Ireland national rugby league team

The Four Provinces Flag of Ireland

The Irish rugby league team is one of many Irish teams that draws its players from across the island of Ireland; it utilises the Four Provinces Flag of Ireland and the all-island anthem "Ireland's Call". Unlike the rugby union team from whom the anthem originates, the Irish rugby league team does not play Amhrán na bhFiann, the national anthem of the Irish state in addition to Ireland's Call when playing at home.

Ireland were included in the tournament held in England and were placed in Group 2 alongside Moldova and Morocco. Ireland beat Moldova 48-24 before beating Morocco 42-6 to progress to the final. Gigg Lane in Bury was the venue for the final against Cook Islands but Ireland lost 6-22. Coached by Terry Flanagan, Ireland's squad included professionals Des Foy and Martin Crompton in an otherwise domestic based squad

1997 saw more England-based Super League players making themselves available by use of the grandparent rule. The Irish team improved its standards but this development gave less opportunity for Irish-based players to get a chance to play. However, Irish-based players were included in the Irish squad for the triangular tournaments in 1998 against France and Scotland and 1999 against Scotland and Wales. Their success was enough to earn a place in the 2000 World Cup. Finishing top of their group, the Irish eventually lost 26–16 to England in the quarter-finals, but the performance set the scene for future developments in Ireland.

Ireland were drawn against Lebanon and Russia in Europe's 2008 Rugby League World Cup Qualifying Pool Two. Ireland topped the group with a 16–16 draw with Lebanon at Dewsbury on 2 November 2007. The draw meant Ireland qualified for the 2008 World Cup on points difference from Lebanon as both nations gained the same number of group points.

Ireland at the 2008 World Cup.

At the 2008 World Cup in Australia, Ireland were in Group C along with Tonga and Samoa. They lost to Tonga on 27 October in Parramatta, Sydney, but were victorious against Samoa, again in Parramatta, on 5 November and topped the group on points difference. As the group winners, they played Fiji, winners of Group B, for a chance to qualify for the semi-final. Fiji won 30–14 and so Ireland were eliminated.

England v Ireland 2013 RLWC

For the 2013 World Cup being staged in England, Wales, France and Ireland. Ireland have been drawn in group A alongside Australia, England and 2008 World Cup rivals Fiji. Ireland have been granted automatic entry to the tournament due to their strong showing in the 2008 World Cup

Mark Aston the head coach and driving force behind the Sheffield Eagles was confirmed as the head coach of Rugby League Ireland. His appointment was announced at a press conference in Sheffield on Tuesday 24 May 2011 and he is confirmed in the role for the World Cup in 2013.

Ireland kicked off their campaign with a shock 36–12 win over Italy in Cairns. In the next pool match Ireland lost a narrow match to PNG 14–6 with PNG needing a 78th minute try to win the game. Ireland's final pool match was against Wales in Perth where they ran out comfortable winners 34–6. Ireland did not progress to the next round of the tournament despite winning more games than Lebanon or Samoa who qualified for the last 8.[2][3][4]

Ireland started qualifying for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in the 2018 European Championship, where they finished third with a win against Scotland and two losses against France and Wales. This led to them playing in the 2019 European play-off tournament, where they grabbed two wins against Italy and Spain, qualifying them for the World Cup. Here they were drawn into Group C, alongside New Zealand, Lebanon and Jamaica.[5]

Ireland's competitive record as of 10 November 2019 [7]

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Australia	1	0	0	1	%	0	50	–50
Belgium	1	1	0	0	100%	34	0	+34
Cook Islands	1	0	0	1	%	6	22	–16
England	3	0	0	3	%	28	104	–76
England Knights	2	0	0	2	%	8	118	–110
Fiji	2	0	0	2	%	28	62	–34
France	9	1	1	7	11.11%	172	295	–123
Hungary	1	1	0	0	100%	70	0	+70
Italy	3	3	0	0	100%	121	42	+79
Jamaica	1	0	0	1	%	16	68	–52
Lebanon	3	0	2	1	%	50	74	–24
Malta	2	2	0	0	100%	92	32	+60
Moldova	1	1	0	0	100%	48	26	+22
Morocco	1	1	0	0	100%	42	6	+36
Māori	1	1	0	0	100%	30	16	+14
Papua New Guinea	1	0	0	1	%	6	14	–8
Russia	4	3	0	1	75%	184	110	+74
Samoa	2	2	0	0	100%	64	32	+32
Scotland	14	10	0	4	71.43%	299	255	+44
Serbia	2	2	0	0	100%	106	16	+90
Spain	2	2	0	0	100%	88	14	+74
Tonga	1	0	0	1	%	20	22	–2
United States	2	2	0	0	100%	98	38	+60
Wales	10	4	0	6	40%	199	253	–54
Total	70	36	3	31	51.43%	1809	1669	+140

World Cup Record										World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	P	W	D	L	F	A		Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA
1954	Did not enter									Did not enter
1957
1960
1968
1970
1972
1975
1977
1985–88
1989–92
1995
2000	Quarter-finals	Fifth place	4	3	0	1	94	64		Qualified as co-hosts
2008	Semi-final qualifier	Fifth place	3	1	0	2	68	68		4	2	2	0	142	64
2013	Group stage	14th	3	0	0	3	14	124		Automatic qualifier
2017	Group stage	9th	3	2	0	1	76	32		2	2	0	0	116	22
2021	Qualified									2	2	0	0	67	12
2025	Qualified									Automatic qualifier
Total		Third place	13	6	0	7	252	288		8	6	2	0	325	98

A red box around the year indicates tournaments played within Ireland.

• Note these are the results of the cups that had a 'Final' game and beyond.