Turkey national rugby league team

Turkey

Team information
Governing body	Turkish Rugby League Association
Region	Europe
Head coach	Scott Hartas
Captain	Arda Dalcik
Most caps	11 players (4)
Top try-scorers	Ali Bökeyhan Sürer (5) Arda Dalcik (5)
Top point-scorer	Ali Bökeyhan Sürer (50)
IRL ranking	34th
Team results
First international
Solomon Islands 22–30 Turkey (Windsor, Australia; 1 October 2018)
Biggest win
Japan 0–60 Turkey (St Marys, Australia; 4 October 2018)
Biggest defeat
Australian Defence Force 46–0 Turkey (Sydney, Australia; 25 April 2021)
World Cup
Appearances	0

The Turkey national rugby league team represents Turkey in international rugby league. The team played their first match in 2018.

History

The Turkish Rugby League Association was founded in 2016, however the team didn't play their first match until two years later. The side made their competition debut at the 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship in Sydney, defeating the Solomon Islands 30–22 in their first ever match. The team also beat Japan 60–0, qualifying them for the tournament's trophy stage. Here, they lost to the Philippines 29–16 in the semi-final before beating Vanuatu 27–26, winning thanks to a field goal from Adem Baskonyali and claiming seventh place at their inaugural competition.

In 2019, the team played their first match in Turkey, losing to Greece 38–24 at the Aysekadin Yerleskesi Futbol Stadium in Istanbul. They also lost to Malta 28–12 six weeks after.

Competitive record

Overall

Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Turkey at test level up until 25 September 2022:

Opponent	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Bulgaria	1	1	0	0	100%	38	16	+22
Greece	1	0	0	1	0%	24	38	-14
Japan	1	1	0	0	100%	60	0	+60
Malta	2	1	0	1	50%	48	40	+8
Netherlands	1	0	0	1	0%	18	40	−22
Philippines	1	0	0	1	0%	16	29	−13
Solomon Islands	1	1	0	0	100%	30	22	+8
Vanuatu	1	1	0	0	100%	27	26	+1
Total	9	5	0	4	56%	261	211	+50

Competitions

1. 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship
2. 2021 Rugby League European Championship D

Results

Year	Date	Result	Venue	City	Attendance	Competition	Report
2018	1 October	Turkey defeated Solomon Islands 30–22	Windsor Sporting Complex, Windsor	Sydney, Australia	750	2018 Emerging Nations World Championship
2018	4 October	Turkey defeated Japan 60–0	St. Marys Leagues Stadium, St. Marys	Sydney, Australia	500	2018 Emerging Nations World Championship
2018	10 October	Philippines defeated Turkey 29–16	New Era Stadium, Cabramatta	Sydney, Australia	450	2018 Emerging Nations World Championship Trophy play-off
2018	13 October	Turkey defeated Vanuatu 27–26	St. Marys Leagues Stadium, St. Marys	Sydney, Australia	250	2018 Emerging Nations World Championship 7th place
2019	14 September	Greece defeated Turkey 38–24	Aysekadin Yerleskesi Futbol Stadium	Istanbul, Turkey	150	International
2019	26 October	Malta defeated Turkey 28–12	New Era Stadium, Cabramatta	Sydney, Australia	600	International
2021	25 April	Australian Defence Force defeated Turkey 46–0	Sydney Cricket Ground, Moore Park	Sydney, Australia		International
2021	14 October	Netherlands defeated Turkey 40–18	Huseyin Akar Tesisleri Stadium	Bodrum	500	2021 European D Championship
2021	17 October	Turkey defeated Malta 36–12	Huseyin Akar Tesisleri Stadium	Bodrum		2021 European D Championship
2022	25 September	Turkey defeated Bulgaria 38–16				International

IRL Rankings

IRL Men's World Rankings
Official rankings as of 30 June 2024
Rank	Change	Team	Pts %
1		Australia	100
2		New Zealand	82
3		England	80
4		Samoa	67
5		Tonga	49
6	1	Fiji	47
7	1	Papua New Guinea	46
8		France	28
9		Lebanon	22
10		Cook Islands	20
11		Serbia	19
12		Netherlands	17
13		Italy	15
14	1	Greece	15
15	1	Malta	14
16		Ireland	14
17		Wales	13
18		Jamaica	10
19		Scotland	9
20		Ukraine	7
21		Czech Republic	7
22		Germany	6
23	3	Chile	6
24		Poland	6
25	3	Norway	6
26	1	Kenya	5
27	4	Philippines	5
28	3	South Africa	4
29		Nigeria	4
30		Ghana	4
31	2	United States	4
32	4	Montenegro	4
33	2	Brazil	3
34	2	Turkey	3
35	7	North Macedonia	3
36	2	Bulgaria	3
37	2	Cameroon	2
38	1	Spain	2
39	1	Japan	1
40	1	Albania	1
41	5	Canada	1
42	2	Colombia	1
43	2	El Salvador	1
44	1	Morocco	1
45		Russia	0
46	2	Sweden	0
47	2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0
48	2	Hungary	0
49	3	Argentina	0
50		Hong Kong	0
51	3	Solomon Islands	0
52	5	Niue	0
53	1	Latvia	0
54	1	Denmark	0
55	6	Belgium	0
56	1	Estonia	0
57	6	Vanuatu	0
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

See also

• Rugby union in Turkey
• Turkey national rugby union team
• Turkey women's national rugby league team
• Turkey women's national rugby union team