Federation (RLEF).

Since the birth of the Celtic Crusaders in 2006 rugby league in Wales has made great strides. At the beginning of 2009 Wales had over 114 schools in South Wales that played rugby league with a record number of participants. Media exposure of Rugby League in Wales has increased significantly since 2006.

In early 2009 Wales were ranked 12th in World seedings by the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF)

The Celtic Crusaders have been playing in Super League since 2009 and have a 3 year licence in the top league. This is great news for Welsh rugby league and the international game in general. Wales will now be able to build towards the 2013 Rugby League World Cup by bringing Welsh Juniors through the ranks. Since the introduction of the Celtic Crusaders the amount of league teams in Wales has grown from 9 to 100 in just over 3 years. The Crusaders relocated to Wrexham in 2010 with a new team called the South Wales Scorpions starting off in Championship One. This will help bridge the gap between the Wales Conference and Super League and hopefully assist Wales in their quest to qualify for the 2011 Four Nations and the 2013 World Cup.

In late 2009 Wales participated in the European Cup competition along side Lebanon, Ireland, Scotland, Serbia and Italy. Wales won the European Cup competition after defeating Scotland 28 - 16 in the Final. By finishing 1st Wales have secured their place in the 2010 European Nations Cup. The 2010 version will see the winner qualify as the 4th team in the 2011 Four Nations series due to be played in the northern hemisphere.

Dear Readers, If you have first hand knowledge of the current Rugby League situation in Wales we would love to hear from you. Please email us at: webmaster@rugbyleagueplanet.com or join our international rugby league Forums at http://forums.rugbyleagueplanet.com and let us all know what's going on in your part of the world.

Nov 8th Wales 28 - Scotland 16 (European Cup Final)

Nov 1st Wales 42 - Ireland 12 (European Cup)

Oct 24th Serbia 8 - Wales 88 (European Cup)

Oct 17th England 48 - Wales 12 (Test)