Scotland National Rugby League Team



The Scotland national rugby league team represent Scotland in international rugby league tournaments. The team is run under the auspices of the Scotland Rugby League, and are nicknamed The Bravehearts. Scotland are not regarded as a test nation. Following the breakup of the Great Britain team, Scottish players will now play solely for Scotland, apart from occasional Southern Hemisphere tours, for which the Great Britain team is expected to be revived.

Though its foundations may date back to as early as 1904, the team formally began in 1995, making them the newest international rugby league team in Great Britain. In their first match they played Ireland, losing narrowly. Since then, Ireland has become the team's main rival, the two teams having played each other many times in their short histories. Scotland have also played the United States, France and Russia amongst others, although they have never played their traditional rival England. In 2000 they qualified for their first ever World Cup, but failed to make an impact, losing all three of their group matches; however, their biggest losing margin was just 12 points. In 2008 they beat Wales over two matches to qualify for the 2008 World Cup.

Scotland play in a dark blue strip, similar to the nation's football and rugby union teams, with blue shirt, shorts and socks. A blue and white shield with a thistle, the Scottish emblem, is the team's badge. The shirt has rarely been significantly changed, although in the early days of the team, white was also used on the shirts.

Currently the team is ranked ninth in the world, ahead of Wales but behind the other home nations neighbours England and Ireland. In the Rugby League European Federation, Scotland are ranked fourth behind Ireland but ahead of Lebanon. Englishman Steve McCormack is the team's coach, having coached since 2004, with Danny Brough captaining the side.