Vanuatu national rugby league team
The Vanuatu national rugby league team represents Vanuatu in international rugby league matches. The team was founded in 2011 and is administered by the Vanuatu Rugby League (VRL).
| ||||||
| Team information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governing body | Vanuatu Rugby League | |||||
| Region | Asia-Pacific | |||||
| Head coach | Lionel Harbin | |||||
| Captain | James Wood | |||||
| Home stadium | Port Vila Municipal Stadium | |||||
| RLIF ranking | 36th | |||||
| Team results | ||||||
| First international | ||||||
 Vanuatu 14–24 Greece  (Port Vila, Vanuatu; 20 October 2012) | ||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||
Vanuatu 48–30 Solomon Islands  (Mackay, Australia; 7 October 2013) | ||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||
Vanuatu 16–32 Philippines  (Luganville, Vanuatu; 11 October 2014) | ||||||
| World Cup | ||||||
| Appearances | 0 | |||||
History
The Vanuatu national team was founded in 2011 after Australian Dane Campbell began to promote rugby league in Vanuatu.[1] Campbell was the inaugural head coach of the team. They played their first match in the Cabramatta International Nines on 4 February 2012. Joe Meninga, nephew of Mal Meninga, was selected in Vanuatu's squad for the tournament.[2] The team were undefeated in reaching the final, where they lost to the Australian Aboriginal team.
Vanuatu played their first test match against Greece on 20 October 2012, which they lost 14-24.[3][4] On 20 August 2013, David Simpson was announced as head coach, succeeding the inaugural head coach Dane Campbell.[5]
Current squad
Squad selected for the 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship;[6]
- Avia Allen
- Amani Arutahiki
- Rob Franklin
- Maxwell Garae Ngatonga
- Ben Henderson
- Patrick Jack
- Stanley Joseph
- Anro Kalpukai
- Daniel Kaltapang
- Andrew Kaltongga
- Salitasi Lolo
- Ben Lui
- Danford Lui
- Tonny Lui
- Alehana Mara
- Alickson Napakaurana
- Potefa Nishina
- Kalsauma Oscar
- Alex Philip
- Dominique Sablan
- Max Taleo
- Stephen Tanga
- Daniel Wood
- James Wood
International results
| Date | Opponent | Score | Venue | Attendance | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 October 2012 | Greece | 14-24 | Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila | Friendly | |
| 7 October 2013 | Solomon Islands | 48-30 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Stadium Mackay, Mackay | 1,648 | Friendly |
| 12 October 2013 |  Niue | 22-20 | Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila | 3,022 | Friendly |
| 11 October 2014 | Philippines | 16-32 | Chapius Stadium, Luganville | 2,021 | Friendly |
| 16 October 2016 | Solomon Islands | 24-16 | Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila | 1,000 | Friendly |
| 4 October 2018 |  Hungary | 18-13 | St.Marys League Stadium, Sydney | 300 | 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship |
| 7 October 2018 | Greece | 38-0 | Kellyville Ridge Stadium, Sydney | 130 | 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship |
| 10 October 2018 |  Poland | 44-4 | New Era Stadium, Sydney | 170 | 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship |
All-time results record and ranking
| Official Men's Rankings as of November 2019 | |||
| Rank | Change* | Team | Pts% |
| 1 |  2 |  New Zealand | |
| 2 |  1 | Australia | |
| 3 | 1 |  England | |
| 4 |  |  Tonga | |
| 5 | |  Fiji | |
| 6 | 4 |  Papua New Guinea | |
| 7 | |  Samoa | |
| 8 | 2 |  France | |
| 9 | 1 |  Scotland | |
| 10 | 1 |  Lebanon | |
| 11 | 5 | Greece | |
| 12 | |  Ireland | |
| 13 | 1 |  Italy | |
| 14 | 3 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales | |
| 15 | 4 |  Serbia | |
| 16 | 1 |  Malta | |
| 17 | 1 |  Norway | |
| 18 | 3 |  United States | |
| 19 | 4 | Poland | |
| 20 | 7 |  Jamaica | |
| 21 | 1 | Hungary | |
| 22 | 3 |  Czech Republic | |
| 23 | 5 |  Cook Islands | |
| 24 | 7 |  Turkey | |
| 25 | 1 |  Netherlands | |
| 26 | 4 |  Spain | |
| 27 | 6 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada | |
| 28 |  |  Nigeria | |
| 29 | 2 | Solomon Islands | |
| 30 | 10 |  Sweden | |
| 31 | 4 |  Germany | |
| 32 | 1 |  Chile | |
| 33 | |  Ghana | |
| 34 | 16 |  Morocco | |
| 35 | 3 | Vanuatu | |
| 36 | |  South Africa | |
| 37 | 8 |  Russia | |
| 38 | |  Cameroon | |
| 39 | 2 |  Ukraine | |
| 40 | 1 |  Colombia | |
| 41 | 4 |  Brazil | |
| 42 | | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium | |
| 43 | 4 |  Denmark | |
| 44 | 4 |  Bulgaria | |
| 45 | 4 |  Latvia | |
| *Change from July 2019 | |||
Below is a list Vanuatu national team record as of 23 December 2020.[7]
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % | For | Aga | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 14 | 64 | –50 |
| Hungary | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 13 | 18 | –5 |
| Niue | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 22 | 20 | +2 |
| Philippines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 16 | 32 | –16 |
| Poland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 4 | 44 | –40 |
| Solomon Islands | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 112 | 65 | +47 |
| Turkey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100% | 26 | 27 | –1 |
| Total | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 40% | 207 | 270 | –63 |
Current players of Ni-Vanuatu descent
- Alehana Mara (debuted for Vanuatu against Greece on 20 October 2012[8])
- Justin O'Neill
- Zac Santo
- Travis Waddell
See also
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2011-12-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Vanuatu Rugby League announces national team". Vanuatu Daily Post. 19 December 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012.
- http://rugbyleagueplanet.com/international-rugby-league-features/211-vanuatu-rugby-league/702-greece-defeat-vanuatu-in-port-vila
- Bryan, Andrew (6 November 2012). "Lazarus' Greek Odyssey". NRL.com. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- "New Squad and Coach announced". VanuatuRL.com. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- https://www.rlenwc.com/teams/vanuatu/ Vanuatu RLENWC
- "Head to Head". Rugby League Planet. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- "Alehana Mara happy to help Vanuatu in long-term World Cup quest". Radio New Zealand. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2016.