Belgium national rugby union team

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 (609)
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

• 1987 - Not invited
• 1991 - Did not qualify
• 1995 - Did not qualify
• 1999 - Did not qualify
• 2003 - Did not qualify. Finished last in 2001 Round 2 Pool B.
• 2007 - Did not qualify. Finished second behind Germany in 2005-06 Round 3A.
• 2011 - Did not qualify. Finished second behind Ukraine in 2008-2010 ENC 2A.
• 2015 - Did not qualify.

Current Team

Players used in the 2010-2012 ENC.

Player	Position	Club
Wende Norman	Hooker	Saint Etienne
Dienst Thomas	Hooker	Lille Métropole Rugby
Massimi Julien	Prop	Saint Etienne
Maxime Jadot	Prop	Pau
Wey Jerome	Prop	Saint Nazarie
Debaty Christophe	Prop	Tyrosse Rugby
Hendrickx Pierre	Lock	Boitsfort
Verschelden Mathieu	Lock	Saint Etienne
Hanchir Julien	Lock	SO Millau
Billi Bertrand	Flanker	Soignies
Eppe Denis	Flanker	ROC
Forneau Charlie	Number eight	Melbourne Harlequins
Neill Andrew	Number eight	Tournefeuille
Julien Berger	Scrum-half	La Rochelle
Williams Alan	Full-back	US Cognac
Fierro Carlos	Fly-half	Soignies
Haghedooren Dirk	Centre	Agde
Piron Guillaume	Centre	Montpellier Espoirs
Cauwe Jerome	Wing	ASUB Waterloo
Meeus Nicolas	Wing	Kituro RC
Torfs Jens	Wing	Racing Métro Espoirs
Guns Sebastien	Fullback	Boitsfort
De Molder Michaël	Flanker	Boitsfort
De Molder Thomas	Flanker - Number eight	Pau
Andre Thibaut	Fullback	Soignies

Record

Overall

World Rugby Rankings
Top 30 rankings as of 1 May 2016[3]
Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		New Zealand	96.10
2		Australia	89.33
3		South Africa	87.66
4		England	83.98
5		Wales	83.10
6		Argentina	82.59
7		Ireland	80.33
8		France	78.36
9		Scotland	78.32
10		Japan	77.05
11		Fiji	76.96
12		Georgia	72.62
13		Tonga	71.60
14		Italy	70.78
15		Samoa	70.36
16		Romania	67.52
17		United States	65.68
18		Canada	64.27
19		Russia	63.56
20		Uruguay	63.23
21		Namibia	61.75
22		Spain	60.87
23		Belgium	57.94
24		Germany	57.71
25		Hong Kong	57.17
26		South Korea	56.70
27	1	Kenya	55.89
28	1	Chile	55.73
29		Ukraine	55.51
30		Portugal	54.29
*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%

Recent results

The following table shows Belgium's results over the past three years.

Date	City	Opponent	Results¹	Attendance	Type of game
25 February 2012	Brussels	Netherlands	58-3	???	European Nations Cup
10 March 2012	Chisinau	Moldova	17-16	???	European Nations Cup
17 March 2012	Heusenstamm	Germany	30-29	???	European Nations Cup
7 April 2012	Brussels	Poland	20-13	???	European Nations Cup
3 November 2012	Frameries	Armée française	26-11	???	Friendly
8 December 2012	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	94-3	???	2012 Cup of Nations (rugby union)
11 December 2012	Dubai	Zimbabwe	28-11	???	2012 Cup of Nations (rugby union)
14 December 2012	Dubai	Hong Kong	24-12	???	2012 Cup of Nations (rugby union)
2 February 2013	Brussels	Georgia	13-17	???	European Nations Cup
9 February 2013	Brussels	Spain	21-21	???	European Nations Cup
9 March 2013	Brussels	Romania	14-32	3500	European Nations Cup

See also

• Rugby union in Belgium

References

1. International Rugby Board, World Rankings Analysis, http://www.irb.com/rankings/analysis/index.html
2. International Rugby Board, World Rankings Analysis, http://www.irb.com/rankings/analysis/index.html
3. "World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 22 April 2016.

External links

• http://www.rugbyevents.be
• Belgian Rugby Federation
• Belgium XV Official Games
• Belgium on rugbydata.com