rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
football tournament for Asian nations that was held in 2012 and 2013. Both editions of the tournament featured the Philippines and Thailand playing each other once. It is run by the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation and the Trophy itself was donated by the
RLIF
The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...
.
History
On October 21, 2012, the Philippines Tamaraws defeated the Thailand Stars to win the inaugural Rugby League Asian Cup. and on October 23, 2013, the Philippines again defeated Thailand at the second Asian Cup.
Trophy
On October 21, 2012, after beating Thailand in the Asian Cup final, Philippines captain Luke Srama was presented with the first Asian Cup trophy. Srama was also presented with a Friendship Cup as a good gesture between the two teams.
Format
The format of the inaugural Rugby League Asian Cup involved a one-off match held in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
between
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
and the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
to decide the champion of the tournament.
Future
It is expected in the future editions of the Asian Cup that the
Japan national rugby league team
The Japan national rugby league team, nicknamed the Samurais, represents Japan in rugby league football. Japan have played some international competition since 1994. The Japanese National Cup, the JRL domestic club competition, was founded in 1 ...
and Singapore will compete in the tournament. It is also hoped that other Asian nations will compete in the future. Japan has planned hosting the tournament in 2014
Results
Asian Cup summaries
Successful national teams
The Philippines is the only nation to have won the Asian Cup.
The following list, are all the teams that have competed in the Asian Cup tournament since its inception; the number of times they have appeared; their most recent appearance; consecutive appearances and their highest result:
Records and statistics
Overall Championships
''As of the 2013 edition''
Overall top 5 pointscorers
''As of the 2012 edition''
Asian Cup winning captains and coaches
''As of the 2013 edition''
See also
*
Rugby League International Federation
The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. Previously known as the ''Rugby League Imperial Board'', the '' International Rugby League Board'' and latterly the ''Rugby League Internat ...
*
RLIF World Rankings
The IRL Men's World Rankings are the ranking system for men's national teams in the sport of rugby league football. The teams of the member nations of the International Rugby League, rugby league football's world governing body, are ranked base ...
*
List of International Rugby League Teams
The International Rugby League (IRL) was founded in its current form in 1998, consisting of 10 full members. The federation currently consists of 35 members (19 full and 16 affiliate), and 24 observer members.
Members Full
Affiliate
Observ ...
Mediterranean Cup
On 11 July 1998 the first ever 13 a side rugby league match was played between Italia and Lebanon, which took place at Leichhardt Oval - Sydney - Australia, the match was known as 'The Mediterranean Cup'. A crowd of almost 10,000 watched as these ...
*
Pacific Cup
The Pacific Cup was a rugby league football competition for national teams from the Pacific region.
History
The Pacific Cup was started in 1975 by Keith Gittoes of the New South Wales Rugby League.Asian Rugby League Federation