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There are two Ireland national rugby league teams – Ireland and Ireland A. Ireland is the primary team which is made up of Irish players who compete in leagues across the globe whereas Ireland A is made up of players who play in the amateur Irish Elite League only. Irish players are also eligible for the Great Britain national team.
Rugby League Ireland (RLI) is the internationally recognised governing body for the development of rugby league football in Ireland, [1] having secured official recognition from the RLIF in 2000. It is recognised within the Irish Sports Council and took over the running of the Irish international team entirely in 2008 for the World Cup.
The first domestic rugby league club in Ireland were the Dublin Blues. They were a club founded in 1989 by Brian Corrigan. Following the formation of the Ireland national side in 1995 a league competition was mooted to aid further development. In 1997, the first Rugby League tournament began in Ireland.
This period also saw a temporary relaxation of the regulations prohibiting rugby union players from contact with rugby league. In an extraordinary development a team representing rugby league met a rugby union equivalent in two matches, held to raise money for the Red Cross. Both games were held under rugby union rules; both were won by the ...
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.
The two rugby codes differ as the result of changes made to the rules of rugby league. League implemented these changes with the aim of making a faster-paced and more try-oriented game than rugby union. The main differences between the two games, besides league having teams of 13 players and union of 15, involve the tackle and its aftermath:
The tournament also saw the largest rugby league crowd in Ireland, with 5,021 watching Ireland go down to Australia 50–0 at Limerick's Thomond Park. Another success story of the tournament was the United States making the quarter-finals on their tournament debut, before succumbing to Australia 62–0.
A four-team World Series in 2025, the winner of which will be the eighth and final team to qualify for the 2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup. In addition to Ireland, the 2025 World Series will include: Canada Fiji Nigeria; As at 13 October 2024, the dates of the 2025 World Series had not been announced by the International Rugby League.