Vanuatu national rugby league team

Vanuatu
Badge of Vanuatu team
Team information
Governing bodyVanuatu Rugby League
RegionAsia-Pacific
Head coachLionel Harbin
CaptainJames Wood
Home stadiumPort Vila Municipal Stadium
IRL ranking51st
Team results
First international
 Vanuatu 14–24 Greece 
(Port Vila, Vanuatu; 20 October 2012)
Biggest win
 Vanuatu 48–30 Solomon Islands 
(Mackay, Australia; 7 October 2013)
Biggest defeat
 Vanuatu 16–32 Philippines 
(Luganville, Vanuatu; 11 October 2014)
World Cup
Appearances0

The Vanuatu national rugby league team represents Vanuatu in international rugby league matches. The team was founded in 2011 and is administered by the Vanuatu Rugby League (VRL).

History

The Vanuatu national team was founded in 2011 after Australian Dane Campbell began to promote rugby league in Vanuatu.[1] Campbell was the inaugural head coach of the team. They played their first match in the Cabramatta International Nines on 4 February 2012. Joe Meninga, nephew of Mal Meninga, was selected in Vanuatu's squad for the tournament.[2] The team were undefeated in reaching the final, where they lost to the Australian Aboriginal team.

Vanuatu played their first test match against Greece on 20 October 2012, which they lost 14-24.[3][4] On 20 August 2013, David Simpson was announced as head coach, succeeding the inaugural head coach Dane Campbell.[5]

Current squad

Squad selected for the 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship;[6]

  • Avia Allen
  • Amani Arutahiki
  • Rob Franklin
  • Maxwell Garae Ngatonga
  • Ben Henderson
  • Patrick Jack
  • Stanley Joseph
  • Anro Kalpukai
  • Daniel Kaltapang
  • Andrew Kaltongga
  • Salitasi Lolo
  • Ben Lui
  • Danford Lui
  • Tonny Lui
  • Alehana Mara
  • Alickson Napakaurana
  • Potefa Nishina
  • Kalsauma Oscar
  • Alex Philip
  • Dominique Sablan
  • Max Taleo
  • Stephen Tanga
  • Daniel Wood
  • James Wood

International results

Date Opponent Score Venue Attendance Note
20 October 2012  Greece 14-24 Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila Friendly
7 October 2013  Solomon Islands 48-30 Stadium Mackay, Mackay 1,648 Friendly
12 October 2013  Niue 22-20 Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila 3,022 Friendly
11 October 2014  Philippines 16-32 Chapius Stadium, Luganville 2,021 Friendly
16 October 2016  Solomon Islands 24-16 Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila 1,000 Friendly
4 October 2018  Hungary 18-13 St.Marys League Stadium, Sydney 300 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship
7 October 2018  Greece 38-0 Kellyville Ridge Stadium, Sydney 130 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship
10 October 2018  Poland 44-4 New Era Stadium, Sydney 170 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship

All-time results record and ranking

  • v
  • t
  • e
Official rankings as of 21 December 2023
Rank Change Team Pts %
1 Steady  Australia 100.00
2 Steady  New Zealand 91.00
3 Increase 1  England 74.00
4 Decrease 1  Samoa 70.00
5 Steady  Tonga 54.00
6 Steady  Papua New Guinea 50.00
7 Steady  Fiji 49.00
8 Increase 1  France 24.00
9 Decrease 1  Lebanon 24.00
10 Increase 3  Cook Islands 22.00
11 Decrease 1  Serbia 19.00
12 Increase 6  Netherlands 17.00
13 Increase 1  Italy 15.00
14 Increase 5  Malta 15.00
15 Increase 1  Greece 14.00
16 Decrease 4  Ireland 14.00
17 Decrease 6  Wales 13.00
18 Decrease 3  Jamaica 10.00
19 Decrease 2  Scotland 9.00
20 Increase 8  Ukraine 7.00
21 Increase 6  Czech Republic 7.00
22 Decrease 1  Germany 6.00
23 Increase 10  Philippines 6.00
24 Increase 5  Poland 6.00
25 Increase 1  South Africa 5.00
26 Decrease 4  Chile 5.00
27 Increase 4  Kenya 0.00
28 Increase 6  Norway 4.00
29 Decrease 6  Nigeria 4.00
30 Decrease 6  Ghana 4.00
31 Decrease 6  Brazil 4.00
32 Decrease 12  Turkey 3.00
33 Increase 4  United States 3.00
34 Increase 1  Bulgaria 3.00
35 Decrease 5  Cameroon 2.00
36 Increase 2  Montenegro 2.00
37 Decrease 5  Spain 2.00
38 Increase 6  Japan 1.00
39 New entry  Albania 1.00
40 Decrease 4  Colombia 1.00
41 Increase 6  El Salvador 1.00
42 New entry  North Macedonia 1.00
43 Decrease 1  Morocco 1.00
44 Decrease 3  Sweden 0.00
45 Steady  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.00
46 Decrease 3  Canada 0.00
47 New entry  Niue 0.00
48 Decrease 9  Solomon Islands 0.00
49 Decrease 1  Belgium 0.00
50 Decrease 10  Hungary 0.00
51 Decrease 5  Vanuatu 0.00
52 Decrease 3  Argentina 0.00
53 Decrease 3  Denmark 0.00
54 Decrease 3  Latvia 0.00
55 New entry  Estonia 0.00
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

Below is a list Vanuatu national team record as of 23 December 2020.[7]

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost Win % For Aga Diff
 Greece 2 0 0 2 0% 14 64 –50
 Hungary 1 0 0 1 0% 13 18 –5
 Niue 1 1 0 0 100% 22 20 +2
 Philippines 1 0 0 1 0% 16 32 –16
 Poland 1 0 0 1 0% 4 44 –40
 Solomon Islands 3 3 0 0 100% 112 65 +47
 Turkey 1 0 0 1 100% 26 27 –1
Total 10 4 0 6 40% 207 270 –63

Current players of Ni-Vanuatu descent

See also

  • Sports portal

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2011-12-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Vanuatu Rugby League announces national team". Vanuatu Daily Post. 19 December 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Rugby League Planet - Greece defeat Vanuatu in Port Vila". rugbyleagueplanet.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26.
  4. ^ Bryan, Andrew (6 November 2012). "Lazarus' Greek Odyssey". NRL.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  5. ^ "New Squad and Coach announced". VanuatuRL.com. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  6. ^ https://www.rlenwc.com/teams/vanuatu/ Vanuatu RLENWC
  7. ^ "Head to Head". Rugby League Planet. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Alehana Mara happy to help Vanuatu in long-term World Cup quest". Radio New Zealand. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2016.

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