The Jamaica national rugby league team represents

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

in international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The team will make their first appearance at the Rugby League World Cup in

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. They primarily wear yellow jerseys with green shorts and green socks. Their strongest line-up is composed mainly of

British Jamaican British Jamaicans (or Jamaican British people) are British people who were born in Jamaica or who are of Jamaican descent. The community is well into its third generation and consists of around 300,000 individuals, the second-largest 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 a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

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 ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

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

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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, Flori ...

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 the

Competitive Record

Jamaica have played 22 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. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

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

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, comfortably defeating them 68-16 and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, 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 concept i ...

runners-up

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, 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 will make their debut at the

having failed to qualify on 2 occasions previously in 2013 and 2017. They will become the second nation from the Americas region to play in the world cup after

first took part in 2013.

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

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, 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 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

. 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 the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Honours

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

Notable players

The following is a list of Jamaican representative players who have played in a top-tier professional rugby league competition i.e. the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

and/or the Super League: *

Richie Barnett Richie Barnett (born 21 April 1971) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative , he also captained the side during his career, during which he pla ...

* Alex Brown * Lamont Bryan *

Omari Caro Omari Caro (born 7 March 1991) is a former Jamaican international rugby league footballer who last played as a er for the London Skolars in League 1. Upon retiring from professional rugby, Omari is now a high school teacher. He previously pl ...

* Ashton Golding * Greg Johnson * Karl Pryce *

Leon Pryce Leon Pryce (born 9 October 1981) is a professional rugby League coach who most recently coached Workington Town in League 1 and an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Gre ...

* Waine Pryce * Paul White * Ben Jones-Bishop * Michael Lawrence * Dominic Young * Will Pryce

References

External links

Jamaica Rugby League Association
{{National sports teams of Jamaica National rugby league teams Sports teams in Jamaica Jamaican rugby league teams R