The Turkey national rugby union team is a relatively recent creation, being started at the end of 2009. Turkey is currently a third-tier side. The team first played in 2012 against Slovakia and won 31–5 in Bratislava. On tour, they also defeated Estonia 49–5 in Tallinn.[1] Turkey has yet to play in the qualifying stages for the Rugby World Cup finals.
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Ay Yıldızlar (The Crescent Stars) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Turkish Rugby Federation | ||
| Head coach | Niall Doherty | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 94 (as of 29 January 2024) | ||
| First international | |||
 Turkey 31–5 Slovakia  (19 April 2012) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
| Turkey 55–3 Slovakia (23 November 2013) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Ukraine 64–5 Turkey (10 July 2021) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 0 | ||
Rugby union in Turkey is administered by the Turkish Rugby Federation (Türkiye Ragbi Federasyonu). The federation is affiliated to Rugby Europe (formerly FIRA-AER),[2] and as of 11th May 2023 a full member of World Rugby (formerly IRB).[3] Murat Pazan is the federation's president.
Competitive record
Sevens
- 2012 European Nations Cup Division 3
- 2013 European Sevens Division B South
- 2014 European Sevens Division B South
- 2015 Rugby Europe Sevens – Lower Divisions
- 2016 Rugby Europe Sevens Conferences
- 2017 Rugby Europe Sevens Conferences
- 2018 Rugby Europe Sevens Conferences
- 2019 Rugby Europe Sevens Conference
- 2021 Rugby Europe Sevens Trophy
- 2022 Rugby Europe Sevens Conference
- 2023 Rugby Europe Sevens Conference
Union
- 2012–2014 European Nations Cup Third Division
- 2014–2016 European Nations Cup Second Division
- 2016–17 Rugby Europe Conference
- 2017–18 Rugby Europe International Championships
- 2018–19 Rugby Europe International Championships
- 2019–20 Rugby Europe International Championships
- 2021–22 Rugby Europe International Championships
- 2022–23 Rugby Europe International Championships
- 2023–24 Rugby Europe International Championships
Current squad (XV)
- Guven Tasoglu (Based in England)
- Abdullah Gunes (ODTÜ SK)
- Dinçhan Kilercioğlu (ODTÜ SK)
- Kemal Ege Gurkan (ODTÜ SK)
- Ertugrul Gunday (ODTÜ SK)
- Doğu Eroğlu (ODTÜ SK)
- Koray Kaya (Samsun RK)
- Adem Selim (Samsun RK)
- Selçuk Kozlu (Samsun RK)
- Yavuz Kocaer (Samsun RK)
- Mustafa Kemal Kurt (Koç Üniversitesi SK)
- Mehmet Akif Ersoy (Trakya Üniversites Ragbi)
- Deniz Krom (Kadıköy RK)
- Mert Zabci (Based in England)
- Murat Altun (Based in France)
- Semih Aydın (Based in France)
- Bahri Dagli (Based in France)
- Huseyin Sasmaz (Based in France)
- Ramazan Kilickaya (RC Vichy)
- Gokhan Ceylan (Based in France)
- Atilla Demir (Based in France)
- Necmi Kara (Based in France)
- Hüseyin Yesik (Based in France)
- Melikşah Kuzucu (Based in France)
- Kerim Galal (Based in Germany)
- Erkut Levent Durmus (Based in Germany)
- Ali Bökeyhan Sürer (Based in Germany)
- Tamer Celikbas James (Based in Wales)
- Cenk Tekin Akdeniz (Based in Scotland)
- Tarik Tin (Based in England)
- Arin Gulsen (Based in Wales)
Record
Overall
Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by the Turkey national XV at test level up until 13 April 2024:
| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Andorra | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
 Austria | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Azerbaijan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0% |
 Bulgaria | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20% |
 Estonia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Finland | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
 Moldova | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
 Montenegro | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
 Norway | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
 Serbia | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20% |
| Slovakia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Slovenia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Total | 32 | 12 | 19 | 1 | 37.5% |
See also
References
External links
- Stephane Vincent is the top scorer of Turkey
- Turkish Rugby Union News, Teams and Match Results
- Şahin Kömürcü
- Turkish Rugby Federation
- Results