Belgium national rugby union team

Union

Belgian Rugby Federation

Nickname(s)

Zwarte Duivels / Diables Noirs (Black Devils)

President

Michel Coric

Coach(es)

Guillaume Ajac

Captain(s)

Thomas Demolder

Top scorer

Alan Williams (625)

1st kit

2nd kit

First match

Belgium 6 - 6 Netherlands

(13 March 1932)

Largest win

Belgium 94 - 3 UAE

(8 December 2012)

Largest defeat

Spain 77 - 0 Belgium

(8 December 1996)

Germany playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2007 Rugby World Cup

Poland playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2011 Rugby World Cup

The Belgium national rugby union team represents Belgium in international rugby competitions. Rugby union in Belgium is administered by the Belgian Rugby Federation. Belgium have been ranked in the Top 30 since 2010.^[1]

Belgium have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Belgium participates in the European Nations Cup (the second tier of European International competitions, the Six Nations being the most important one).

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.^[2]

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. They gained promotion to the ENC 1A for the 2012-14 competition, where they play against sides such as Spain, Portugal, and the latest 2011 Rugby World Cup participants, Romania, Georgia and Russia.

Jacques Rogge, the current International Olympic Committee president, was a member of the Belgium national team.

Rugby World Cup qualification

Current Team

2016-2017

Player's name	Club	Club standings
FRONT ROW
Christophe Debaty	Luik	BEL D2
Thomas Dienst	Ottignies	BEL D1
Lucas Sotteau	Oloron	FR FED 2
Alexis Cuffolo	CS Beaune	FR FED 2
Max Dubois	Soignies	BEL D1
Maxime Jadot	RC Vannes	FR PRO D2
Martin Jessen	USAPerpignan	FR PRO D2
Sep De Backer	Dendermonde	BEL D1
Julien Massimi	Asub Waterloo	BEL D1
Cian Cauwenberghs	Kituro	BEL D1
SECOND ROW
Mathieu Verschelden	RC Tricastin	FR FED 1
Tuur Moelants	Asub Waterloo	BEL D1
Julien Penders	The Dukes	Ned D1
Bertrand Billi	Soignies	BEL D1
Sydney Mulumba	Villefranche de Lauragais	FR FED 2
Brieuc Corradi	dijon	FR FED 1
THIRD ROW
Gillian Benoy	Dendermonde	BEL D1
Michael Abrahams	Kituro	BEL D1
Alec Maloir	Narbonne	PRO D2
Paul Edouard Van Laer	Nice	FR FED 1
Esteban Thewissen	Stade Toulousain	FR TOP 14
Baptiste Lescaboura	Kituro	BEL D1
Thomas De Molder	grasse	FR FED 1
Amin Hamzaoui	Angoulême	PRO D2
Tom Coupé	Dendermonde	BEL D1
Thomas Vervoort	La Seyne Sur Mer	FR FED 1
Sven D'hooghe	Racing Métro 92	FR TOP 14
Clément Veeckman	Hagetmau	FR FED 2
SCRUM-HALVES
Julien Berger	Provence Rugby	FR PRO D2
Tom Cocqu	Aubenas	FR FED 1
FLY-HALVES
Kevin Williams	Asub Waterloo	BEL D1
Sebastien Guns	Ottignies	BEL D1
Bruno Lancelle	Hyeres	FR FED 2
Kevin Dams	Asub Waterloo	BEL D1
CENTRES
Florian Piron	Chartres	FR FED 2
Nathan Bontems	Racin Métro 92	FR TOP 14
Guillaume Brébant	Frameries	BEL D1
Bram Coupé	Terhulpen	BEL D1
Bjorn Van zyl	Terhulpen	BEL D1
Jens Torfs	USAPerpignan	FR PRO D2
Guillaume Piron	Colomiers	FR PRO D2
Simon Causse	Villeurbanne	FR FED 1
Florent debatty	Soignies	BEL D1
Hendrik Brouwers	Arras	FR FED 2
BACKS
Charles Reynaert	Racing Métro 92	FR TOP 14
Ervin Muric	Asub Waterloo	BEL D1
Loic Lechien	Bosvoorde	BEL D1
Marc Tchangué	USAPerpignan	FR PRO D2
Louis Debatty	Soignies	BEL D1
Dirk Hagedoorn	Agde	FR FED 1
Tornike Megredlize	Soignies	BEL D1
Thomas Brouillard	Ottignies	BEL D1
Thomas Wallraff	Bordeaux-Bègles	FR PRO D2
Nicolas Meeus	Buenos Aires
Alan Williams	US cognac	FR FED 1

Record

Overall

World Rugby Rankings
Top 30 rankings as of 5 December 2016^[3]
Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		New Zealand	94.78
2		England	89.84
3		Australia	86.97
4		Ireland	84.62
5	1	Wales	82.55
6	1	South Africa	81.79
7		Scotland	80.67
8		France	80.13
9		Argentina	79.91
10		Fiji	76.46
11		Japan	74.22
12		Georgia	74.14
13		Italy	72.47
14	1	Tonga	71.94
15	1	Samoa	71.25
16		Romania	69.36
17		United States	64.66
18		Canada	63.95
19		Russia	63.25
20		Namibia	62.78
21		Uruguay	60.66
22		Spain	60.17
23		Kenya	59.28
24		Germany	58.99
25		Portugal	56.97
26		Belgium	56.87
27		Hong Kong	56.50
28		South Korea	55.50
29		Chile	55.08
30		Netherlands	54.93
*Change from the previous week

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win percentage
Armenia	1	0	1	0	0%
Canada	1	0	1	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%
Germany	10	4	5	1	40%
Hong Kong	1	1	0	0	100%
Italy	2	0	2	0	0%
Latvia	2	1	1	0	50%
Lithuania	2	2	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	45	23	18	4	51.11%
Poland	9	2	7	0	22.22%
Portugal	10	2	6	2	20%
Romania	2	0	2	0	0%
Russia	1	0	1	0	0%
Samoa	1	0	1	0	0%
Serbia and Montenegro	8	7	1	0	87.5%
Slovenia	3	2	1	0	66.67%
Spain	12	1	11	0	8.33%
Sweden	12	8	4	0	66.67%
Switzerland	8	5	3	0	62.5%
Tunisia	5	1	3	1	20%
Ukraine	5	2	3	0	40%
United Arab Emirates	1	1	0	0	100%
West Germany	6	4	1	1	66.67%
Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0	100%
Total	189	90	88	11	47.62%

References

↑ International Rugby Board, World Rankings Analysis, http://www.irb.com/rankings/analysis/index.html
↑ International Rugby Board, World Rankings Analysis, http://www.irb.com/rankings/analysis/index.html
↑ "World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 5 December 2016.

External links

Rugby union in Belgium

Governing body	Belgian Rugby Federation

National teams	Belgium Women's 7's

Competitions	Belgian Elite League Belgian Cup Belgian Super Cup Four Nations European Nations Cup (rugby union)

International rugby union teams

Tier 1 teams	Argentina Australia England France Ireland Italy New Zealand Scotland South Africa Wales

Tier 2 teams	Canada Fiji Georgia Japan Namibia Portugal Romania Russia Samoa Spain Tonga United States Uruguay

Tier 3 (Development One) teams	Belgium Brazil Chile Germany Hong Kong Ivory Coast Kenya South Korea Zimbabwe

Tier 3 (Development Two) teams	American Samoa Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Barbados Bermuda Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Cayman Islands China Chinese Taipei Colombia Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Finland Ghana Greece Guam Guyana Hungary India Indonesia Iran Israel Jamaica Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malaysia Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Moldova Monaco Mongolia Morocco Netherlands Nigeria Niue Norway Pakistan Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Rwanda Senegal Serbia Singapore Slovenia Solomon Islands Sri Lanka St Lucia St Vincent and the Grenadines Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Tahiti Tanzania Thailand Togo Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Zambia

French Rugby Federation	Mayotte Réunion Guadeloupe Martinique New Caledonia Wallis and Futuna

Non-affiliated to World Rugby	Algeria Benin Burkina Faso Catalonia Central Africa Chad Congo Curaçao Democratic Republic of the Congo Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Egypt Estonia Gabon Gibraltar Guatemala Jordan Lebanon Libya Macau Montenegro Niger Panama Qatar San Marino Slovakia St. Kitts and Nevis Turkey Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu

Combination teams	African Leopards British and Irish Lions Pacific Islanders South American XV

Defunct teams	Arabian Gulf Commonwealth of Independent States Czechoslovakia East Africa East Germany Nyasaland (Malawi) Soviet Union Wallis and Futuna West Germany Yugoslavia

National sports teams of Belgium

Bandy Baseball Basketball F M F-U19 F-U17 F-3x3 M-U19 M-U17 M-3x3 Beach soccer Bobsleigh Cricket F M Cyclo-cross Field hockey F M Football F M M-U15 M-U16 M-U17 M-U18 M-U19 M-U20 M-U21 M-U22 M-U23 Futsal Gymnastics Handball F M Ice hockey F M F-U18 M-U20 Korfball Pitch and putt F M Racquetball Road bicycle racing Rugby league Rugby union F M F7's M7's Softball F M Squash M F Tennis F M Volleyball F M Water polo F M

Olympic Games Paralympic Games European Games

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