Serbia national rugby league team

Serbia

Team information
Nickname	White Eagles (Beli orlovi)
Governing body	Serbian Rugby League
Region	Europe
Head coach	Stuart G. Wilkinson
Captain
Most caps	Zoran Pešić (28)
Home stadium	Makiš Stadium, Belgrade
IRL ranking	17th
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First international
Lebanon 102–0 Serbia  (19 October 2003)
Biggest win
Germany 6–90 Serbia  (22 April 2011)
Biggest defeat
France 120–0 Serbia  (22 October 2003)

The Serbia national rugby league team represents Serbia in the sport of rugby league football and has been participating in international competition since 2003.

Serbian Rugby League was reborn on 10 November 2001, after 40 years of non existence, due to the Yugoslav Communist dictatorship banning the game in the mid 1960s, because they favoured Rugby Union, which Croatia was playing at the time.

Rugby League was first played in Serbia in 1953. The Re-Birth of Serbian Rugby League occurred in 2001 with the new federation been formed , two years later the national team would start competing for the first ever time under the name Serbia.

History[]

1950s–1960s[]

Rugby League was first played in Serbia in 1953 when it was introduced by Dragan Marsicevic, secretary of the Yugoslav Sport Association.^{[citation needed]} Two French teams toured later that year, and in 1954 the clubs Partizan and Radnički were formed. These clubs played their first match on 26 April 1954. In 1961 a Yugoslav Rugby League team played its only game against a French Select XIII team in Banja Luka. The French team won 13–0. The sport died out soon afterwards due to the communist regime banning the sport.^{[citation needed]}

2000s[]

The rebirth of Serbian Rugby League Federation was on 10 November 2001 with the new federation been formed. There is now an eight team domestic competition between Dorcol Spiders, Morava Cheetahs, Red Star Belgrade, Belgrade University, Radnički Nova Pazova, Tsar Lazar, Soko, Stari Grad, and Niš.

Serbia has participated in the Mediterranean Cup competition in 2003 and 2004. Serbia won the 2006 and 2007 Slavic Cup after beating Czech Republic 36–28 in Prague and 56–16 in Belgrade, respectively.

2008 World Cup Qualifying[]

See also 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying

Serbia failed to qualify for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, losing to Holland, Russia and Georgia in 2006, to be eliminated from the qualification process. Serbia won the 2007 and 2010 European Shield tournaments, by beating both Germany and Czech Republic on both occasions. Serbia took part in then European 2nd tier competition Euro Med Challenge in 2008. After being defeated 4-30 by Russia in Novi Sad and 14-20 by Lebanon in Bhamdoun, Serbs finished third. Serbia was a participant in the 2009 European Cup, having been drawn in a group alongside Wales and Ireland.

2013 World Cup Qualifying[]

Serbia participated in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers in October 2011. They played games against Italy, Lebanon and Russia, but were defeated in all three matches and so were ultimately unsuccessful in qualification for the tournament.

2014 Balkans Cup[]

Serbia participated in the inaugural Balkans Cup tournament held in their own country. Serbia finished second in the tournament after a defeat to Greece who had a full squad of Australian born players in the final.^[1]

2017 World Cup qualifying[]

Serbia participated in the qualification for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. The first stage of qualifying involved having to finish in the top three in their 2014–15 European Shield competition. During their qualification, Serbia created history after beating Russia for their first ever time on their eighth time of asking.^[2]

The final qualification tournament consisted of six teams: the top three teams from the European B tournament, the winners of the European C tournament and seeded nations Wales and Ireland. The tournament featured two groups of three teams playing in a single round-robin format. The winners of each group qualified for the World Cup, while the runners-up faced each other in a play-off match on 5 November 2016 to determine the final spot. A seeded draw took place to determine the groups on 5 November 2015. Serbia were placed in Group A. They took on Wales on 15 October 2016, in Llanelli Wales and Italy in Belgrade on 22 October for a place in the 2017 World Cup.^[3]

In the lead up to the World Cup qualifiers, Serbia played Spain in Valencia and ran out 64-4 winners a dominant display in the first ever meeting between these two nations.^[4]

In the first World Cup qualifier against a Wales side full of Super League and Championship players, Serbia lost, 50–0, proving that there is still a long way to go but that there was some slight improvement from last time the two nations meet in 2009 when Serbia lost 88–8.^[5]

In the second and final game of World Cup qualifying Serbia needed victory over Italy to send them through to a one-game playoff against Russia but lost the game at the Maksis Stadium in Belgrade, 14–62, which was a result against an Italian team with many NRL and English Super League players who were Australians of Italian heritage.^[6] On 10 November 2016, 15 years was celebrated since the re-forming of Serbian Rugby League a milestone occasion.^[7]

2021 World Cup qualifying[]

Serbia were eliminated very early in qualifying , but caught a lucky break when Russian Rugby League Federation were disqualified due to internal issues. Serbia reluctantly took Russia's place in the final stages of qualifying but were easily eliminated losing on the 26th October 2019 to Scotland 86–0 in Glasgow , then losing the deciding match in Belgrade to Greece on 9 November 2019 by another embarrassing score-line of 6–82. Embarrassed in the last stage of qualifying , Serbian Rugby League Board realised the national team was a long way off the worlds best and would have to go back to the drawing board and focus their efforts on growing the game at junior level to improve national team results in the long run. 2021 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers;^[8]

Current squad[]

Squad selected for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers;^[9]

• James Mirceski
• Jai Smith
• Matthew Dragisic
• Nick Cotric
• Jason Muranka
• Aleksandar Pavlovic
• Ilija Radan
• Tom Opacic
• Bradley Deitz
• Dario Abidinovic
• Dragan Jankovic
• Dusan Milutinovic
• Dzavid Jasari
• Mihajilo Stojiljkovic
• Nikola Srbljanin
• Vlado Kusic
• Ilija Cotric
• Bogdan Raicevic
• Mihailo Tomic
• Vuk Tomic
• Djordje Stefanovic
• Djordje Stosic
• Filip Stosic
• Lazar Zivkovic
• Mihajlo Jovic
• Stefan Arsic
• Aleksandar Djordjevic
• Denis Cengaj
• Marko Jankovic
• Milos Zogovic
• Nikola Djuric
• Petar Milanovic
• Predrag Keglic
• Rajko Trifunovic
• Stefan Nedeljkovic
• Vladislav Dedic
• Vojislav Dedic
• Jordan Grant
• Zane Bijorac
• Daniel Marjanovic
• Aleksa Radic
• Andrej Mora
• Nikola Pesterac
• Relja Petrovic
• Stevan Stevanovic
• Milos Calic
• Vladica Nikolic
• Ilija Krstic
• Vladimir Milutinovic
• Daniel Burke
• Ben Stevanovic
• Paul Momirovski
• Rajko Jankovic

2021 Player Pool[]

• Bradley Deitz (Bulldogs)
• Nick Cotric (Bulldogs)
• Paul Momirovski (Panthers)
• Tom Opacic (Eels)
• Ben Trbojevic (Sea Eagles)
• Jake Trbojevic (Sea Eagles)
• Tom Trbojevic (Sea Eagles)
• Jordan Grant (Storm)

Past coaches[]

Also see Category:Serbia national rugby league team coaches.

Youth national teams[]

Serbian youth national teams permanently compete in European cups from 2006. Their first appearance was in France during Under 19s European Nations Cup. They finished 6th after dying minutes defeat by Scotland Under 19s.

In 2007, Serbia hosted Under 16s European Nations Cup. Win over Russia Under 16s in group stage secured match for the 3rd place, but Serbia Under 16s eventually lost 20-22 by Euro Celts Under 16s and finished 4th.

In 2008 Serbia attended Under 18s European Nations Cup in Czech Republic. Ireland Under 18s beat Serbia Under 18s in preliminaries and send them to European Nation Shield semifinals, where they beat Euro Celts Under 18s and qualify for the Shield final. In the most indecisive game of the tournament, Serbs finally lost to Scots after golden point extra time (second extra time) and won 6th place.

In 2009, Serbia hosted Under 16s European Championships for the second time. Serbia Under 16s failed to win a game in the European Shield part of the competition. The both, Euro Celts Under 16s (composed of Irish, Russian, Welsh, Czech, Serbian and French players) and Scotland Under 16s defeated Serbia Under 16s on their home soil and Serbs finished 6th.

Competitive Record[]

Overall[]

Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Serbia at test level up until 14 January 2021:

Opponent	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	1	0	0	100%	50	4	+46
Bulgaria	1	1	0	0	100%	50	20	+30
Canada	1	1	0	0	100%	36	8	+28
Czech Republic	4	3	0	1	75%	158	66	+92
France†	3	0	0	3	0%	12	206	–194
Georgia	2	0	0	2	0%	22	89	–67
Greece	4	1	0	3	25%	104	184	–80
Germany	5	4	0	1	80%	238	61	+177
Hungary	1	1	0	0	100%	50	0	+50
Ireland	2	0	0	2	0%	16	106	–90
Italy	7	3	0	4	42.86%	144	226	–82
Lebanon	4	0	0	4	0%	24	282	–258
Morocco	3	0	1	2	0%	30	122	–92
Netherlands	3	0	0	3	0%	50	88	–38
Philippines	1	0	0	1	0%	12	18	–6
Russia	8	1	0	7	12.5%	112	226	–114
Scotland	1	0	0	1	0%	0	86	–86
Spain	2	2	0	0	100%	88	24	+64
Ukraine	3	3	0	0	100%	114	22	+92
Wales	2	0	0	2	0%	8	138	–130
Total	57	20	1	36	35.09%	1,268	1,972	–704

†Includes matches played against the France Espoirs side.^[10]

World Cup[]

World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	D
1954	Did not enter
1957
1960
1968
1970
1972
1975
1977
1985-88
1989-92
1995
2000
2008	Failed to Qualify
2013
2017
2021
Total	0 Titles	0/14	0	0	0	0

European Championship[]

European Championship record
Year**	Division	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L
2007	B	Champions	1st	2	2	0	0
2009	A	Fifth Place	5th	2	0	0	2
2010	B	Champions	1st	2	2	0
2012-13	B	Third Place	3rd	6	2	0	4
2014-15	B	Champions	1st	6	5	0	1
2018	B	Third Place	3rd	2	1	1	0
2020	B			0	0	0	0
Total	—
Champions    Runners-up    Promoted    Relegated

Balkans Cup[]

Balkans Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	D
2014	Second place	2/4	2	1	1	0
2017	Champions	1/3	2	2	0	0
	to be determined
Total	1 Titles	2/2	4	3	1	0

Rankings[]

IRL World Rankings v t
Official Men's Rankings as of July 2021
Rank	Change*	Team	Pts%
1	2	New Zealand
2	1	Australia
3	1	England
4		Tonga
5		Fiji
6	4	Papua New Guinea
7		Samoa
8	2	France
9	1	Scotland
10	1	Lebanon
11	5	Greece
12		Ireland
13	1	Italy
14	3	Wales
15	4	Serbia
16	1	Malta
17	1	Norway
18	3	United States
19	4	Poland
20	7	Jamaica
21	1	Hungary
22	3	Czech Republic
23	5	Cook Islands
24	7	Turkey
25	1	Netherlands
26	4	Spain
27	6	Canada
28		Nigeria
29	2	Solomon Islands
30	10	Sweden
31	4	Germany
32	1	Chile
33		Ghana
34	16	Morocco
35	3	Vanuatu
36		South Africa
37	8	Russia
38		Cameroon
39	2	Ukraine
40	1	Colombia
41	4	Brazil
42		Belgium
43	4	Denmark
44	4	Bulgaria
45	4	Latvia
*Change from July 2019

Results[]

2000s[]

Date	Home	Score	Away	Competition	Venue	Attendance
19 October 2003	Lebanon	102-0	Serbia	2003 Mediterranean Cup	Olympic Stadium, Tripoli
22 October 2003	France	120-0	Serbia		Municipal Stadium, Beirut
25 October 2003	Morocco	58-4	Serbia		Olympic Stadium, Tripoli
18 June 2006	Serbia	10-26	Netherlands	2005 European Nations Qualifiers	FK Radnički Novi Beograd, Belgrade
24 July 2005	Georgia	12-44	Serbia		Dinamo Stadium, Tbilisi	8,000

Test #	Date	Opponent	F	A	Venue	City	Crowd	Tour/Competition
48	9 November 2019	Greece	6	82	Makis Stadium	Belgrade
47	26 October 2019	Scotland	0	86	Lochinch Sports Ground	Glasgow
46	20 October 2018	Spain	24	20	Belgrade	Serbia
45	13 October 2018	Russia	18	36	Moscow	Russia
44	8 October 2017	Bulgaria	50	20		Belgrade	2017 Balkans Cup
43	8 October 2017	Greece	50	8	Belgrade	Belgrade
42	22 October 2016	Italy	14	62	Makis Stadium	Belgrade
41	15 October 2016	Wales	0	50	Wales	Wales
40	24 September 2016	Spain	64	4	Quatre Carreres	Valencia
39	5 February 2016	Philippines	12	18	New Era Stadium	Cabramatta
38	12 September 2015	Ukraine	64	4	Avanhard Stadium	Uzhhorod		2014/15 European Championship B
37	20 June 2015	Italy	21	14	Stadio comunale di Tegilo Veneto	Gemona del Friuli
36	22 May 2015	France	8	68	Stade Gilbert Brutus	Perpignan
35	16 May 2015	Russia	20	15	Makiš Stadium	Belgrade		2014/15 European Championship B
34	19 October 2014	Greece	50	22	Makiš Stadium	Belgrade		2014 Balkans Cup
33	17 October 2014	Hungary	50	0	Makiš Stadium	Belgrade
32	10 September 2014	Italy	45	6	Makiš Stadium	Belgrade		2014/15 European Championship B
31	21 June 2014	Russia	6	20	Nara Stadium	Naro-Fominsk
30	17 May 2014	Ukraine	40	14	Železničar Stadium	Niš	750
29	14 September 2013	Italy	20	32	Stadio Augusteo	Este		2012-13 European Shield
28	25 May 2013	Russia	10	24	Makiš Stadium	Belgrade
27	18 May 2013	Germany	46	10	Makiš Stadium	Belgrade
26	22 September 2012	Russia	20	21	Nara Stadium	Naro-Fominsk
25	6 September 2012	Italy	24	18	Makiš Stadium	Belgrade	600
24	12 May 2012	Germany	24	25	Fritz-Grunebaum Sportpark	Heidelberg
23	29 October 2011	Russia	28	36	Makiš Stadium	Belgrade		2013 World Cup Qualifiers - Europe
22	23 October 2011	Italy	6	52	Makiš Stadium	Belgrade
21	16 October 2011	Lebanon	4	96	Olympic Stadium	Tripoli
20	30 September 2011	Ukraine	10	4	Ada Ciganlija Stadium	Belgrade		Milan Kosanovic Cup
19	22 April 2011	Germany	90	6	TuS Hochspeyer	Kaiserslautern
18	July 2010	Germany	40	14	FK Radnički Novi Beograd	Belgrade	300	2010 European Shield – West
17	17 July 2010	Czech Republic	56	4	RK Petrovice	Prague	100
16	8 November 2009	Italy	14	42	Llynfi Road	Maesteg		2009 European Cup
15	25 October 2009	Wales	8	88	FK Smederevo Stadium	Smederevo	93
14	18 October 2009	Ireland	0	82	Spollanstown	Tullamore	295
13	5 October 2008	Lebanon	14	20	Municipal Stadium	Beirut	1,000	2008 Euro-Med Challenge
12	20 September 2008	Russia	4	30	FK Kabel	Novi Sad	500
11	18 August 2007	Czech Republic	56	16	FK Radnički Novi Beograd	Belgrade	650	2007 European Shield
10	7 July 2007	Germany	38	6	Fritz-Grunebaum Sportpark	Heidelberg	264
9	12 August 2006	Czech Republic	34	26	Ragbyove hřiště v Edenu	Prague		2006 Slavic Cup
8	17 June 2006	Netherlands	26	38	Rotterdamse RC Beekweg	Rotterdam	250	2008 World Cup Qualifying – Europe
7	4 June 2006	Russia	6	44	FK Radnički Novi Beograd	Belgrade	500
6	13 May 2006	Georgia	10	45	FK Radnički Novi Beograd	Belgrade	500

See also[]

• Rugby league in Serbia

References[]

{{://www.rlef.eu.com/fixtures?filters%5Bfixtures%5D%5Bcompetition_type%5D=&filters%5Bfixtures%5D%5Bteam%5D=Serbia&filters%5Bfixtures%5D%5Bsearch%5D=}}

External links[]

• [1]
• [2]