It has been an agonising and heartbreaking 15 years since a makeshift team of Lebanese heritage players from Sydney were accepted as part of 2000 Rugby League World Cup.
The minnow of all minnows, Lebanon fought valiantly in that tournament. Despite a drubbing by superpower New Zealand, the team went down by two points to Wales and earned a solid draw against the Cook Islands.
Since then, the Lebanese have established a proper amateur domestic competition built around its universities. However, two World Cups later, they have yet to taste the heady heights of tournament participation.
The nation has the unenviable record of never having re-qualified for rugby league’s greatest international event despite only losing one match in two qualifying campaigns.
Two draws against Ireland, one against Italy and a single loss to current world number four, Samoa, were the nation’s only low points in what had otherwise been a very positive presence during that time.
Lebanese optimism was up with victories last year over the Fijians in the Hayne-Mannah Cup. The team was in full preparation for the 2017 World Cup.
Since then, a few hiccups have hit the Lebanese as the domestic competition struggles with the economical and political effects of the Syrian War and a country operating without an effective government.
From a high of a top 10 ranking, the Cedars, Lebanon’s national team, has seen its position drop steadily to its current low of 21. In international rugby league, anything outside of 10 is, to put it mildly, concerning.
This year, the Rugby League International Federation sanctioned the Hayne-Mannah Cup as an official international Test match between Fiji and Lebanon. As in 2013, the cup featured three matches – Under-16s, Under-20s and open. Fiji got their revenge for last year’s three game whitewash, defeating Lebanon in all three grades.
While the national side has hit a few hurdles, spare a thought for the domestic competition. The rebranded Lebanese Rugby League Championship (LRLC) saw a 2013-14 season disrupted by bombings as national and regional instability wrecked havoc on the country.
Despite the intense surroundings, the season went ahead, culminating in a grand final victory to the Jounieh al-Galacticos, whose captain, Raymond Sabat, scored an amazing five tries in the last 20 minutes to completely overwhelm minor premiers Immortals RLFC.
The resilience of the competition – and the people involved – has continued into season 2014-15. Though Redbacks RLFC were forced to withdraw, its players will turn out for the Wolves RLFC in a revamped four-team competition, which is currently underway.
The Bank of Beirut is still the competition’s major sponsor. The second-tiered College Rugby League (CRL) provides seven competing university teams and the Schools Rugby League (SRL) competition is fielding 16 teams in the nation’s third-tiered comp.
The Lebanese Rugby League Federation chief executive Remond Safi conceded that last year’s season was a difficult one, admitting that it would require a lot of hard work to complete the current season while the regional problems persists.
With all of the turmoil, stress and difficulties facing the country, one could be forgiven for deciding to call it a day on rugby league and move on to something a bit easier. Doing so, however, would ignore one of sport’s most fundamental strengths, and that is its ability to unite otherwise disparate groups of people. And as many Lebanese would freely admit, a bit of unity can never hurt.
Lebanese rugby league is far from finished. Like their namesake, the Cedars, Lebanese rugby league roots are deepening. They’ll be back.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
There are people out there who seem to think that unless a league is professional and played in Australia, it mustn't exist.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
lol
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Thanks!
Harry Kimble
Guest
Rugby is suffering in Serbia and rugby league is growing. In the 1950s and 60s, it was league that was played in Serbia, not rugby. Some people wanted to play Rugby in Serbia in the late 1950s and wrote to France for a law book. They were sent a league law book and not a Rugby one. This is why they started playing league. Rugby was played in Croatia. It was only when Yugoslavia wanted to join FIRA that the problem arose. Croatia won the vote and Serbia switched to Rugby. A lot of oldtimers still resent that. Russia has 1,600 league players and having a drive to enlist sponsors and trying to keep their core of players and clubs. When this is conciliated, league hopes to grow again in Russia. The league founder, Edgard Taturian has just retired. The Russian league final was played on 1st November with Locomotiv beating Vereya (Faith), 32-10. Lebanon has gone through a terrible time as a nation but the league has survived, losing only one club. The competitition is hoped the restart in February, 2015 with the four remaining clubs.
Bluebag
Guest
Dunno if Sticks, Chook, Chang are up for it these days..
Bluebag
Guest
Great work again Sleiman.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
I was just reading the Wikipedia page about Serbian rugby league. In Australia, St. George won eleven premierships in a row. In Serbia, the Dorćol Spiders won twelve premierships in a row and were only beaten in a grand final for the first time this year by Red Star Belgrade. We need a a World Club Challenge between the two. It's the only way to settle who is the greatest ever club.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Why would the domestic competitions be about to be abandoned?
swamprat
Roar Pro
If you're happy with the status quo then all International teams outside of the top 3 will be from players from the top 3. It seems that having a viable domestic competition is about to be abandoned as a prerequisite to being recognised as being "international". This thinking is typical of the lack of any long term planning . A great game is run by idiots.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
I'm not hung up at all in the number if domestic players that represent the national team. In an ideal world, yes, the national side for a minnow nation would be made up entirely of domestic players. Liban Espoir are the domestic national side and they have toured many locales playing internationals. The Cedars, the top level national side, are basically Australian players with dual-citizenships or heritage links to Lebanon. That doesn't bother me in the slightest. They are 'representing' Lebanon, much like Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk are from Queensland and represent the Melbourne Storm and not any of the Queensland clubs. The old suburban boundaries are now gone and I have no issues with national boundaries being flexible for minnow nations.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Moscow Locomotiv... what an awesome name.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
My bad.
Cathar Treize
Guest
Locomotive are back in rugby league (as well as union sevens) and have actually sponsored rugby league tournaments in Russia so as to adhere to government guidelines of insurance etc. The game on a junior level is also starting to gain ground again. So to say rugby league doesn't exist anymore is wrong. Their international team has also played Italy in Italy, & Serbia and Ukraine at home in 2014. http://www.rlef.eu.com/russia/introduction
sports prophet
Guest
Maybe the bigger question is, whatever happened to the USA team that almost knocked off a pretty much full strength Kangaroos team in 2004?
sports prophet
Guest
that is not strictly true as they are and have been competing in the European Championship for about six years now. As for club teams competing in the Challenge Cup, that hasn't happened for about 8 years. Expect entries from Serbia in the not too distant future.
sports prophet
Guest
great article, however your title doesn't really match your article. You pretty much summed up Lebanese RL in your post. Questionable circumstances in Lebanon's group game in Russia resulted in Lebanon missing out on qualifying for RLWC2013 on for and against. Those questionable circumstances cost LRL a huge (relative to Lebanese sport) financial sponsor and the cost of competing in the RLWC qualifiers and previous European Cups, almost brought the organisation to its knees. Without neglecting the strength in adversity of the domestic structure in Lebanon there are some pretty cold hard facts. The team competing in the WC Qualifiers included only one domestic player and in 2000 there were none. This is the Lebanon that people remember (if they do), much like those that will recall the Italian and American national sides of 2013 with minimal domestic presence. Since the qualifiers for 2013, Lebanon have played very little internationally in a bid to become financial once more. This has had a huge bearing on their slide down the international rankings. Let's not get hung up on that though. Lebanon (and Serbia) have by far and away the best domestic set up in the northern hemisphere bar England and France. Jamaica and now USA may run them close. All four outperform domestic activity in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy who all qualified for the most recent World Cup. It is my understanding though that the next World Cup will feature an automatic qualifying place for the winner of Middle East North Africa qualifiers. Keep your shirts on folks, Lebanon is not dead and buried yet. Far from it.
Maxilimiiian
Guest
So how many locals played in the bizarrely named Hayne (US) - Mannah Cup
racinage
Guest
Moscow Locomotiv had a couple of goes in the Challenge cup a few years ago Despite all the Govt opposition Russia league is still played...they play against Serbia and Italy in the European cup...not dazzling stuff but it's happening The strength seems to be in a club called Vereya
Silver Sovereign
Roar Rookie
Its still there. I hear great things about Beirut
melbourneterrace
Guest
Rugby League in Russia is no more. Last i heard the majority moved to either 7's or full on Rugby 15's after a major scrap between the power players. Part of it was a struggle for control of the game between Locamotiv and Dinamo (Football fans will recognise those names), the other was the refusal from the Russian Sports ministry to support or recognise the game in the wake of Rugby Unions admittance to the olympic games