Belgium national rugby union team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Belgium women's national rugby union team.

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, 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. 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.

Belgium narrowly failed to qualify for the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup following a 13-13 draw against Samoa in the final qualifying tournament.

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

Rugby World Cup qualification

See also: 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	did not qualify
Total	-

Current squad

On 27 October, Belgium named a 31-player squad ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup Final Qualification Tournament.

Head Coach: Laurent Dossat

• Caps Updated: 13 November 2025 (after Belgium v Brazil)

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Alexandre Raynier	Hooker	(1994-03-16) 16 March 1994	21	Auch
Vincent Tauzia	Hooker	(1992-07-17) 17 July 1992	13	Martres de Veyre
Charlesty Berguet	Prop	(2000-01-13) 13 January 2000	13	Vannes
Jean-Baptiste de Clercq	Prop	(1994-02-23) 23 February 1994	17	Albi
Maxime Jadot	Prop	(1991-01-06) 6 January 1991	56	Emak Hor
Basile van Parys	Prop	(2000-06-30) 30 June 2000	14	Brussels Devils
Seppe Verelst	Prop		6	Brussels Devils
Bruno Vliegen	Prop	(2001-07-03) 3 July 2001	17	Olympique Marcquois
Gillian Benoy	Lock	(1995-05-08) 8 May 1995	31	Béziers
Maurice Fromont	Lock	(2003-09-10) 10 September 2003	9	Stade Métropolitain
Maximilien Hendrickx	Lock	(1997-05-21) 21 May 1997	27	Suresnes
Jérémie Brasseur	Back row	(2000-07-03) 3 July 2000	14	Orléans
Toon Deceuninck	Back row	(2000-12-13) 13 December 2000	24	Auch
Jean-Maurice Decubber	Back row	(1996-09-10) 10 September 1996	20	Angoulême
Felipe Geraghty	Back row	(1993-02-27) 27 February 1993	7	Brussels Devils
Lucas Rassinfosse	Back row	(2001-02-23) 23 February 2001	14	Anglet
William Van Bost	Back row	(1998-08-01) 1 August 1998	14	Béziers
Julien Berger	Scrum-half	(1990-01-10) 10 January 1990	65	La Roche-sur-Yon
Isaac Montoisy	Scrum-half	(1998-09-09) 9 September 1998	19	Salles
Timothé Rifon	Scrum-half	(2001-09-12) 12 September 2001	13	Mâcon
Hugo De Francq	Fly-half	(1998-05-13) 13 May 1998	20	Agronomia
Matias Remue	Fly-half	(2003-03-07) 7 March 2003	13	Toulouse Espoirs
Florian Remue	Centre	(2003-03-07) 7 March 2003	27	Valence d’Agen
Jens Torfs	Centre	(1992-05-26) 26 May 1992	39	Barbezieux
Maxime Vacquier	Centre	(2003-01-15) 15 January 2003	7	Béziers
Robin Wedlake	Centre	(1994-08-16) 16 August 1994	0	Camborne
Dazzy Cornez	Wing	(1996-05-02) 2 May 1996	25	Aubenas
Lucas Michiels	Wing	(2004-03-25) 25 March 2004	4	Alcobendas
Ervin Muric	Wing	(1997-01-03) 3 January 1997	19	Olympique Marcquois
Thomas Wallraf	Wing	(1998-01-21) 21 January 1998	32	Langon
Siméon Soenen	Fullback	(2003-01-03) 3 January 2003	15	Albi

Record

Men's World Rugby Rankings

Top 30 as of 8 December 2025

Rank	Change	Team	Points
1		South Africa	093.94
2		New Zealand	090.33
3		England	089.41
4		Ireland	087.97
5		France	087.24
6		Argentina	084.97
7		Australia	081.53
8		Fiji	081.14
9		Scotland	080.22
10		Italy	078.98
11		Wales	074.23
12		Japan	074.09
13		Georgia	073.18
14		Uruguay	069.19
15		Spain	069.01
16		United States	068.26
17		Chile	066.72
18		Tonga	066.66
19		Samoa	066.43
20		Portugal	064.98
21		Belgium	062.32
22		Romania	061.50
23		Hong Kong	059.61
24		Zimbabwe	058.80
25		Canada	058.75
26		Netherlands	057.01
27		Namibia	056.96
28		Switzerland	055.26
29		Czech Republic	054.78
30		Poland	052.96

Belgium's historical rankings

Source: World Rugby
Graph updated to 8 December 2025

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Belgium national XV at test level up until 18 November 2025, updated after match with Samoa.

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %
Armenia	1	0	1	0	0.0%
Barbarians	1	0	1	0	0.0%
Basque Country	1	1	0	0	100.00%
Brazil	3	1	2	0	33.33%
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%
Namibia	1	1	0	0	100%
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	2	0	1	1	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	260	110	138	12	42.31%

Germany playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2007 Rugby World Cup

Poland playing Belgium in Qualifiers for the 2011 Rugby World Cup

Past coaches

Years	Coach
2004–2014	Richard McClintock
2014–2019	Guillaume Ajac
2020–2022	Frédéric Cocqu
2022	Chris Cracknell
2023	Mike Ford
2024–present	Laurent Dossat

See also

• Rugby union in Belgium

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