| ||||||
| Team information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Wolfhounds | |||||
| Governing body | Rugby League Ireland | |||||
| Region | Europe | |||||
| Head coach | Ged Corcoran | |||||
| Captain | George King | |||||
| Mostcaps | Liam Finn (32) | |||||
| Top try-scorer | Stuart Littler (13) | |||||
| Top point-scorer | Liam Finn (170) | |||||
| Home stadium | Carlisle Grounds,Bray Morton Stadium,Santry | |||||
| IRL ranking | 18th | |||||
| Uniforms | ||||||
| ||||||
| Team results | ||||||
| First international | ||||||
 Ireland 24–22United States  (RFK Stadium,Washington DC, 17 March 1995)[1][2] | ||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||
Ireland 82–0Serbia  (Tullamore,Ireland; 18 October 2009) | ||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||
 England Knights 62–4Ireland (St Helens,England;16 June 2012)  Russia 64–6Ireland (Moscow,Russia;16 May 2004) | ||||||
| World Cup | ||||||
| Appearances | 5 (first time in2000) | |||||
| Best result | Quarterfinals (2000,2008) | |||||
TheIreland men's national rugby league team, known as theWolfhounds, is organised byRugby League Ireland and represents the entire isle ofIreland in international rugby league. The representative team is composed largely of players of Irish descent who compete in theSuper League as well as the AustralasianNational Rugby League. Ireland is also represented by anIreland A side, which is made up of players from the Irish domestic competition.
Since Ireland began competing in international rugby league in 1995, it has participated in the1995 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament, the 1996Super League World Nines, and fiveRugby League World Cups –2000,2008,2013,2017 and2021.[3] They have also competed in theRugby League European Nations Cup.[3]
Although, the island of Ireland is separate from the island ofGreat Britain, Irish players such asCork-bornBrian Carney have in the past been selected to play for theGreat Britain side.[4]
The seeds of modern-day Rugby League in Ireland were sown in 1989 when Brian Corrigan founded theDublin Blues Rugby League, a club that was primarily used by union players to keep fit during the summer by playing matches against touring British teams.[5][2] In 1995 the British RFL established Ireland's first development officer and later that year Ireland played against theUnited States in Washington onSt Patricks Day with Ireland winning 24–22.[2][6]Wigan Warriors playerJoe Lydon came on as a substitute despite also serving as the manager.Huddersfield Giants coachTerry Flanagan and former Great Britain Student international Niel Wood were the joint coaches. In August 1995 Ireland beat Scotland at theRDS Arena in Dublin as a curtain raiser to the charity shield match betweenLeeds Rhinos andWigan Warriors.[7] The matches were played before an attendance of 5,716, a record for an international rugby league match on Irish soil.[7][8] Former Great Britain playerDes Foy played for Ireland.[8] Following their appearance at the1995 Emerging Nations Tournament, they were invited to theSuper League World Nines in Fiji where they finished 8th.[9]
The Irish rugby league team is one of many Irish teams that draws its players from across the island of Ireland. It utilises theFour Provinces Flag of Ireland and the all-island anthem, "Ireland's Call". Unlike theIrish rugby union team, the Irish rugby league team neither playsAmhrán na bhFiann, the national anthem of theIrish state, norGod Save the King/Queen, the national anthem ofNorthern Ireland,[citation needed] in addition to Ireland's Call when playing at home.
Ireland were included in the tournament held in England and were placed in Group B alongsideMoldova andMorocco. Ireland beat Moldova 48–24 before beating Morocco 42–6 to progress to the final. In the final Ireland lost 6–22 to theCook Islands at Gigg Lane in Bury.[10] Coached by Terry Flanagan, Ireland's squad included professionalsDes Foy andMartin Crompton in an otherwise domestic based squad.
1997 saw more England-basedSuper League players making themselves available by use of thegrandparent 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.[11]
Ireland were drawn againstLebanon andRussia in Europe's2008 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.
At the2008 World Cup in Australia, Ireland were inGroup C along withTonga andSamoa. 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.[12][13] As the group winners, they playedFiji, winners of Group B, for a chance to qualify for the semi-final.[14] Fiji won 30–14 eliminating Ireland.[14]
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For the 2013 World Cup Ireland were drawn in group A alongside Australia, England and 2008 World Cup rivals Fiji. Ireland was granted automatic entry to the tournament due to their strong showing in the 2008 World Cup. Ireland lost all three group matches including a 0–50 defeat to eventual champions Australia in front of 5,021 fans atThomond Park.[15]
Ireland kicked off their campaign with a shock 36–12 win over Italy inCairns. 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.[16][17][18]
Ireland started 2021 Rugby League World Cup qualification campaign in the2018 European Championship, where they finished third with a win againstScotland and two losses againstFrance andWales. Ireland's third-place finish required them to participate in the2019 European play-off tournament to ensure qualification. Here they managed to achieve two wins againstItaly andSpain, leading to their World Cup qualification. Ireland were drawn intoGroup C, alongsideNew Zealand,Lebanon andJamaica.[19] In April 2022 Offaly-bornGed Corcoran took over fromStuart Littler for the World Cup campaign.[20] Ireland finished the tournament with a 1–2 record beating Jamaica in their opener, before losing to Lebanon and New Zealand.[21]
In March 2024, the International Rugby League deemed that Ireland had been non-compliant with the terms of the IRL membership policy and consequently would be reclassified as an affiliate member.[22] This decision also made Ireland ineligible to participate in qualifiers for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.[22]
Updated as of 12 October 2025
| Name | Tenure | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % | Championships/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Flanagan | 1995–1996 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 66.67% | |
| Steve O'Neill | 1997–2001* | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 60% | Triangular Series |
| Daryl Powell | 2003–2005 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 55.56% | |
| Andy Kelly[23] | 2006–2010 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 35.71% | |
| Mark Aston[24] | 2011–2017 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 40% | |
| Carl De Chenu† | July – September 2015[25][26] September – October 2016[27][28][29] June 2018[30] | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 85.71% | |
| Stuart Littler[20][31] | 2018–2022 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 60% | |
| Ged Corcoran | 2022 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33.33% | |
| Wayne Kerr[32] | 2024– | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| Total | 1995– | 77 | 41 | 3 | 33 | 53.25% | — |
| *Andy Kelly andSteve O'Neill were considered joint coaches during the2000 World Cup and for Ireland's 2001 test with France.[33] | |||||||
| †Between 2015 and 2018 Carl De Chenu served as the domestic coach for test matches and assumed the role of assistant coach for the European Championships and World Cup. | |||||||
The 28-man squad selected for the Autumn 2025 tests against
Netherlands and
Wales.[34]
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Aaron Lynch | Swinton Lions |
| Tom Ashurst | Swinton Lions |
| Aidan McGowan | Huddersfield Giants |
| Connor Carr | Huddersfield Giants |
| George King | Huddersfield Giants |
| Harry Rushton | Huddersfield Giants |
| Brendan O’Hagan | Entrance Tigers |
| Daire Kemp | Longhorns RL |
| Dan Lynch | Rochdale Hornets |
| Dec O’Donnell | Rochdale Hornets |
| Daniel Corcoran |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
| Isaac Baynham | Leigh Leopards |
| Jack Brown | York Knights |
| Jake Thewlis | Warrington Wolves |
| Joe Philbin | Warrington Wolves |
| Toby King | Warrington Wolves |
| James Farrar | Ireland A Pathways |
| Lewis Wing | Ireland A Pathways |
| Jamie Gill | Bradford Bulls |
| Ronan Michael | Bradford Bulls |
| Lachlan Lanskey | Keighley Cougars |
| Oliver Whitford | Keighley Cougars |
| Liam O’Callaghan | Wests Warriors |
| Louix Gorman | Hull KR |
| Lucas Castle | Workington Town |
| Pat Moran | Oldham Roughyeds |
| Ryan Hogg | Dublin City Exiles |
| Will Walker | Sherwood Wolf Hunt |
Statistics are up to date as of 30 October 2022.[35][36][37] Bold indicates current player.
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Ireland compete in theRugby League European Nations Cup and have participated in theRugby League World Cup.
Ireland's competitive record as of 06 October 2025[38]
| Against | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % | For | Aga | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 50 | –50 |
 Belgium | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 34 | 0 | +34 |
 Cook Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 6 | 22 | –16 |
| England | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0% | 28 | 104 | –76 |
| England Knights | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 8 | 118 | –110 |
 Fiji | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 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 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% | 64 | 70 | –6 |
 Lebanon | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0% | 64 | 106 | –42 |
 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 |
 New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 10 | 48 | –38 |
 Māori | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 30 | 16 | +14 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 60 | 28 | +32 |
 Papua New Guinea | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 6 | 14 | –8 |
| Russia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 75% | 184 | 110 | +74 |
 Samoa | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 64 | 32 | +32 |
 Scotland | 15 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 73.33% | 335 | 261 | +74 |
| Serbia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 106 | 16 | +90 |
 Spain | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 88 | 14 | +74 |
 Tonga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 20 | 22 | –2 |
| United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 112 | 50 | +62 |
| Wales | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 40% | 199 | 253 | –54 |
| Total | 77 | 41 | 3 | 33 | 53.25% | 1,991 | 1,797 | +194 |
| Official rankings as of November 2025 | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 1 |  | Australia | 100 |
| 2 | | New Zealand | 79 |
| 3 | | England | 72 |
| 4 |  1 | Samoa | 56 |
| 5 |  1 | Tonga | 52 |
| 6 | | Papua New Guinea | 45 |
| 7 | | Fiji | 33 |
| 8 | | France | 23 |
| 9 | 1 | Cook Islands | 23 |
| 10 | 1 | Serbia | 23 |
| 11 | 2 | Netherlands | 22 |
| 12 | 3 |  Ukraine | 20 |
| 13 | 1 | Wales | 18 |
| 14 | 4 | Ireland | 16 |
| 15 | 1 |  Greece | 15 |
| 16 | 3 | Malta | 14 |
| 17 | | Italy | 11 |
| 18 | 2 | Jamaica | 8 |
| 19 | | United States | 7 |
| 20 | 5 |  Poland | 7 |
| 21 | 5 | Lebanon | 7 |
| 22 | 5 |  Norway | 6 |
| 23 | 3 |  Germany | 6 |
| 24 | 3 |  Czech Republic | 6 |
| 25 | 2 |  Chile | 6 |
| 26 | 2 |  South Africa | 5 |
| 27 | 3 |  Philippines | 5 |
| 28 | 6 | Scotland | 5 |
| 29 | |  Brazil | 4 |
| 30 | 1 |  Canada | 4 |
| 31 | 1 |  Kenya | 3 |
| 32 | 2 | Morocco | 3 |
| 33 | |  North Macedonia | 3 |
| 34 | 1 |  Argentina | 2 |
| 35 | 3 |  Montenegro | 2 |
| 36 | |  Albania | 1 |
| 37 | 3 |  Turkey | 1 |
| 38 | 1 |  Bulgaria | 1 |
| 39 | 1 |  Ghana | 1 |
| 40 | 1 |  Nigeria | 1 |
| 41 | 3 |  Colombia | 0 |
| 42 | 1 |  Cameroon | 0 |
| 43 | 1 |  Japan | 0 |
| 44 | 1 | Spain | 0 |
| 45 | 1 | Russia | 0 |
| 46 | 1 |  El Salvador | 0 |
| 47 | |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 |
| 48 | |  Hong Kong | 0 |
| 49 | |  Solomon Islands | 0 |
| 50 | |  Vanuatu | 0 |
| 51 | | Hungary | 0 |
| 52 | |  Latvia | 0 |
| 53 | |  Denmark | 0 |
| 54 | | Belgium | 0 |
| 55 | |  Estonia | 0 |
| 56 | |  Sweden | 0 |
| 57 | |  Niue | 0 |
| Complete rankings at www.internationalrugbyleague.com | |||
| 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 | Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 72 | 82 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 12 | |
| 2026 | Ineligible to participate in qualifiers | Ineligible to participate in qualifiers | |||||||||||||
| Total | 5/16 | Fifth place | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 324 | 370 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 325 | 98 | |
A red box around the year indicates tournaments played within Ireland.
| European Championship record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| 1935–1996 | did not enter | |||||||
| 2003 | Group Stage | 3/3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2004 | Second Place | 2/6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2005 | Group Stage | 2/3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2009 | Fourth Place | 4/6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2010 | Fourth Place | 4/4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2012 | Second Place | 2/3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2014 | Third Place | 3/4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | Third Place | 3/4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | Third Place | 3/4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 Titles | 9/33 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Triangular Series Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| 1999 | 1st Place | 1/3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1/1 | 1 Title | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
This one-off tournament was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales.[39][40]
In 2015 Rugby League Ireland announced that theCarlisle Grounds inBray, County Wicklow would become the official home ground of the national team.[41] Despite this announcement, Ireland have also subsequently usedMorton Stadium inSantry as their home ground.[42]
Below is a list of the highest attendances for international rugby league matches in Ireland.
| Rank | Attendance | Opponent | Date | Venue | Metro area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5,716 | Scotland | 1995-08-13 | RDS Arena | Dublin[8] |
| 2 | 5,021 | Australia | 2013-11-09 | Thomond Park | Limerick[15] |
| 3 | 3,207 | Samoa | 2000-10-28 | Windsor Park | Belfast[43] |
| 4 | 3,164 | New Zealand Maori | 2000-11-04 | Tolka Park | Dublin[44] |
| 5 | 3,100 | France | 2011-11-05 | Thomond Park | Limerick[45] |
The Ireland A team is selected from players in the Irish domestic competition, administered byRugby League Ireland. The Ireland A side competed in theSt Patrick's Day Challenge between 2000 and 2012 and in theAmateur Four Nations from 2003 to 2014.
