The Canada national rugby league team represents Canada in international rugby league football tournaments.
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| Team information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Wolverines | |||||
| Governing body | Canada Rugby League | |||||
| Region | Americas | |||||
| Head coach | Aaron Zimmerle | |||||
| Captain | Skyler Dumas | |||||
| Home stadium | Lamport Stadium | |||||
| IRL ranking | 41st | |||||
| Uniforms | ||||||
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| Team results | ||||||
| First international | ||||||
 Canada 23–10 United States  (1987) | ||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||
| Canada 52–14 United States (Toronto, Ontario; 9 August 2014) | ||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||
 England 68–4 Canada (Toronto, Ontario; 6 October 2012) | ||||||
History
edit1987–2000: Origins
editRugby league was first introduced to Canada in the 1900s but was quickly outlawed by Rugby Union officials and thus became Canadian Football. It was not until the late 1980s that rugby league was re-introduced to Canada at an amateur level, when a short-lived 4-team domestic competition, known as the Tri-Counties Rugby League, was established. Four teams competed in its first year, three in Canada and one in the U.S., the New York–based Adirondacks club.[1]
The Canadian national team played their first game in 1987 against the USA. They then played sporadically throughout the 1990s and participated in the 1995 and '96 Rugby League World Sevens and Rugby League Emerging Nations World Cup in 2000. Following the 2000 Emerging Nations World Cup, the Canadian Rugby League Federation folded. As a result, the national team was disbanded and the sport remained dormant for 10 years.
2010 onwards: Revival
edit
In 2010, a new governing body, Canada Rugby League, was formed. Their first comeback game was in 2010 in the War at the Shore tournament, where they played New England Immortals, a New England representative team, and the New York Knights AMNRL club team, losing both games.[2] The team's international comeback was later in the year in September in the inaugural Colonial Cup.[3] Later that year they competed in the Rugby League Atlantic Cup in Jacksonville, Florida.
Canada's first win since they were reformed came the following year in 2011 against Jamaica. They collected their second win in September, against the US in the second game of the Colonial Cup. However, due to an earlier loss to the US and the resulting aggregate scores, Canada was unable to win the Cup. Canada's international season finished up with a defeat against South Africa, in a warm up game before their 2013 World Cup qualifiers campaign.
In 2014, Stuart Donlan was appointed as head coach.[4] Donlan's first game was the 2014 Colonial Cup's only fixture. He coached Canada to a famous victory which made them the Colonial Cup champions for the very first time.[5] Aaron Zimmerle, the head coach of the Tweed Heads Seagulls, took over the main coaching role in 2015 in their 2017 World Cup qualifying campaign.[6]
After failing to qualify for the 2017 World Cup, the Canada Rugby League Board appointed Benjamin Fleming as coach on a three-year deal. Canada Rugby League Association Vice President David Graham said "the board's decision to appoint Fleming as Head Coach was based on the hard work and passion he has shown since returning to the association last year."
Current squad
editCanada squad for March 1, 2024 match against the USA Hawks.[7]
| Player | Caps | Points | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dillon Hamilton | 1 | 0 | |
| Josh Michalik | 2 | 4 | |
| Luke Toroca | 1 | 4 | |
| Lee Keegel | 2 | 4 | |
| Colton Carpenter | 2 | 8 | |
| Blake Mahovic | 2 | 8 | |
| Jacob Bourne | 2 | 6 | |
| David Astley | 1 | 0 | |
| Ben Stothers | 2 | 0 | |
| Chuck Curran | 2 | 4 | |
| Jason Chuck | 2 | 0 | |
| Jason Park | 2 | 2 | |
| Scyler Dumas | 2 | 0 | |
| Kyle Yurkiw | 2 | 0 | |
| Daniel Martyn | 2 | 0 | |
| Niko Andrionas | 1 | 0 | |
| Danny Tupou | 1 | 0 |
Competitive Record
editOverall and IRL Rankings
edit| Official rankings as of December 2024 | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 1 |  |
 Australia |
100 |
| 2 | |
 New Zealand |
86 |
| 3 | |
England |
84 |
| 4 |  1 |
 Tonga |
63 |
| 5 |  1 |
 Samoa |
54 |
| 6 | 1 |
 Papua New Guinea |
53 |
| 7 | 1 |
 Fiji |
44 |
| 8 | |
 France |
30 |
| 9 | 2 |
 Serbia |
23 |
| 10 | |
 Cook Islands |
22 |
| 11 | 1 |
 Netherlands |
22 |
| 12 | 5 |
 Wales |
18 |
| 13 | 2 |
 Malta |
17 |
| 14 | 6 |
 Ukraine |
13 |
| 15 | 1 |
 Greece |
12 |
| 16 | 7 |
 Lebanon |
12 |
| 17 | 4 |
 Italy |
11 |
| 18 | 2 |
 Ireland |
9 |
| 19 | 1 |
 Jamaica |
8 |
| 20 | 1 |
 Czech Republic |
8 |
| 21 | 2 |
 Chile |
8 |
| 22 | 3 |
 Scotland |
7 |
| 23 | 4 |
 Philippines |
7 |
| 24 | 7 |
United States |
7 |
| 25 | 1 |
 Poland |
5 |
| 26 | 2 |
 South Africa |
5 |
| 27 | 5 |
 Germany |
5 |
| 28 | 3 |
 Norway |
5 |
| 29 | 4 |
 Brazil |
4 |
| 30 | 4 |
 Kenya |
4 |
| 31 | 10 |
Canada |
4 |
| 32 | |
 Montenegro |
4 |
| 33 | 2 |
 North Macedonia |
3 |
| 34 | 15 |
 Argentina |
3 |
| 35 | 5 |
 Albania |
2 |
| 36 | |
 Bulgaria |
2 |
| 37 | 7 |
 Ghana |
2 |
| 38 | 9 |
 Nigeria |
2 |
| 39 | 5 |
 Turkey |
1 |
| 40 | 3 |
 Cameroon |
1 |
| 41 | 2 |
 Japan |
1 |
| 42 | 4 |
 Spain |
1 |
| 43 | 1 |
 Colombia |
1 |
| 44 | 1 |
 El Salvador |
0 |
| 45 | |
 Russia |
0 |
| 46 | 1 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
0 |
| 47 | 3 |
 Hong Kong |
0 |
| 48 | 3 |
 Solomon Islands |
0 |
| 49 | 8 |
 Vanuatu |
0 |
| 50 | |
 Niue |
0 |
| 51 | 1 |
 Latvia |
0 |
| 52 | 2 |
 Denmark |
0 |
| 53 | 2 |
 Belgium |
0 |
| 54 | 4 |
 Estonia |
0 |
| 55 | 9 |
 Sweden |
0 |
| 56 | 12 |
 Morocco |
0 |
| 48 | 9 |
 Hungary |
0 |
| Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT | |||
Below is the head-to-head record of the Canadian national XIII side up to date as of 22 October 2024.[8][9]
| Against | First Played | P | W | L | D | % Won | Last Played | F | A | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
2019 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 2018 | 78 | 2 | +76 |
| Chile |
2018 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 2018 | 62 | 12 | +50 |
| England Lionhearts |
2012 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% | 2014 | 16 | 102 | –86 |
| Fiji |
2016 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 2016 | 12 | 26 | –14 |
| France |
1995 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 1995 | 32 | 72 | –40 |
| Italy |
2000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 2000 | 6 | 66 | –60 |
| Jamaica |
2010 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 60% | 2024 | 238 | 180 | +58 |
| Japan |
1999 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% | 2000 | 28 | 26 | +2 |
| Lebanon |
2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 2012 | 36 | 18 | +18 |
| Serbia |
2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 2019 | 8 | 36 | –28 |
| South Africa |
2011 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 2011 | 22 | 36 | –14 |
| United States |
1993 | 28 | 5 | 22 | 1 | 20.83% | 2024 | 448 | 914 | –466 |
| Total | 1993 | 50 | 15 | 33 | 1 | 31.11% | 2024 | 986 | 1,490 | –504 |
World Cup
edit| World Cup Record | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | Win | Draw | Loss | |||||
| 1954
|
did not enter | ||||||||||
| 1957
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| 1960
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| 1968
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| 1970
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| 1972
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| 1975 | |||||||||||
| 1977
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| 1985–88 | |||||||||||
| 1989–92 | |||||||||||
| 1995
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 2000
|
did not qualify | ||||||||||
| 2008
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| 2013
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| 2017
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| 2021
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| 2026
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Colonial Cup
edit| Colonial Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| 2010 |
Second place | 2/2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2011 |
Second place | 2/2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012 |
Second place | 2/2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2013 |
Second place | 2/2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2014 |
Champions | 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015 |
Champions | 1/2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2016 |
Second place | 2/2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2017 |
Second place | 2/2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2024 |
Draw | 1/2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total | 2 Titles | 9/9 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 1 | ||
Caribbean Carnival Cup
edit- The Caribbean Carnival Cup is annual series that has been played between Canada and Jamaica since 2011.
| Caribbean Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| 2011 |
Champions | 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2012 |
Champions | 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2013 |
Champions | 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2014 |
Champions | 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 4 Titles | 4/4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||
Atlantic Cup
edit| Atlantic Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| 2009 |
Not Invited | |||||||
| 2010 |
Second place | 2/3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 Titles | 1/2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Lester, Jamie (5 April 2010). "Canadian team to play in AMNRL 'War at the Shore'". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ O'Neill, Matthew (16 August 2010). "Canada to host USA in inaugural Colonial Cup". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ "Stuart Donlan named head coach of Canada Wolverines". Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Rugby League Planet - Canada 52 smack USA 14 in Rugby League international". www.rugbyleagueplanet.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015.
- ^ "Canada announces Aaron Zimmerle as head coach for Qualifiers". CRL. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ^ "Senior International Matches 2024". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
- ^ "Head to Head". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ "PAST RESULTS". Canada rugby league. Retrieved 25 April 2021.