Canada national rugby league team

❧

Wikipedia

Canada
Badge of Canada team
Team information
NicknameWolverines
Governing bodyCanada Rugby League
RegionAmericas
Head coachAaron Zimmerle
CaptainSkyler Dumas
Home stadiumLamport Stadium
IRL ranking31st
Uniforms
First colours
Second colours
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)

The Canada national rugby league team represents Canada in international rugby league football tournaments.

History

1987–2000: Origins

Rugby 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

The briefly used "Mounties" 2010 logo

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

Canada squad for March 1, 2024 match against the USA Hawks.[7]

Player Caps Points Club
Dillon Hamilton10
Josh Michalik24
Luke Toroca14
Lee Keegel24
Colton Carpenter28
Blake Mahovic28
Jacob Bourne26
David Astley10
Ben Stothers20
Chuck Curran24
Jason Chuck20
Jason Park22
Scyler Dumas20
Kyle Yurkiw20
Daniel Martyn20
Niko Andrionas10
Danny Tupou10

Competitive Record

Overall and IRL Rankings

IRL Men's World Rankings
Official rankings as of July 2025
RankChangeTeamPts %
1 Steady Australia100
2 Steady New Zealand83
3 Steady England80
4 Steady Tonga62
5 Steady Samoa53
6 Steady Papua New Guinea51
7 Steady Fiji43
8 Steady France29
9 Increase 2 Netherlands22
10 Steady Cook Islands22
11 Decrease 2 Serbia18
12 Steady Wales18
13 Steady Malta16
14 Increase 1 Greece14
15 Decrease 1 Ukraine13
16 Steady Lebanon11
17 Steady Italy10
18 Steady Ireland9
19 Increase 5 United States8
20 Decrease 1 Jamaica8
21 Decrease 1 Czech Republic8
22 Steady Scotland7
23 Decrease 2 Chile7
24 Decrease 1 Philippines7
25 Steady Poland5
26 Increase 1 Germany5
27 Increase 1 Norway5
28 Decrease 2 South Africa5
29 Steady Brazil4
30 Steady Kenya4
31 Steady Canada4
32 Steady Montenegro3
33 Steady North Macedonia3
34 Increase 22 Morocco3
35 Decrease 1 Argentina3
36 Decrease 1 Albania2
37 Decrease 1 Bulgaria2
38 Decrease 1 Ghana2
39 Decrease 1 Nigeria2
40 Decrease 1 Turkey1
41 Decrease 1 Cameroon1
42 Decrease 1 Japan1
43 Decrease 1 Spain1
44 Decrease 1 Colombia1
45 Decrease 1 El Salvador0
46 Decrease 1 Russia0
47 Decrease 1 Bosnia and Herzegovina0
48 Decrease 1 Hong Kong0
49 Decrease 1 Solomon Islands0
50 Decrease 1 Vanuatu0
51 Increase 6 Hungary0
52 Decrease 1 Latvia0
53 Decrease 1 Denmark0
54 Decrease 1 Belgium0
55 Decrease 1 Estonia0
56 Decrease 1 Sweden0
57 Decrease 7 Niue0
Complete rankings at
www.internationalrugbyleague.com

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 Herzegovina20191100100%2018782+76
 Chile20181100100%20186212+50
 England Lionhearts201220200%201416102–86
 Fiji201610100%20161226–14
 France199510100%19953272–40
 Italy200010100%2000666–60
 Jamaica20101063160%2024238180+58
 Japan1999211050%20002826+2
 Lebanon20121100100%20123618+18
 Serbia201910100%2019836–28
 South Africa201110100%20112236–14
 United States199328522120.83%2024448914–466
Total1993501533131.11%20249861,490–504

World Cup

World Cup Record
Year Round Position Pld Win Draw Loss
France 1954 did not enter
Australia 1957
England 1960
Australia New Zealand 1968
England 1970
France 1972
1975
Australia New Zealand 1977
1985–88
1989–92
England 1995
United Kingdom Ireland France 2000 did not qualify
Australia 2008
England Wales 2013
Australia New Zealand Papua New Guinea 2017
England 2021
Australia 2026

Colonial Cup

Colonial Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L D
Canada 2010Second place2/21010
Canada United States 2011Second place2/22110
United States Canada 2012Second place2/22020
Canada United States 2013Second place2/24130
Canada 2014Champions1/21100
United States 2015Champions1/23210
Canada United States 2016Second place2/22020
Canada 2017Second place2/21010
United States 2024Draw1/21001
Total2 Titles9/9175111

Caribbean Carnival Cup

  • 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
Canada 2011Champions1/21100
Canada 2012Champions1/21100
Canada 2013Champions1/21100
Canada 2014Champions1/21100
Total4 Titles4/44400

Atlantic Cup

Atlantic Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L D
United States 2009Not Invited
United States 2010Second place2/32110
Total0 Titles1/22110

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "Stuart Donlan named head coach of Canada Wolverines". Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "Rugby League Planet - Canada 52 smack USA 14 in Rugby League international". www.rugbyleagueplanet.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "Senior International Matches 2024". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "Head to Head". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "PAST RESULTS". Canada rugby league. Retrieved 25 April 2021.