United States national rugby league team
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| Nickname | Hawks | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governing body | USA Rugby League | ||||||
| Region | Americas | ||||||
| Head coach | Brian McDermott | ||||||
| Captain | Nick Newlin | ||||||
| RLIF ranking | 10th | ||||||
| First international | |||||||
 France 31–0 United States  (Toulouse, France; October 1954) |
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| Biggest win | |||||||
 Japan 6–78 United States (Jacksonville, USA; June 27, 2003) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||||||
 England 110–0 United States (Orlando, USA; 2000) |
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| World Cup | |||||||
| Appearances | 1 (first time in 2013) | ||||||
| Best result | Quarter-Finals (2013) | ||||||
The United States national rugby league team, nicknamed the Hawks, represents the United States in international rugby league football competitions. The team is controlled by the USA Rugby League (USARL) and is overseen by the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF).
The United States competed with little success in some international games during the 1950s, but did not return to consistent competition until 1987. With the establishment of the American National Rugby League (AMNRL) in 1997, the team, nicknamed the Tomahawks, began to participate in more regular international competition, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. In 2014, the USARL became the national governing body for rugby league in the U.S.
One of the earliest attempts to introduce rugby league to the United States was in 1953, when Mike Dimitro, a wrestling promoter, was asked to organize a tour of Australasia by an American rugby league team.
The team, known as the American All-Stars, was given a huge schedule that included 26 matches against Australian and New Zealand sides. None of the 22 American players had ever played rugby league prior to this tour, they presented themselves in American football-like attire early on in the tournament. The team only won six games and tied two.
Their second match of the tour, against a Sydney side, drew a crowd of 65,453 to the Sydney Cricket Ground. After a consistent lack of competition, crowds were good but never reached the great height that the match at the SCG did.
The tour did not in turn bring any benefits to American rugby league. However, Mike Dimitro did not give up; he was able to organise two exhibitions against Australia and New Zealand in California that did not turn out to be a big success.
In 1987, the United States played their first international game since 1954 against Canada. They have participated in the World Sevens (1992–1997), Super League World Nines (1996, 1997), Emerging Nations World Cup (2000) and Victory Cup (2003, 2004) competitions.
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