Belgium national rugby union team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Belgium women's national rugby union team.

Belgium
NicknameDiables Noirs / Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils)
UnionBelgian Rugby Federation
Head coachLaurent Dossat
CaptainJens Torfs
Most capsAlan Williams (68)
Top scorerAlan Williams (736)
Top try scorerJulien Berger (15)
Home stadiumVarious
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current28 (as of 16 November 2024)
Highest21 (2012, 2013)
Lowest55 (2004)
First international
 Netherlands 6–6  
(Amsterdam, Netherlands; 13 March 1932)
Biggest win
 United Arab Emirates 3–94  
(Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 8 December 2012)
Biggest defeat
 Spain 77–0  
(Madrid, Spain; 8 December 1996)
Websitewww.rugby.be

The Belgium national rugby union team,[1] 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.

Jacques Rogge, the former International Olympic Committee president, was a member of the Belgium national team.

Rugby World Cup qualification

See also: 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
1987 Not invited -
1991 did not enter did not enter
1995 did not qualify
1999 did not qualify
2003 did not qualify
2007 did not qualify
2011 did not qualify
2015 did not qualify
2019 did not qualify
2023 did not qualify
2027 TBD
Total -

Current squad

On 20 June, Belgium named a 30-player squad for their 2025 July internationals against the United States and Canada.[2]

Head Coach: Laurent Dossat

  • Caps Updated: 5 July 2025 (after USA v Belgium)
Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Julien Masure Hooker 1 Frameries
Alexandre Raynier Hooker (1994-03-16) 16 March 1994 15 Auch
Bruno Vliegen Hooker (2001-07-03) 3 July 2001 13 Olympique Marcquois
Jean-Baptiste de Clercq Prop (1994-02-23) 23 February 1994 8 Albi
Charlesty Berguet Prop (2000-01-13) 13 January 2000 9 Vannes
Lucas Sotteau Prop (1993-08-30) 30 August 1993 20 Floirac
Basile van Parys Prop (2000-06-30) 30 June 2000 9 Dendermonde
Lucas Sotteau Prop (1993-08-30) 30 August 1993 19 Dendermonde
Seppe Verelst Prop 5 Olympique Marcquois
Tom Calomme Lock 0 Soignies
Dries De Keyser Lock (2001-06-08) 8 June 2001 9 Dendermonde
Arthur Smeets Lock (2002-01-23) 23 January 2002 6 Bassin d’Arcachon
Jérémie Brasseur Back row (2000-07-03) 3 July 2000 10 Orléans
Toon Deceuninck Back row (2000-12-13) 13 December 2000 18 Marmande
Jean-Maurice Decubber Back row (1996-09-10) 10 September 1996 15 Vannes
Felipe Geraghty Back row (1993-02-27) 27 February 1993 3 Dendermonde
Lucas Rassinfosse Back row (2001-02-23) 23 February 2001 10 Oloron
William Van Bost Back row (1998-08-01) 1 August 1998 11 Béziers
Julien Berger Scrum-half (1990-01-10) 10 January 1990 62 Barbezieux
Isaac Montoisy Scrum-half (1998-09-09) 9 September 1998 13 Barbezieux
Hugo De Francq Fly-half (1998-05-13) 13 May 1998 18 Agronomia
Guillem Fernández Grau Fly-half 0 Kituro
Matias Remue Fly-half (2003-03-07) 7 March 2003 6 Toulouse Espoirs
Théo Adaba Centre (2003-02-13) 13 February 2003 6 Montauban
Florian Remue Centre (2003-03-07) 7 March 2003 20 Valence d’Agen
Jens Torfs Centre (1992-05-26) 26 May 1992 21 Barbezieux
Maxime Vacquier Centre (2003-01-15) 15 January 2003 5 Bourgoin
Dazzy Cornez Wing (1996-05-02) 2 May 1996 18 Aubenas
Ervin Muric Wing (1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 13 Olympique Marcquois
Thomas Wallraf Wing (1998-01-21) 21 January 1998 27 Langon
Siméon Soenen Fullback (2003-01-03) 3 January 2003 12 Montauban

Record

Men's World Rugby Rankings
Top 30 as of 7 July 2025[3]
Rank Change[i] Team Points
1  South Africa 92.78
2  New Zealand 90.98
3  Ireland 89.83
4  France 88.90
5  England 86.72
6  Argentina 82.98
7  Scotland 82.36
8  Australia 82.08
9  Fiji 79.52
10  Italy 77.77
11  Georgia 74.69
12  Japan 73.70
13  Samoa 72.68
14 2  Wales 72.65
15  United States 70.02
16  Spain 67.34
17  Uruguay 67.06
18  Portugal 66.44
19  Tonga 65.46
20  Chile 63.20
21  Romania 63.13
22  Hong Kong 59.98
23   59.98
24  Canada 59.18
25  Namibia 57.87
26  Zimbabwe 57.16
27  Netherlands 57.01
28  Brazil 56.53
29   Switzerland 55.26
30  Poland 54.06
  1. ^ Change from the previous week
Belgium's historical rankings
See or edit source data.
Source: World Rugby[3]
Graph updated to 7 July 2025

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Belgium national XV at test level up until 18 March 2025, updated after match with  Netherlands.

Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win %
 Armenia 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Barbarians 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Brazil 2 0 2 0 0.0%
 Canada 3 0 3 0 0.0%
 Chile 1 0 1 0 0%
 Croatia 4 2 2 0 50%
 Czech Republic 7 4 2 1 57.14%
 Czechoslovakia 6 1 5 0 16.67%
 Denmark 5 3 1 1 60%
 Fiji 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Georgia 7 0 7 0 0.0%
 Germany 14 7 6 1 50%
 Hong Kong 4 1 3 0 25%
 Italy 2 0 2 0 0.0%
 Latvia 2 1 1 0 50%
 Lithuania 3 3 0 0 100%
 Luxembourg 4 4 0 0 100%
 Malta 2 2 0 0 100%
 Moldova 7 5 2 0 71.43%
 Monaco 1 1 0 0 100%
 Morocco 4 1 3 0 25%
 Netherlands 49 24 21 4 48.98%
 Paraguay 1 1 0 0 100%
 Poland 15 6 9 0 40%
 Portugal 18 4 12 2 22.22%
 Romania 12 0 12 0 0.0%
 Russia 7 1 6 0 14.29%
 Samoa 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 Serbia and Montenegro 8 7 1 0 87.5%
 Slovenia 3 2 1 0 66.67%
 Spain 17 2 14 1 11.76%
 Sweden 12 8 4 0 66.67%
  Switzerland 11 7 4 0 63.64%
 Tunisia 5 1 3 1 20%
 Ukraine 6 3 3 0 50%
 United Arab Emirates 1 1 0 0 100%
 Uruguay 1 0 1 0 0.0%
 West Germany 6 4 1 1 66.67%
 Zimbabwe 1 1 0 0 100.0%
Total 255 107 136 12 41.96%

See also

References

  1. ^ (French: Équipe de Belgique de rugby à XV) (Dutch: Belgisch nationaal rugbyteam)
  2. ^ Belgium names traveling squad for North American tour
  3. ^ a b "Men's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
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