Domestic competition

The Jamaica Rugby League National Club Championship was formed in 2005 and initially consisted of four teams. Throughout the years the numbers have grown. In 2013, there were 20 senior teams featuring in Community, Collegiate and Parish Championships. There are also several High and Primary school programs running throughout Jamaica. In early 2011,

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

/semi-professional level.

Governing body

The Jamaica Rugby League Association is the governing body of Jamaican rugby league, they work with the Rugby League European Federation and the Rugby League International Federation and other rugby league governing bodies across

The Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

region.

National team

The national team is known as the Reggae Warriors. They play regular internationals against Canada and the USA. The team is made up of both local and English based players. They are presently coached by Romeo Monteith. Their first international was a 37–22 loss to the

United States national rugby league team The United States national rugby league team represents the United States in international rugby league football competitions. The team is managed by the USA Rugby League (USARL). The United States competed with little success in some interna ...

in November 2009. Rugby league in Jamaica is growing with universities and high schools taking up the sport.

Attempts at World Cup qualification

In 2011 Jamaica entered the Rugby League World Cup for the first time as they contested the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying Atlantic section, they failed to qualify after defeating South Africa and losing to the United States. In 2015 Jamaica aimed to improve on their 2011 disappointment and succeed in the Americas qualification in order to qualify for their first ever World Cup in

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but were ultimately unsuccessful.

Historic World Cup qualification

In 2018, Jamaica entered the World Cup qualifying stages for a third time with the matches also doubling up as the 2018 Americas Rugby League Championship. On 13 November 2018, Jamaica played Canada for a place in the qualification play-off. They defeated Canada 38–8 with Ben Jones-Bishop getting two tries in the victory. On 17 November 2018, Jamaica met the United States at

Hodges Stadium Hodges Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the University of North Florida (UNF), and the home field for the North Florida Ospreys soccer, track and field, and cross country teams. It is located on the university's campus in Jacksonville, Flori ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

to play for a place in 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 £ ...

. Jamaica raced into a 16–0 lead within the first 30 minutes of the game only for the United States to score two tries before half-time and pull the score back to 16–10 at the break. The second half was a tighter contest with defence becoming the priority for Jamaica and the half would ultimately end scoreless. Jamaica beat the United States 16–10, defeating United States for the first time in Jamaica's history and qualifying for the 2021 World Cup.

References

External links

* {{Jamaica-sport-stub