Ireland national rugby league team
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| Nickname | Wolfhounds | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governing body | Rugby League Ireland | ||||||
| Region | Europe | ||||||
| Head coach | Mark Aston | ||||||
| Captain | Liam Finn | ||||||
| Most caps | Bob Beswick (25) | ||||||
| Top try-scorer | Phil Cantillon (12) | ||||||
| Top point-scorer | Liam Finn (106) | ||||||
| Home stadium | Carlisle Grounds Bray | ||||||
| RLIF ranking | 6th | ||||||
| First international | |||||||
 United States 22–24 Ireland  (Washington D.C., US; 17 March 1995) |
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| Biggest win | |||||||
Ireland 70-16 Russia  (Bray, Ireland; 30 October 2016) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||||||
 England Knights 62-4 Ireland (St Helens, England;16 June 2012) |
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| World Cup | |||||||
| Appearances | 3 (first time in 2000) | ||||||
| Best result | Quarter-finals 2000, 2008 | ||||||
The Ireland national rugby league team, known as the Wolfhounds, represents the whole island of Ireland in rugby league football. The team is organised by Rugby League Ireland. The representative team is dominated by players from the European Super League and sometimes includes players from the Australasian National Rugby League. Ireland is also represented by an Ireland A side, which is made up of players from the domestic Irish competition.
Since Ireland began competing in international rugby league in 1995, it has participated in the 1995 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament, the 1996 Super League World Nines, and three Rugby League World Cups – 2000, 2008 and 2013. They have also competed in the Rugby League European Nations Cup and Victory Cup. Ireland A compete in the St Patrick's Day Challenge in the USA and in the Amateur Four Nations.
Irish players have in the past been selected to play for the Great Britain side, one recent example being Cork-born Brian Carney. However, since the Great Britain team was split into individual nations in 2007, it is unlikely that this situation will arise again.
The seeds of modern-day Rugby League in Ireland were sown in 1989 when Brian Corrigan founded the Dublin Blues, a club that was primarily used by union players to keep fit during the summer by playing matches against touring British teams. In 1995 the British RFL established Ireland's first development officer and later that year Ireland played against the United States in Washington on St Patricks Day with Ireland winning 24-22. Wigan Warriors player Joe Lydon came on as a substitute despite him being there as manager. Huddersfield Giants coach Terry Flanagan and former Great Britain international Niel Wood were the joint coaches. In August 1996 Ireland beat Scotland at the RDS Arena in Dublin as a curtain raiser to the charity shield match between Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors . Former Great Britain player Des Foy played for Ireland. Following their appearance at the 1995 Emerging Nations Tournament they were invited to the Super League World Nines in Fiji where they finished 8th. Prior to the tournament Ireland played a game of touch rugby against Australia in Fiji's National Stadium on 20 February going down 12-20. Later that year Ireland returned to the USA to play in the St Patrick's Day match winning 14-12
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