Belgium national rugby union team

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Belgium

Nickname	Diables Noirs / Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils)
Union	Belgian Rugby Federation
Head coach	Laurent Dossat
Captain	Jens Torfs
Most caps	Alan Williams (68)
Top scorer	Alan Williams (736)
Top try scorer	Julien Berger (15)
Home stadium	Various
First colours Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current	22 (as of 14 July 2025)
Highest	21 (2012, 2013)
Lowest	55 (2004)
First international
Netherlands 6–6 Belgium  (Amsterdam, Netherlands; 13 March 1932)
Biggest win
United Arab Emirates 3–94 Belgium  (Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 8 December 2012)
Biggest defeat
Spain 77–0 Belgium  (Madrid, Spain; 8 December 1996)
Website	www.rugby.be

The Belgium national rugby union team,^[1] nicknamed Diables Noirs / Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils), currently competes in the first division of the Rugby Europe International Championships, which they have been playing in since 2023. They have yet to participate in a Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Belgium is administered by the Belgian Rugby Federation.

History

The Belgium rugby team played their first match on 13 March 1932 against the Netherlands.^{[citation needed]} They contested annual games against the Netherlands for half a decade starting in 1932. They drew the 1932 game, but lost subsequent matches during the 1930s. They also played Italy and Germany in 1937, losing both games.

During the 1950s, Belgium continued playing the Netherlands, as well as teams like Spain. They managed to obtain a draw in the 1960s against Portugal. In the 1970s they won the majority of their games, as well as playing a broader range of European nations. This trend continued throughout the 1980s. Belgium had a six-game winning streak in the late 1980s. They began playing more games against their regular European opponents as they entered the 1990s. A Belgium side played Argentina prior to the 2007 Rugby World Cup. A Belgium XV played the Barbarians on 24 May 2008.

Belgium has been steadily improving, ranked number 55th in 2004, the 'Black Devils' improved on the following years, obtaining good results against other European Nations, gaining entry to the IRB Ranking's Top 30 in 2010. Since their induction to the first 30 rugby nations in the international ranking, they have managed to maintain their place.

Belgium had a successful campaign during the 2010-2012 European Nations Cup, with a 10 match winning streak from March 2011 to December 2012. Following their promotion in 2023, Belgium is competing in the top division of the Rugby Europe International Championships. In the 2024 season of the Rugby Europe International Championships Belgium earned a historic win over Portugal following their impressive Rugby World Cup campaign.^{[citation needed]}

Jacques Rogge, the former International Olympic Committee president, was a member of the Belgium national team.

Rugby World Cup qualification

World Cup record									World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	P	W	D	L	F	A		P	W	D	L	F	A
1987	Not invited								-
1991	did not enter								did not enter
1995	did not qualify
1999	did not qualify
2003	did not qualify
2007	did not qualify
2011	did not qualify
2015	did not qualify
2019	did not qualify
2023	did not qualify
2027	TBD
Total	-

Current squad

On 20 June, Belgium named a 30-player squad for their 2025 July internationals against the United States and Canada.^[2]

Head Coach: Laurent Dossat

• Caps Updated: 12 July 2025 (after Canada v Belgium)

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Julien Masure	Hooker		1	Frameries
Alexandre Raynier	Hooker	(1994-03-16) 16 March 1994 (age 31)	16	Auch
Bruno Vliegen	Hooker	(2001-07-03) 3 July 2001 (age 24)	14	Olympique Marcquois
Jean-Baptiste de Clercq	Prop	(1994-02-23) 23 February 1994 (age 31)	9	Albi
Charlesty Berguet	Prop	(2000-01-13) 13 January 2000 (age 25)	10	Vannes
Lucas Sotteau	Prop	(1993-08-30) 30 August 1993 (age 31)	20	Floirac
Basile van Parys	Prop	(2000-06-30) 30 June 2000 (age 25)	10	Dendermonde
Lucas Sotteau	Prop	(1993-08-30) 30 August 1993 (age 31)	19	Dendermonde
Seppe Verelst	Prop		6	Olympique Marcquois
Tom Calomme	Lock		1	Soignies
Dries De Keyser	Lock	(2001-06-08) 8 June 2001 (age 24)	10	Dendermonde
Arthur Smeets	Lock	(2002-01-23) 23 January 2002 (age 23)	7	Bassin d’Arcachon
Jérémie Brasseur	Back row	(2000-07-03) 3 July 2000 (age 25)	11	Orléans
Toon Deceuninck	Back row	(2000-12-13) 13 December 2000 (age 24)	19	Marmande
Jean-Maurice Decubber	Back row	(1996-09-10) 10 September 1996 (age 28)	15	Vannes
Felipe Geraghty	Back row	(1993-02-27) 27 February 1993 (age 32)	4	Dendermonde
Lucas Rassinfosse	Back row	(2001-02-23) 23 February 2001 (age 24)	11	Oloron
William Van Bost	Back row	(1998-08-01) 1 August 1998 (age 26)	11	Béziers
Julien Berger	Scrum-half	(1990-01-10) 10 January 1990 (age 35)	63	Barbezieux
Isaac Montoisy	Scrum-half	(1998-09-09) 9 September 1998 (age 26)	14	Barbezieux
Hugo De Francq	Fly-half	(1998-05-13) 13 May 1998 (age 27)	19	Agronomia
Guillem Fernández Grau	Fly-half		1	Kituro
Matias Remue	Fly-half	(2003-03-07) 7 March 2003 (age 22)	7	Toulouse Espoirs
Théo Adaba	Centre	(2003-02-13) 13 February 2003 (age 22)	6	Montauban
Florian Remue	Centre	(2003-03-07) 7 March 2003 (age 22)	21	Valence d’Agen
Jens Torfs	Centre	(1992-05-26) 26 May 1992 (age 33)	22	Barbezieux
Maxime Vacquier	Centre	(2003-01-15) 15 January 2003 (age 22)	5	Bourgoin
Dazzy Cornez	Wing	(1996-05-02) 2 May 1996 (age 29)	19	Aubenas
Ervin Muric	Wing	(1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 (age 28)	13	Olympique Marcquois
Thomas Wallraf	Wing	(1998-01-21) 21 January 1998 (age 27)	28	Langon
Siméon Soenen	Fullback	(2003-01-03) 3 January 2003 (age 22)	13	Montauban

Record

Men's World Rugby Rankings

• v
• t
• e

Top 30 as of 21 July 2025^[3]

Rank	Change[i]	Team	Points
1		South Africa	092.78
2		New Zealand	092.06
3		Ireland	089.83
4		France	087.82
5		England	087.64
6		Australia	082.08
7		Argentina	082.05
8		Scotland	081.57
9		Fiji	080.50
10		Italy	077.77
11		Georgia	074.69
12		Wales	074.05
13		Samoa	072.48
14		Japan	072.29
15		Spain	069.12
16		United States	068.45
17		Uruguay	067.52
18		Portugal	066.44
19		Tonga	065.46
20		Chile	063.83
21		Romania	062.67
22		Belgium	061.20
23		Hong Kong	059.98
24	2	Zimbabwe	058.80
25	1	Canada	057.75
26	1	Netherlands	057.01
27	2	Namibia	056.86
28		Brazil	055.90
29		Switzerland	055.26
30		Poland	054.06

Belgium's historical rankings

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Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Belgium national XV at test level up until 13 July 2025, updated after match with  Canada.

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %
Armenia	1	0	1	0	0.0%
Barbarians	1	0	1	0	0.0%
Brazil	2	0	2	0	0.0%
Canada	4	1	3	0	25%
Chile	1	0	1	0	0%
Croatia	4	2	2	0	50%
Czech Republic	7	4	2	1	57.14%
Czechoslovakia	6	1	5	0	16.67%
Denmark	5	3	1	1	60%
Fiji	1	0	1	0	0.0%
Georgia	7	0	7	0	0.0%
Germany	14	7	6	1	50%
Hong Kong	4	1	3	0	25%
Italy	2	0	2	0	0.0%
Latvia	2	1	1	0	50%
Lithuania	3	3	0	0	100%
Luxembourg	4	4	0	0	100%
Malta	2	2	0	0	100%
Moldova	7	5	2	0	71.43%
Monaco	1	1	0	0	100%
Morocco	4	1	3	0	25%
Netherlands	49	24	21	4	48.98%
Paraguay	1	1	0	0	100%
Poland	15	6	9	0	40%
Portugal	18	4	12	2	22.22%
Romania	12	0	12	0	0.0%
Russia	7	1	6	0	14.29%
Samoa	1	0	1	0	0.0%
Serbia and Montenegro	8	7	1	0	87.5%
Slovenia	3	2	1	0	66.67%
Spain	17	2	14	1	11.76%
Sweden	12	8	4	0	66.67%
Switzerland	11	7	4	0	63.64%
Tunisia	5	1	3	1	20%
Ukraine	6	3	3	0	50%
United Arab Emirates	1	1	0	0	100%
United States	1	0	1	0	0%
Uruguay	1	0	1	0	0.0%
West Germany	6	4	1	1	66.67%
Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0	100.0%
Total	257	108	137	12	42.02%

See also

• Rugby union in Belgium

References

External links

• http://www.rugbyevents.be
• Belgian Rugby Federation
• Belgium XV Official Games
• Belgium Archived 5 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine on rugbydata.com