UK national rugby league team
| Nickname (s) | Lions | ||
| Association | Rugby Football League | ||
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Most international matches Mick Sullivan Garry Schofield (46) |
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Most Points Scored Neil Fox (228) |
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Most attempts scored Mick Sullivan (41) |
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First international 14: 6 New Zealand (January 18, 1908)  |
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Biggest win 72-4 Fiji (October 1996)  |
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Biggest defeat 10:64 Australia (July 2002)  |
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World Championship participations: 9 Best results: World Champion 1954, 1960, 1972 |
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The UK rugby league team , also known by its nickname The Lions , represents Great Britain internationally in the sport of rugby league . During the 20th century the team appeared regularly at all major tournaments and was one of the strongest national teams with three world championships . In 1995, however , the Rugby Football League switched to having the parts of the United Kingdom ( England , Wales and Scotland ) compete with their own national teams. Since then, the Lions' joint appearances are extremely rare, their last international match was against New Zealand in 2007 .
history
The national team of Great Britain was formed as a result of the separation of the Rugby Football League from the Rugby Football Union , which is why the team was initially simply referred to as the "Northern Union". Their first international match took place in Leeds in 1908 against New Zealand, with Great Britain having the upper hand with 14: 6. In 1909 they won the first Ashes series against the national team of Australia , which should become the greatest rival of the British in the international rugby league. In the pre- and interwar period, however, Great Britain remained so dominant that the Australians could only win one series (1920).
In 1954, Great Britain won the final of the first Rugby League World Cup in the Prinzenparkstadion in Paris by beating hosts France 16:12 , although the team had to do without numerous regulars. In 1957 , however, the favored defending champion disappointed when he had to admit defeat to both Australia and New Zealand at the World Cup. In 1960, Great Britain took the title back at its first home World Cup through a dominant performance, but in the course of the 1960s international dominance increasingly passed to the Australians, who were able to win more and more Ashes series. At the World Cup in 1968 , the Lions only landed in third place, in 1970 they lost the final in front of a home crowd against the Kangaroos 7:12. In 1972 the British won a world title for the last time, with a 10:10 draw in the final against Australia due to the better placement in the group stage.
1975 saw the first World Cup without Great Britain, as England and Wales competed with their own national team. In 1977 , the reunited Lions almost spoiled the Australians' triumph at their home World Cup, but lost a hard-fought final in Sydney by just 12:13. After third place at the World Cup in 1988 the final was World Cup in 1992 the last appearance of the British team at a World Cup. In front of 73,000 spectators at London's Wembley, they again lost to the Kangaroos with 6:10. From 1995 England, Wales and Scotland competed with their own national teams in all World Cup tournaments. The Ashes series against Australia continued until 2003, but Great Britain has not won a single series since 1970. The 28:22 win against New Zealand in 2007 in Wigan was the Lions' last international match so far . The future of the team seems extremely uncertain at the moment.
successes
- World Championship (3): 1954, 1960, 1972