Turkey national rugby league team

Turkey
Badge of Turkey team
Team information
Governing bodyTurkish Rugby League Association
RegionEurope
Head coach Scott Hartas
CaptainArda Dalcik
Most caps11 players (4)
Top try-scorersAli Bökeyhan Sürer (5)
Arda Dalcik (5)
Top point-scorerAli Bökeyhan Sürer (50)
IRL ranking40th
Team results
First international
 Solomon Islands 22–30 Turkey Turkey
(Windsor, Australia; 1 October 2018)
Biggest win
 Japan 0–60 Turkey Turkey
(St Marys, Australia; 4 October 2018)
Biggest defeat
Australia Australian Defence Force 46–0 Turkey Turkey
(Sydney, Australia; 25 April 2021)
World Cup
Appearances0

The Turkey national rugby league team represents Turkey in international rugby league. The team played their first match in 2018.

History

The Turkish Rugby League Association was founded in 2016, however the team didn't play their first match until two years later. The side made their competition debut at the 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship in Sydney, defeating the Solomon Islands 30–22 in their first ever match.[1] The team also beat Japan 60–0, qualifying them for the tournament's trophy stage.[2] Here, they lost to the Philippines 29–16 in the semi-final before beating Vanuatu 27–26, winning thanks to a field goal from Adem Baskonyali and claiming seventh place at their inaugural competition.[3][4]

In 2019, the team played their first match in Turkey, losing to Greece 38–24 at the Aysekadin Yerleskesi Futbol Stadium in Istanbul.[5] They also lost to Malta 28–12 six weeks after.[6]

Competitive record

Overall

Below is table of the official representative rugby league matches played by Turkey at test level up until 25 September 2022:

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost Win % For Aga Diff
 Bulgaria 1 1 0 0 100% 38 16 +22
 Greece 1 0 0 1 0% 24 38 -14
 Japan 1 1 0 0 100% 60 0 +60
 Malta 2 1 0 1 50% 48 40 +8
 Netherlands 1 0 0 1 0% 18 40 −22
 Philippines 1 0 0 1 0% 16 29 −13
 Solomon Islands 1 1 0 0 100% 30 22 +8
 Vanuatu 1 1 0 0 100% 27 26 +1
Total 9 5 0 4 56% 261 211 +50

Results

Date Result[a] Opponent Competition Venue Attendance Ref.
1 October 2018 30–22  Solomon Islands 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship Windsor Sporting Complex, Windsor, Sydney, Australia 750 [7]
4 October 2018 60–0  Japan St. Marys Leagues Stadium, St. Marys, Sydney, Australia 500 [8]
10 October 2018 16–29  Philippines New Era Stadium, Cabramatta, Sydney, Australia 450 [9]
13 October 2018 27–26  Vanuatu St. Marys Leagues Stadium, St. Marys, Sydney, Australia 250 [10]
14 September 2019 24–38  Greece International Aysekadin Yerleskesi Futbol Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey 250 [11]
26 October 2019 12–28  Malta International New Era Stadium, Cabramatta, Sydney, Australia 600 [12]
25 April 2021 0–46 Australian Defence Forces Friendly Sydney Cricket Ground, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia [13]
14 October 2021 18–40  Netherlands 2021 European Championship D Huseyin Akar Tesisleri Stadium, Bodrum, Turkey 500 [14]
17 October 2021 36–12  Malta Huseyin Akar Tesisleri Stadium, Bodrum, Turkey [15]
25 September 2022 38–16  Bulgaria International ITU Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey [16]

IRL Rankings

IRL Men's World Rankings
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  North Macedonia 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   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

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Turkey score given first

References

  1. ^ "Solomon Islands vs. Turkey - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Japan vs. Turkey - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Philippines vs. Turkey - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Turkey vs. Vanuatu - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Turkey vs. Greece - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Malta vs. Turkey - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Match Report: Solomon Islands vs. Turkey". RLENWC. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Match Report: Japan vs. Turkey". RLENWC. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Match report: Philippines withhold Turkey to reach trophy final". RLENWC. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Match report: Turkey defeat Vanuatu in golden point thriller". RLENWC. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Turkey 24 38 Greece". International Rugby League. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  12. ^ "International Results". Malta Rugby League. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020.
  13. ^ "ADF romps to win over Turkey in inaugural clash". National Rugby League. 25 April 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Netherlands 40 18 Turkiye". European Rugby League. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Malta 18 36 Turkiye". European Rugby League. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Turkiye 38 16 Bulgaria". European Rugby League. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
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