North Macedonia national rugby league team

North Macedonia
Badge of North Macedonia team
Team information
NicknameThe Lions
Governing bodyMacedonian Rugby League
RegionEurope
Head coachAaron Zammit
CaptainJames Mirceski
Most caps10 Players (3)
Top try-scorerJayden Gouganovski (3)
Top point-scorerJayden Gouganovski & James Suleski (12)
Home stadiumForshaw Park
IRL ranking33rd
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First game
North Macedonia North Macedonia 8-40 Poland 
(Forshaw Park, Sydney, Australia; 21 October 2023)
Biggest defeat
North Macedonia North Macedonia 8-40 Poland 
(Forshaw Park, Sydney, Australia; 21 October 2023)
World Cup
Appearances0
Official rankings as of July 2025
Rank Change Team Pts %
1 Steady  Australia 100
2 Steady  New Zealand 83
3 Steady  England 80
4 Steady  Tonga 62
5 Steady  Samoa 53
6 Steady  Papua New Guinea 51
7 Steady  Fiji 43
8 Steady  France 29
9 Increase 2  Netherlands 22
10 Steady  Cook Islands 22
11 Decrease 2  Serbia 18
12 Steady  Wales 18
13 Steady  Malta 16
14 Increase 1  Greece 14
15 Decrease 1  Ukraine 13
16 Steady  Lebanon 11
17 Steady  Italy 10
18 Steady  Ireland 9
19 Increase 5  United States 8
20 Decrease 1  Jamaica 8
21 Decrease 1  Czech Republic 8
22 Steady  Scotland 7
23 Decrease 2  Chile 7
24 Decrease 1  Philippines 7
25 Steady  Poland 5
26 Increase 1  Germany 5
27 Increase 1  Norway 5
28 Decrease 2  South Africa 5
29 Steady  Brazil 4
30 Steady  Kenya 4
31 Steady  Canada 4
32 Steady  Montenegro 3
33 Steady   3
34 Increase 22  Morocco 3
35 Decrease 1  Argentina 3
36 Decrease 1  Albania 2
37 Decrease 1  Bulgaria 2
38 Decrease 1  Ghana 2
39 Decrease 1  Nigeria 2
40 Decrease 1  Turkey 1
41 Decrease 1  Cameroon 1
42 Decrease 1  Japan 1
43 Decrease 1  Spain 1
44 Decrease 1  Colombia 1
45 Decrease 1  El Salvador 0
46 Decrease 1  Russia 0
47 Decrease 1  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0
48 Decrease 1  Hong Kong 0
49 Decrease 1  Solomon Islands 0
50 Decrease 1  Vanuatu 0
51 Increase 6  Hungary 0
52 Decrease 1  Latvia 0
53 Decrease 1  Denmark 0
54 Decrease 1  Belgium 0
55 Decrease 1  Estonia 0
56 Decrease 1  Sweden 0
57 Decrease 7  Niue 0
Complete rankings at
www.internationalrugbyleague.com

The North Macedonia national rugby league team (nicknamed the Lions) represent North Macedonia in international rugby league football competitions.

In October 2022, a North Macedonia team took part in the New South Wales Rugby League Harmony Nines tournament and won the emerging nations competition.[1] North Macedonia applied for membership of the International Rugby League and were awarded observer status in April 2023.[2][3] In October 2023, the Nines team repeated it success in the Harmony Nines tournament[1] and a week later North Macedonia made its full international debut against Poland.[4]


Competitive record

Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Macedonia at test level up until 18 February 2024:

Team First Played Played Win Draw Loss Points For Points Against Last Meeting
 Chile 2024 1 0 0 1 22 36 2024
 Malta 2024 1 0 0 1 18 22 2024
 Poland 2023 1 0 0 1 8 40 2023
Total   3 0 0 3 48 98  

Results

Date Score[a] Opponent Competition Venue Report
21 October 2023 8โ€“40  Poland Friendly Forshaw Park, Sydney, Australia [4]
4 February 2024 18โ€“36  Chile Friendly Forshaw Park, Sydney, Australia [5]
18 February 2024 18โ€“22  Malta Friendly Forshaw Park, Sydney, Australia [6]

Notes

  1. ^ North Macedonia score given first

References

  1. ^ a b "Lions roar again at Harmony 9s". NSW Rugby League. 14 October 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Slovakia and North Macedonia apply to join International Rugby League". Inside the Games. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  3. ^ "North Macedonia and Slovakia granted IRL membership". European Rugby League. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b "North Macedonia 8 40 Poland". European Rugby League. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  5. ^ "North Macedonia 18 36 Chile". European Rugby League. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  6. ^ "North Macedonia 18 22 Malta". European Rugby League. Retrieved 3 March 2025.