International Rugby League News
It is no surprise therefore that it is at the international level that the sports gets the most media internet and whilst that means there is lots of news for fans to take in, it also means it can be difficult to keep up with everything.
The great news is that here at 13v13 we bring you all of the latest international Rugby League news headlines from across the globe, so no matter which country you support, you can get all of the latest news headlines in one place.
International RL Breaking News
If you are looking for the latest international Rugby League breaking news you are in the right place as we bring you all of the breaking news headlines from across the globe.
International Rugby League Latest News Today
If a major story regarding international Rugby League has broken today, we will bring you all of the latest information right here on this page.
About
International Rugby League can be dated back to 1904 when an England team took on an Other Nationalities team but since those days the sport has spread across the globe and internationals are now played everywhere.
In the last couple of decades, the game has exploded in places such as North and South America as well as Africa and it continues to grow in the Pacific Islands region, with only Europe sadly stagnating.
Nowadays, International Rugby League is governed by the IRL, with a number of region bodies governing competitions.
History
Rugby League spread from the Northern Union breakaway club in 1895 to Wales and then onto Australia and New Zealand by the end of the first decade of the 1900’s, so it is no surprise that international test matches also started during that era.
It was England who played the first match against a ‘Other Nationalities’ made up of mostly Welsh players before touring teams arrive in England from Australia and New Zealand including the iconic New Zealand All Golds.
In 1927, things started to become more professional and more organised with the formation of the Imperial Rugby League Board, with the RFL having 3 representatives on that board with Australia and New Zealand both having 1.
In 1935, the French Rugby League authorities proposed a constitution for an international board but as is still often the case to this very day, the Australian authorities forced the idea to be abandoned and the sport failed to capitalise on the growing popularity of the international game.
It took until 1948 for the French Federation (Federation Francais de Rugby a XIII), NZRL and the RFL to get together to form the International Rugby League Board (IRLB) and over the next few years, those authorities got together to create the Rugby League World Cup (RLWC), the first of either code.
The first ever RLWC took place in France during 1954 and since then it has expanded to take in nations from across the globe as one of the true success stories of the sport.
The 1990’s Super League wars hit every aspect of the sport including the international game, with the governing body changing name to the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) in 1998 but infighting between the nations continued to the detriment of the sport culminating in a disappointing RLWC 2000 that saw the international make up of the sport undergo lots of change which has gone on to benefit Rugby League overall.
Upon the formation of the RLIF, a number of countries signed up for test status including Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, (Western) Samoa, Tonga, England, France and South Africa.
One big driver of the international game was British administrator Richard Lewis who pushed for the inclusion of the Catalans Dragons into Super League and proposed a 10 yar plan to get the international game back on track, including the development of smaller nation and less of a focus on the big 3.
In 2009 the Pacific nations of PNG, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Cook Island united to form the Pacific Islands Rugby League Federation (PIRLF), which would change into Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRLC) after the Australian authorities once again made life hard work.
Over the past couple of decades or so, the number of full members of the IRL has continued to grow with Wales joining in 2010, Ireland and Scotland in 2011, Lebanon and Serbia in 2012, Jamaica, Ukraine and Russia in 2013 and Italy in 2017.
Rugby League Internationals News Headlines
If you are looking for the latest International Rugby League news headlines, you are in the right place as we bring you all of the latest news headlines from across the globe.
Tournaments and Events
Amongst the numerous tournaments, test matches and events to be hosted on the international stage. there is one that stands out heads and shoulders above the rest and that is the Rugby League World Cup (RLWC).
That always has been and continues to be the largest and most important competition in the sport.
Amongst other tournaments to be held around the globe is the Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament, the Americas Cup and the European Shield.
Outside of the men’s game, there are also a number of women’s international Rugby League tournaments and events as well as student tournaments and PDRL event and tournaments.
Rugby League International News Update
No matter if it is news regarding an upcoming test match or a major tournament such as the RLWC or if it is simply general news regarding an international test side, we will not only bring you a of the latest news but we will bring you any of news updates to the story as and when it happens.
