The Ireland men's national rugby league team, known as the Wolfhounds, is organised by Rugby League Ireland and represents Ireland in international rugby league. The representative team is composed largely of players of Irish descent who compete in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

as well as the Australasian National Rugby League. Ireland is also represented by an Ireland A side, which is made up of players from the Irish domestic competition. Since Ireland began competing in international rugby league in 1995, it has participated in the

1995 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament The 1995 Rugby League Emerging Nations World Championship was held alongside the Centenary Rugby League World Cup. Although the competition received little build-up or promotion, the novelty value of the teams taking part encouraged relatively ...

, the 1996 Super League World Nines, and five

Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...

s –

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

. They have also competed in the Rugby League European Nations Cup. Although, the island of Ireland is separate from the island of Great Britain, Irish players such as Cork-born Brian Carney have in the past been selected to play for the Great Britain side.

History

The seeds of modern-day Rugby League in Ireland were sown in 1989 when Brian Corrigan founded the Dublin Blues Rugby League, a club that was primarily used by union players to keep fit during the summer by playing matches against touring British teams. In 1995 the British RFL established Ireland's first development officer and later that year Ireland played against the United States in Washington on

St Patricks Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

with Ireland winning 24–22. Wigan Warriors player Joe Lydon came on as a substitute despite also serving as the manager. Huddersfield Giants coach Terry Flanagan and former Great Britain international Niel Wood were the joint coaches. In August 1995 Ireland beat Scotland at the RDS Arena in Dublin as a curtain raiser to the charity shield match between Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors. The matches were played before an attendance of 5,716, a record for an international rugby league match on Irish soil. Former Great Britain player

Des Foy Des Foy (born 29 December 1963 in Oldham, Lancashire) is a former professional rugby league footballer, appearing for various teams in Britain, and Australia, and at the international level for Great Britain and Ireland. Foy signed for Widnes ...

played for Ireland. Following their appearance at the

1995 Emerging Nations Tournament The 1995 Rugby League Emerging Nations World Championship was held alongside the Centenary Rugby League World Cup. Although the competition received little build-up or promotion, the novelty value of the teams taking part encouraged relatively ...

, they were invited to the Super League World Nines in Fiji where they finished 8th.

Flags and anthems

The Irish rugby league team is one of many Irish teams that draws its players from across the island of Ireland. It utilises the Four Provinces Flag of Ireland and the all-island anthem, " Ireland's Call". Unlike the Irish rugby union team, the Irish rugby league team does not play

The Soldier's Song ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

, the national anthem of the

Irish state Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

, in addition to Ireland's Call when playing at home.

1995 Emerging Nations Tournament

Ireland were included in the tournament held in England and were placed in Group B alongside Moldova and Morocco. Ireland beat Moldova 48–24 before beating Morocco 42–6 to progress to the final. In the final Ireland lost 6–22 to the Cook Islands at Gigg Lane in Bury. Coached by Terry Flanagan, Ireland's squad included professionals

and

Martin Crompton Martin Crompton (born 29 September 1969) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, usually as a . Born in Ince-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Crompton initially played for Warrington. Crompton played in ...

in an otherwise domestic based squad.

2000 World Cup

1997 saw more England-based

players making themselves available by use of the grandparent rule. The Irish team improved its standards but this development gave less opportunity for Irish-based players to get a chance to play. However, Irish-based players were included in the Irish squad for the triangular tournaments in 1998 against France and Scotland and 1999 against Scotland and Wales. Their success was enough to earn a place in the 2000 World Cup. Finishing top of their group, the Irish eventually lost 26–16 to England in the quarter-finals, but the performance set the scene for future developments in Ireland.

2008 World Cup

Ireland were drawn against Lebanon and Russia in Europe's

2008 Rugby League World Cup Qualifying 2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying matches took place from April 2006 to November 2007. Of the ten teams to compete in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, five of them qualified based on their performance in these matches. The other five teams ...

Pool Two. Ireland topped the group with a 16–16 draw with Lebanon at Dewsbury on 2 November 2007. The draw meant Ireland qualified for the 2008 World Cup on points difference from Lebanon as both nations gained the same number of group points. Ireland 2008 RLWC

At the 2008 World Cup in Australia, Ireland were in Group C along with Tonga and Samoa. They lost to Tonga on 27 October in Parramatta, Sydney, but were victorious against Samoa, again in Parramatta, on 5 November and topped the group on points difference. As the group winners, they played

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, winners of Group B, for a chance to qualify for the semi-final. Fiji won 30–14 eliminating Ireland.

2013 World Cup

For the 2013 World Cup Ireland were drawn in group A alongside Australia, England and 2008 World Cup rivals Fiji. Ireland was granted automatic entry to the tournament due to their strong showing in the 2008 World Cup. Ireland lost all three group matches including a 0–50 defeat to eventual champions Australia in front of 5,021 fans at Thomond Park.

2017 World Cup

Ireland kicked off their campaign with a shock 36–12 win over Italy in

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

. In the next pool match Ireland lost a narrow match to PNG 14–6 with PNG needing a 78th minute try to win the game. Ireland's final pool match was against Wales in Perth where they ran out comfortable winners 34–6. Ireland did not progress to the next round of the tournament despite winning more games than Lebanon or Samoa who qualified for the last 8.

2021 World Cup

Ireland started 2021 Rugby League World Cup qualification campaign in the 2018 European Championship, where they finished third with a win against Scotland and two losses against France and Wales. Ireland's third place finish required them to participate in the 2019 European play-off tournament to ensure qualification. Here they managed to achieve two wins against Italy and Spain, leading to their World Cup qualification. Ireland were drawn into Group C, alongside New Zealand, Lebanon and Jamaica. In April 2022 Offaly-born Ged Corcoran took over from

Stuart Littler Stuart Littler (born 19 February 1979) is the head coach of Oldham in RFL League 1. He is a former Ireland international rugby league footballer and a former head coach of Ireland. Littler played for the Salford City Reds in the Super League, ...

for the World Cup campaign. Ireland finished the tournament with a 1–2 record beating Jamaica in their opener, before losing to Lebanon and New Zealand.

Current squad

The 24-man national team squad selected for the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received £2 ...

was announced on 29 September 2022.

Competitive records and ranking

Ireland compete in the Rugby League European Nations Cup and have participated in the

Overall record

''Ireland's competitive record as of 29 October 2022''

World Cup

''A red box around the year indicates tournaments played within Ireland.''

European Championship

Triangular Series

''This one-off tournament was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales.''

Coaches

''Updated as of 29 October 2022''

Honours

*1999 Triangular Series

Stadium & Attendance

In 2015 Rugby League Ireland announced that the Carlisle Grounds in Bray, County Wicklow would become the official home ground of the national team. Despite this announcement, Ireland have also subsequently used Morton Stadium in Santry as their home ground.
''Below is a list of the highest attendances for international rugby league matches in Ireland.''

Individual Records

''Statistics are up to date as of 30 October 2022. Bold indicates current player.''

Notable players

Below is a list of players who have also gained caps for either

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, the

Exiles Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

, Great Britain or England in addition to their caps earned with Ireland. Brian Carney

;

* Luke Keary * Pat Richards *

Luke Ricketson Luke Ricketson (born 5 February 1973) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An Australian and Ireland international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative back-row forward, ...

Brett White Brett White (born 8 April 1982) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Canberra Raiders and the Melbourne Storm in the NRL. Both an Ireland and Australian international, and New South Wales State of Origin represent ...

; England * Ben Currie * Ben Harrison *

Johnny Lawless John "Johnny" Lawless (born 3 November 1974) is a rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at representative level for England, and Ireland, and at club level for Halifax (two spells), Sheffield Eagles and Huddersfi ...

* Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook * Michael McIlorum *

Robbie Mulhern Robert "Robbie" Mulhern (born 18 October 1994) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Leigh Leopards in the Super League. Mulhern has represented Ireland, England and the England Knights at international level. He h ...

Steve Prescott Stephen Prescott (26 December 1973 – 9 November 2013) was a professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1990s and 2000s. Prescott made his début for St Helens in 1993, and soon established himself as the club's first choi ...

;

* Shannon McDonnell ; Great Britain * Phil Cantillon * Brian Carney *

Mick Cassidy Michael Darren Cassidy (born 3 July 1973) is the Head of youth development of the Wigan Warriors and a former professional rugby league footballer. Cassidy had a wealth of experience with the dominant Wigan side of the early to mid-1990s. Cassi ...

Gary Connolly Gary John Connolly (born 22 June 1971) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s as a and for St Helens, Canterbury Bulldogs, Wigan Warriors, Leeds Rhinos and for the Great Britain national si ...

* Mark Forster *

* Chris Joynt * Barrie McDermott * Terry O'Connor * Joe Philbin * Ryan Sheridan

Ireland A

The Ireland A team is selected from players in the Irish domestic competition, administered by Rugby League Ireland. The Ireland A side competed in the St Patrick's Day Challenge between 2000 and 2012 and in the Amateur Four Nations from 2003 to 2014.

References

External links

Home page of Rugby League Ireland

Rugby League International Site
* {{commons category, Ireland national rugby league team National rugby league teams