The New Caledonia rugby league team represents the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

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 has been participating in international competition since 2003. Rugby League in New Caledonia is run under the auspices of the French Rugby League Federation, the ''Fédération Française de Rugby à Treize''. Rugby League in New Caledonia started with the defection of dissatisfied

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

clubs. In 2004, New Caledonia hosted a tour by the Australian Universities Rugby League team. In August 2003 New Caledonia travelled to Australia to play their first international rugby league game against Greece at Norford Park, Sydney. New Caledonia put in a respectable performance for a new league playing nation on tour against a Greek side who had many Australian players in their ranks. It took New Caledonia 32 minutes to cross the line but eventually Greece ran away with the game 26 - 10. March 2004 saw the touring Greek side visit New Caledonia to assist with League development in the pacific area. In the one off game played at Paitai Stadium in front of over 1200 spectators, New Caledonia were no match for a Greek side with the likes of Steve Georgallis in the ranks. The final score was 56 - 8 to the Greeks. In October 2004 New Caledonia entered the Pacific Cup competition. They were grouped with Samoa and American Samoa. New Caledonia suffered some heavy defeats and did not progress into the finals. New Caledonia were scheduled to take part in the 2006 Pacific Cup. For unknown reasons they pulled out of the tournament one week before it was due to start. They were subsequently replaced by Tokelau.

Dimitri Pelo Dimitri Pelo (born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL. He has previously played for Montpellier Herault RC after switching codes in 2010 and for the Catala ...

who represented France in the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its 1954 Rugby League World Cup, inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 Rugby League World Cup, 2000 tournament. The tournament was held ...

was originally from New Caledonia. The Pacific nation gets plenty of exposure to Rugby League via NRL and International games that are beamed into the Pacific via free to Air TV. The recent Rugby League World Cup will hopefully provide more funding to assist with the continued development of the sport in the pacific.

Results

2003

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

26-10 New Caledonia (August)

2004

58-8 New Caledonia (6 March)

2004 Pacific Cup

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

76-0 New Caledonia (20 October) *

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...

62-6 New Caledonia (23 October)

Notable players

References

{{International Rugby League National rugby league teams

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 ...