The Jamaica national rugby league team represents

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

tournaments. Administered by the Jamaica Rugby League Association, the team made their full international debut at the 2009 Atlantic Cup against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The team made their first appearance at the

Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league competition contested by senior men's national teams who each represent member nations of the International Rugby League who run and administer the tournament. The tournament has be ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. They primarily wear yellow jerseys with green shorts and green socks. Their strongest line-up is composed mainly of British Jamaican professional and semi-professional players, alongside amateurs based in Jamaica.

History

Early years

In July 2004 the Jamaica Rugby League Association was born. In 2005 a domestic competition was formed featuring four teams (Duhaney Park Sharks, Vauxhall Vultures, Jamaica Defence Force and Olympic Angels), and in 2006 a representative side was selected for the first time to play against a touring side from the West Yorkshire Police. An Intercollegiate competition was launched in 2010 and now features six Universities and Colleges (University of the West Indies, University of Technology, Mico University College, Portmore Community College, GC Foster College and Excelsior Community College). There is also a thriving junior program with a number of High Schools and Primary Schools playing the sport. There is also a Division 2 competition featuring. Jamaica played their first full international game against the

national side in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

in the 2009 Atlantic Cup. In October that year, Jamaica got their first victory at international level against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

as part of the

2010 Atlantic Cup The 2010 Atlantic Cup (known as the Hotels of Jacksonville Atlantic Cup for sponsorship purposes) was an international rugby league tournament played in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. The competing teams were the United States, Jamaica and Canada. Th ...

Attempts at World Cup Qualification

In 2011 Jamaica entered the Rugby League World Cup for the first time as they contested the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying Atlantic section, they failed to qualify after defeating South Africa and losing to the United States. In 2015 Jamaica aimed to improve on their 2011 disappointment and succeed in the Americas qualification in order to qualify for their first ever World Cup in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

but were ultimately unsuccessful.

World Cup Qualification Success

In 2018, Jamaica entered the World Cup qualifying stages for a third time with the matches also doubling up as the 2018 Americas Rugby League Championship. On 13 November 2018, Jamaica played Canada for a place in the qualification play-off. They defeated Canada 38-8 with Ben Jones-Bishop getting two tries in the victory. On 17 November 2018, Jamaica met the United States at

Hodges Stadium Hodges Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the University of North Florida (UNF), and the home field for the North Florida Ospreys soccer, track and field, and cross country teams. It is located on the university's campus in Jacksonville, F ...

to play for a place in the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received � ...

. Jamaica raced into a 16-0 lead within the first 30 minutes of the game only for the United States to score 2 tries before half-time and pull the score back to 16-10 at the break. The second half was a tighter contest with defence becoming the priority for Jamaica and the half would ultimately end scoreless. Jamaica beat the United States 16-10, defeating United States for the first time in Jamaica's history and qualifying for the 2021 World Cup.

2021 Rugby League World Cup

Jamaica made their Rugby League World Cup debut against Ireland at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

losing 48-2. In the second group stage match, Jamaica suffered a heavy defeat to New Zealand but scored their first ever try at the tournament. In the final group stage match, Jamaica were comprehensively beaten by Lebanon 74-12.

Current squad

Squad selected for match against on 19 October 2024:

Competitive Record

Jamaica have played 30 games in their history with their first full international being played in 2009 against the

, despite the team having been formed 3 years previously in 2006. They have only played two nations more than once, playing

9 times and the United States 8 times. Jamaica regularly compete against these two nations in the Americas Rugby League Championship, having taken part in all 3 editions of this competition to date. They have played 5 other nations, each once. The first of these teams was

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 2011. In 2016, Jamaica played games in Europe for the first time, taking on

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, comfortably defeating them 68-16 and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, drawing 16-16. In 2017, Jamaica played their toughest opponent to date, taking on 2-time

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

runners-up

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, a game they would lose 12-34. Jamaica played their 20th game when they took on United States in the 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup qualifying play-off, winning 16-10 and earning a place in the

in the process.

World Cup

Jamaica made their debut at the

having failed to qualify on 2 occasions previously in 2013 and 2017. They were the second nation from the Americas region to play in a World Cup after the

first took part in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Americas Rugby League Championship

The Americas Rugby League Championship was introduced through the RLIF policy of international expansion and development. Previous to the tournament's existence, the only regional competition in the Americas was the annual Colonial Cup however only the

and

competed in this. The new competition would feature 3 teams with Jamaica being the new edition. Jamaica have competed in all 3 editions to date. In

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, they would finish 3rd and last but would improve their position by a single place in the following 2 editions, finishing as runners-up in

and being crowned champions in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. That year also saw the expansion of the competition to 4 teams with the addition of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Honours

''Regional:''
Americas Rugby League Championship: *Champions (1): 2018 *''Runners-up'' (2): 2015, 2017

IRL Rankings

References

External links

Rugby League JamaicaJamaica
European Rugby League {{National sports teams of Jamaica National rugby league teams Sports clubs and teams in Jamaica Rugby league teams in Jamaica R