The Latvia national rugby league team was established in 2008 to represent

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

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 112 ...

football, and initially competed in the

European Bowl The Rugby League European Championship C, formerly the European Bowl, is an international European rugby league football tournament organised by the Rugby League European Federation for third tier rugby league nations. History It was first cont ...

, for fourth-tier developing nations. They beat

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

in a two-game series and therefore won the inaugural tournament after Ukraine could not gain visas to travel. In 2009 they reached the second place after losing to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and defeating Estonia. In 2010 they played in the

European Shield The European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) was a repechage tournament for teams knocked out in the first round of the European Challenge Cup. As such, it formed Europe's third-tier club rugby union competition ...

, losing to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and Ukraine. After a hiatus of several years, Latvia will return to international competition on May 9, 2015 for the first match of the

2017 Rugby League World Cup The 2017 Rugby League World Cup was the fifteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup tournament and took place in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between 27 October and 2 December 2017. The tournament featured the national teams ...

qualifying process, taking on

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in a one-off knockout match to determine the final participants in the 'European C' section.

All-time results record

Results

World Cup

2017 Rugby League World Cup Qualifier

On 9 May 2015, Latvia and

kicked off proceedings for the qualifying fixtures for the

2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying The 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifying process began on 9 May 2015 with the 2015 European Championship C. In August 2014, it was announced that seven of the eight quarter-finalists at the 2013 tournament would receive automatic qualificati ...

. It was a do or die match with the winner advancing to a qualifying group stage, already containing Malta and Greece, while the other would lose their chance of qualifying for their first ever World Cup. The Latvians' home advantage had no effect as they went down to the Spaniards by 20 points, ending their chance of participating in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

Notable players of Latvian descent

Euan Aitken Euan Aitken (born 16 June 1995) is a Scotland international rugby league footballer who plays as a er or for the Dolphins the NRL. He previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby L ...

, whose paternal grandmother was born in

Rēzekne Rēzekne (, ; German: ''Rositten'') is a state city in the Rēzekne River valley in Latgale region of eastern Latvia. It is called ''The Heart of Latgale'' (Latvian ''Latgales sirds'', Latgalian ''Latgolys sirds''). Built on seven hills, Rēzekn ...

* Niall Evalds, via his paternal grandfather * Zane Jegers, via his paternal grandfather who was born in Riga *

Adam Elliott Adam Elliott (born 16 October 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and forward for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Canberra Raiders in th ...

, via his grandfather

References

External links

National rugby league teams National sports teams of Latvia {{Rugbyleague-team-stub