Kenya national rugby league team
| ||||||
| Team information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Kenyan Eagles | |||||
| Governing body | Kenya Rugby League | |||||
| Region | Middle East-Africa | |||||
| Head coach | John Mbai | |||||
| Captain | Dominic Mose | |||||
| IRL ranking | 30th | |||||
| Team results | ||||||
| First international | ||||||
 Kenya 34–24 Italy  (Watamu, Kenya; 25 March 2014) | ||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||
 Cameroon 0–16 Kenya (University of Ghana stadium, Ghana; 1 October 2022) | ||||||
| Biggest defeat | ||||||
 France 108–4 Kenya (Impala Rugby Stadium, Kenya; 5 December 2023) | ||||||
| World Cup | ||||||
| Appearances | 0 | |||||
The Kenya national rugby league team represent Kenya in the sport of rugby league football.
History
[edit]They made their international rugby league debut against Italy where Kenya defeated them 34-24 in front of over 5000 fans at a local primary school in Watamu.[1] The team was hastily formed from selection of local rugby union players. They were introduced to the rules and regulations in rugby league for merely one week before the match.[2]
- Debut Squad[3]
- Allan Limo
- Simon Kisaka
- Mike Shibudu
- Nelman Likami
- Collins Ochieng
- Mackenzie Silla
- Kevin Macharia
- Bob Mutwiri
- Jeremy Chimwani
- Allan Omuka
- Dominic Mose
- Dennis Oyombe
- Hyke Otieno
- Sora Hassan
- Head Coach: Jason Hammond
In December 2023, Kenya hosted France in a two match test series, marking Kenya's first matches against an affiliate member nation.[4]
Competitive Record
[edit]| Team | First Played | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | % | Last meeting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon |
2022 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 2022 |
| France |
2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 2023 |
 Ghana |
2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 2022 |
| Italy |
2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 2014 |
 South Africa |
2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 2023 |
 Uganda |
2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 2023 |
| Total | 2014 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 30% | 2023 |
IRL Rankings
[edit]| Official rankings as of July 2025 | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 1 |  |
 Australia |
100 |
| 2 | |
 New Zealand |
83 |
| 3 | |
 England |
80 |
| 4 | |
 Tonga |
62 |
| 5 | |
 Samoa |
53 |
| 6 | |
 Papua New Guinea |
51 |
| 7 | |
 Fiji |
43 |
| 8 | |
France |
29 |
| 9 |  2 |
 Netherlands |
22 |
| 10 | |
 Cook Islands |
22 |
| 11 |  2 |
 Serbia |
18 |
| 12 | |
 Wales |
18 |
| 13 | |
 Malta |
16 |
| 14 | 1 |
 Greece |
14 |
| 15 | 1 |
 Ukraine |
13 |
| 16 | |
 Lebanon |
11 |
| 17 | |
Italy |
10 |
| 18 | |
 Ireland |
9 |
| 19 | 5 |
 United States |
8 |
| 20 | 1 |
 Jamaica |
8 |
| 21 | 1 |
 Czech Republic |
8 |
| 22 | |
 Scotland |
7 |
| 23 | 2 |
 Chile |
7 |
| 24 | 1 |
 Philippines |
7 |
| 25 | |
 Poland |
5 |
| 26 | 1 |
 Germany |
5 |
| 27 | 1 |
 Norway |
5 |
| 28 | 2 |
South Africa |
5 |
| 29 | |
 Brazil |
4 |
| 30 | |
Kenya |
4 |
| 31 | |
 Canada |
4 |
| 32 | |
 Montenegro |
3 |
| 33 | |
 North Macedonia |
3 |
| 34 | 22 |
 Morocco |
3 |
| 35 | 1 |
 Argentina |
3 |
| 36 | 1 |
 Albania |
2 |
| 37 | 1 |
 Bulgaria |
2 |
| 38 | 1 |
Ghana |
2 |
| 39 | 1 |
 Nigeria |
2 |
| 40 | 1 |
 Turkey |
1 |
| 41 | 1 |
Cameroon |
1 |
| 42 | 1 |
 Japan |
1 |
| 43 | 1 |
 Spain |
1 |
| 44 | 1 |
 Colombia |
1 |
| 45 | 1 |
 El Salvador |
0 |
| 46 | 1 |
 Russia |
0 |
| 47 | 1 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
0 |
| 48 | 1 |
 Hong Kong |
0 |
| 49 | 1 |
 Solomon Islands |
0 |
| 50 | 1 |
 Vanuatu |
0 |
| 51 | 6 |
 Hungary |
0 |
| 52 | 1 |
 Latvia |
0 |
| 53 | 1 |
 Denmark |
0 |
| 54 | 1 |
 Belgium |
0 |
| 55 | 1 |
 Estonia |
0 |
| 56 | 1 |
 Sweden |
0 |
| 57 | 7 |
 Niue |
0 |
| Complete rankings at www.internationalrugbyleague.com | |||
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "Rugby league is a big hit in Kenya". LOVE RUGBY LEAGUE. 2014-03-26. Retrieved 2015-08-29.
- ^ Ayodi, Ayumba (2020-06-20). "Finally, time ripe for rugby league". Daily Nation. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
- ^ "The Standard - Kenya & World News | Latest and Breaking news".
- ^ "Kenya to host France in two ground breaking internationals".