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Belgium national rugby union team
National rugby union team
National rugby union team
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Belgium |
| Nickname | Diables Noirs / Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils) |
| Badge | Belgium_national_rugby_union_team.png |
| Badge_size | 170px |
| Union | Belgian Rugby Federation |
| Confederation | Rugby Europe |
| Coach | Laurent Dossat |
| Captain | Jens Torfs |
| Most caps | Alan Williams (68) |
| Top scorer | Alan Williams (736) |
| Top try scorer | Julien Berger (15) |
| Home Stadium | Various |
| World Rugby Trigramme | BEL |
| pattern_la1 | _Belgiumleft17 |
| pattern_b1 | _Belgiumkit17 |
| pattern_ra1 | _Belgiumright17 |
| pattern_so1 | _Belgiumsocks |
| leftarm1 | 000000 |
| body1 | FFFFFF |
| rightarm1 | 000000 |
| shorts1 | 000000 |
| socks1 | 000000 |
| pattern_la2 | _Belgiumleftb17 |
| pattern_b2 | _Belgiumkitb17 |
| pattern_ra2 | _Belgiumrightb17 |
| pattern_so2 | _Belgiumsocks |
| leftarm2 | 000000 |
| body2 | FFFFFF |
| rightarm2 | 000000 |
| shorts2 | 000000 |
| socks2 | 000000 |
| World Rugby Rank | 22 |
| World Rugby Rank date | 14 July 2025 |
| World Rugby max | 21 |
| World Rugby max year | 2012, 2013 |
| World Rugby min | 55 |
| World Rugby min year | 2004 |
| First game | 6–6 |
| (Amsterdam, Netherlands; 13 March 1932) | |
| Largest win | 3–94 |
| (Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 8 December 2012) | |
| Largest loss | 77–0 |
| (Madrid, Spain; 8 December 1996) | |
| website | www.rugby.be |
the men's team
| World Rugby Rank date = 14 July 2025 | World Rugby max year = 2012, 2013 | World Rugby min year = 2004 (Amsterdam, Netherlands; 13 March 1932) (Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 8 December 2012) (Madrid, Spain; 8 December 1996)
The Belgium national rugby union team, nicknamed Diables Noirs / Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils), currently competes in the first division of the Rugby Europe International Championships, which they have been playing in since 2023. They have yet to participate in a Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Belgium is administered by the Belgian Rugby Federation.
History
The Belgium rugby team played their first match on 13 March 1932 against the Netherlands. They contested annual games against the Netherlands for half a decade starting in 1932. They drew the 1932 game, but lost subsequent matches during the 1930s. They also played Italy and Germany in 1937, losing both games.
During the 1950s, Belgium continued playing the Netherlands, as well as teams like Spain. They managed to obtain a draw in the 1960s against Portugal. In the 1970s they won the majority of their games, as well as playing a broader range of European nations. This trend continued throughout the 1980s. Belgium had a six-game winning streak in the late 1980s. They began playing more games against their regular European opponents as they entered the 1990s. A Belgium side played Argentina prior to the 2007 Rugby World Cup. A Belgium XV played the Barbarians on 24 May 2008.
Belgium has been steadily improving, ranked number 55th in 2004, the 'Black Devils' improved on the following years, obtaining good results against other European Nations, gaining entry to the IRB Ranking's Top 30 in 2010. Since their induction to the first 30 rugby nations in the international ranking, they have managed to maintain their place.
Belgium had a successful campaign during the 2010-2012 European Nations Cup, with a 10 match winning streak from March 2011 to December 2012. Following their promotion in 2023, Belgium is competing in the top division of the Rugby Europe International Championships. In the 2024 season of the Rugby Europe International Championships Belgium earned a historic win over Portugal following their impressive Rugby World Cup campaign.
Belgium narrowly failed to qualify for the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup following a 13-13 draw against Samoa in the final qualifying tournament.
Jacques Rogge, the former International Olympic Committee president, was a member of the Belgium national team.
Rugby World Cup qualification
| World Cup record | World Cup Qualification record | Year | Round | P | W | D | L | F | A | P | W | D | L | F | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUSNZL 1987 | Not invited | - | |||||||||||||
| GBRIREFRA 1991 | did not enter | did not enter | |||||||||||||
| RSA 1995 | did not qualify | ||||||||||||||
| WAL 1999 | did not qualify | ||||||||||||||
| AUS 2003 | did not qualify | ||||||||||||||
| FRA 2007 | did not qualify | ||||||||||||||
| NZL 2011 | did not qualify | ||||||||||||||
| ENG 2015 | did not qualify | ||||||||||||||
| JPN 2019 | did not qualify | ||||||||||||||
| FRA 2023 | did not qualify | ||||||||||||||
| AUS 2027 | did not qualify | ||||||||||||||
| Total | - |
Current squad
On 27 October, Belgium named a 31-player squad ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup Final Qualification Tournament.
Head Coach: FRA Laurent Dossat
- Caps Updated: 13 November 2025 (after Belgium v Brazil)
Record
Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Belgium national XV at test level up until 18 November 2025, updated after match with .
| Opponent | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win % | Total | 260 | 110 | 138 | 12 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | ||||||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | ||||||||
| [[File:Flag of the Basque Country.svg | 25px]] Basque Country | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | ||||||
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | ||||||||
| 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0.0% | ||||||||
| 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% | ||||||||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 49 | 24 | 21 | 4 | % | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 15 | 6 | 9 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 18 | 4 | 12 | 2 | % | ||||||||
| 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0.0% | ||||||||
| 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.0% | ||||||||
| 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 17 | 2 | 14 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | % | ||||||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | ||||||||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | ||||||||
| 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | % | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% |
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Past coaches
| Years | Coach |
|---|---|
| 2004–2014 | FRA Richard McClintock |
| 2014–2019 | FRA Guillaume Ajac |
| 2020–2022 | FRA Frédéric Cocqu |
| 2022 | ENG Chris Cracknell |
| 2023 | ENG Mike Ford |
| 2024–present | FRA Laurent Dossat |
References
References
- ({{langx. fr. Équipe de Belgique de rugby à XV) ([[Dutch language. Dutch]]: Belgisch nationaal rugbyteam)
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/crl2g973lkgo
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/crl2g973lkgo
- [https://www.americasrugbynews.com/2025/10/27/belgium-names-squad-to-contest-world-cup-repechage/ Belgium names squad to contest World Cup Repechage]
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