Philippines national rugby league team

The Philippines national rugby league team (nicknamed the Tamaraws) represent the Philippines in international rugby league football matches. They were established in 2011. In their short history the Tamaraws have been relatively successful, being repeated Asian Cup winners and regularly participating in the Cabramatta International 9s rugby league tournament.

Philippines

Team information
Nickname	Tamaraws
Governing body	Pambansang Ragbi Liga Ng Pilipinas
Region	Asia-Pacific
Head coach	Paul Sheedy
Captain	Dylan Jones
Most caps	Ned Stephenson
IRL ranking	24th
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First international
Thailand 0–86 Philippines (Bangkok, Thailand; October 21, 2012)
Biggest win
Thailand 0–86 Philippines (Bangkok, Thailand; October 21, 2012)
Biggest defeat
South Africa 72–14 Philippines (Tugun, Australia; July 22, 2023)

History

Niue v. Philippines in a test match in Sydney, Australia.

The Philippines National Rugby League (PNRL) was established in 2011 with a view of expanding rugby league further into Asia. The PNRL oversees the running of the national team, in 2011 it was announced that the Philippines would be playing their first game of rugby league at the 2012 at the Cabramatta International Nines, while also being involved in other organized international rugby league tournaments in the Asia-Pacific region.^[1]

The Philippines have twice been involved in the Cabramatta International 9s rugby league tournament, in 2012 they defeated Burwood-North Ryde 22-18 to take the Bowl Trophy.^[2] In 2013 they selected 3 teams to take part in the tournament.^[3] and in 2014 four teams: the first side, two development sides, and an under 20s side.^[4]

In 2012 the Philippines won over Thailand at the 2012 Rugby League Asian Cup.

They entered the Emerging Nations World Championship in 2018 participating in the third edition of the tournament hosted in Australia. Arwin Marcus was named head coach for the tournament.^[5]

Coaches

• Clayton Watene (2012–2014)
• Arwin Marcus (2016–2021)
• Paul Sheedy (2021–)

Current squad

Squad Selected for the October 2024 Test Match vs Malta in Sydney

1. Jerome Williams
2. Isaac Achampong
3. Johansel Avery
4. Ned Stephenson
5. Isaac Rosario
6. Gerald Ubaldo
7. Nikolas Forrest
8. Jeromy Cairns
9. Tyrone Tootell (c)
10. Ian Neilson
11. Russell Neilson
12. Mac Selwood-Rodriguez
13. James Hannahford
14. Ashley Marshall
15. Liam Byrnes
16. Jordan Jones
17. Juan Carlos Alamote

Competitive record

World Cup

World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	D
2013	Team did not exist when qualifying began
2017	Did not enter
2021	Did not enter
Total	0 Titles	0/13	0	0	0	0

Emerging Nations World Championship

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	D
2018	6th Place	6/11	4	1	3	0
Total	0 Titles	0/13	0	0	0	0

Asian Cup

Captain of the winning Philippines team, Luke Srama holding the trophy at the inaugural Asian Cup in 2012.

The Philippines made their international rugby league debut in Bangkok on October 21, 2012, with a match against Thailand, who were also making their international debut. Aided by a host of Australian-based players, Philippines won the match 86-0 in the first Rugby League Asian Cup.^[6]

Asian Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L	D
2012	Champions	1/2	1	1	0	0
2013	Champions	1/2	1	1	0	0
Total	2 Titles	1/1	1	1	0	0

Fixtures and results

• Philippines def. Thailand 86–0 (October 21, 2012)
• Philippines def. Thailand 44–10 (October 21, 2013)
• Niue def. Philippines 36–22 (October 4, 2014)
• Philippines def. Vanuatu 32–16 (October 11, 2014)
• Philippines def. Serbia 18–12 (February 5, 2016)^[7][8]
• Malta def. Philippines 44–26 (February 4, 2017)^[9]
• Philippines def. Hungary 72–0 (November 5, 2017)^[10]
• Philippines def. Thailand 64–2 (November 8, 2017)^[11]
• Hungary def. Philippines 30–12 (February 3, 2018)^[12]
• Malta def. Philippines 36–10 (October 1, 2018)
• Niue def. Philippines 24–12 (October 7, 2018)
• Philippines def. Turkey 29–16 (October 10, 2018)

All-time results record

Team	First Played	Played	Win	Draw	Loss	Points For	Points Against	Last Meeting
Chile	2022	1	0	0	1	20	36	2022
Hungary	2017	2	1	0	1	84	30	2018
Malta	2017	5	2	0	3	36	80	2024
Niue	2014	2	0	0	2	34	60	2018
Serbia	2016	1	1	0	0	18	12	2016
Thailand	2012	3	3	0	0	192	12	2017
Turkey	2018	1	1	0	0	29	16	2018
Vanuatu	2014	1	1	0	0	32	16	2014
Total	2012	13	7	0	5	445	262

IRL Rankings

IRL Men's World Rankings v t e
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

• Philippines portal
• Sports portal

• Philippine Tamaraw Rugby League