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Rugby League International Federation
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The Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) -formerly International Rugby League Board- is the international governing body of rugby league and was originally set up on 25th January 1948 at Bordeaux, France on the impetus of the French. Its headquarters are currently based in Sydney, Australia, and its current chairman is Colin Love AM. The RLIF is responsible for the organization and governance of all of rugby league's major international tournaments, most notably the Rugby League World Cup, and intercontinental competitions such as the World Club Challenge.
Besides the running and organization of the international game the RLIF is also responsible for the laws of rugby league, the international World Rankings and the awarding of a selection of international awards including International Newcomer of the Year, Developing Nations Player of the Year, International Coach of the Year, International Back of the Year, International Forward of the Year and International Referee of the Year.
The RLIF is run and overseen by a committee with several members sitting on the RLIF board being elected by the three main test nations' governing bodies, the Australian Rugby League, New Zealand Rugby League and Britain's Rugby Football League, and the chairman elected by the collective member nations.
HistorySince 1935 the French Rugby League required the constitution of an international board for the Rugby League but the Australians weren't favorable. For the French RL a new opportunity appeared with the 1947-48 NZRL's Tour in Europe.
The International Rugby League Board -IRLB- was originally formed during the meeting of 25th January 1948 at Bordeaux, France which was attended by representatives from the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII, New Zealand Rugby League, Britain's Rugby Football League and occurring before the 2nd test match France RL v New Zealand RL on 26th January 1948 at Bordeaux.
It was during this meeting that the French RL President i.e. Paul Barrière suggested once again that an international governing body be formed to run the game of rugby league on a global scale. The idea being approved by the RL representatives of France, Great Britain and New Zealand, the IRLB was born and constituted; The Australian Rugby League joined the IRLB some months later.
Over the next few years the IRLB held meetings with the outcomes forming the Rugby League World Cup which made its debut in 1954.
Since 1948 with only four sanctioned international teams being overseen by the IRLB and competing in annual competition the IRLB has grown to see twelve full member nations join the federation along with around thirty member nations and countless affiliates.
In 1999 the IRLB changed its name in Rugby League International Federation -RLIF-
CompetitionsThe RLIF currently does and has always overseen the international game of rugby league, including the first Rugby League World Cup that was held in 1954 in France. Since then the World Cup has been held a total of twelve times, with the last Cup being held in Britain during 2000 which was eventually won by the Australians with the next event due to be held in Australia in 2008. The RLIF has also sanctioned and overseen the Women's Rugby League World Cup since its inception in 2000. The tournament is now held in conjunction with the men's tournament every time that it is held.
Other international competitions and fixtures that the RLIF oversees include the European Cup, Mediterranean Cup, Pacific Cup, Rugby League Tri-Nations, Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament under-age international cups and tournaments including the Student Nations Cup which was last held at the beginning of 2007. The World Club Challenge which features the northern hemispheres Super League champions taking on Australia and New Zealand's National Rugby League champions is also governed by the RLIF.
Several domestic competitions are also aided and fall under the body of the RLIF including Australia and New Zealand's National Rugby League, Europe's Super League and Challenge Cup as well as the American National Rugby League and the Russian Championship.
The game in Europe is only partially overseen by the Rugby League International Federation with the Rugby League European Federation also having a large say in the running and expansion of the game throughout Europe.
Laws of the gameThe laws of rugby league that govern the game are also heavily put together by the RLIF and have been since its inception in 1948. The International Federation in conjunction with the nations governing bodies (mainly the Australian Rugby League, Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII, New Zealand Rugby League and the Rugby Football League) often meet on a semi-regular basis of up to four times per year to make changes or decide new rules; although all test playing nations have a say in the altering of the rules and laws of rugby league.
StructureThe Rugby League International Federation committee will meet at least twice annually and up to four times each year. All twelve full member test nations are represented by their governing bodies at arranged meetings and have superior voting rights in relation to the game of rugby league and any changes being made to it. All non-member nations and affiliate nations are most usually also represented at these meetings but with far reduced voting rights and say in the running and changes of the game. The current chairman of the RLIF is Colin Love OAM.
Current Committee| Member | Position | Nationality |
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| Colin Love | Chairman | Australia | | Richard Lewis | Deputy Chairman | Great Britain | | David Gallop | Secretary | Australia | | Ray Haffenden | Member of the Executive | New Zealand |
Recognitions and awardsThe RLIF currently oversees and awards the major international sporting award for rugby league on an annual basis and has done so since its inception in 2004. This ceremony awards the best referee, coach, developing nations player, international newcomer, captain and a team of the year.
International RankingsThe RLIF publishes and maintains the of the men's national rugby league teams. The concept was first launched in January of 2007 following in the footsteps of the European Rankings published by the Rugby League European Federation.
The RLIF World Rankings are calculated based on an average of points accumulated by each Nation over a three year cycle. Under the structure, matches deemed of higher importance such as World Cup games, Tri-Nations and other major tournament finals draw more points than mid-season Tests and other ‘Internationals’. For each match that a nation participates they are given a base level of points. This base level is affected upon the type of match and the status of the opponent.
Bonus points are given for teams that reach certain milestones deemed of significant international importance including reaching a tournament final or qualifying for an event such as a World Cup.
From the total number of points that a nation will receive these points are then averaged to help give a more accurate view of the performance of a nation over the three year cycle.
Nations which have played less than a certain number of matches deemed acceptable over a three year cycle will be penalised under the current point structure.
See also
External links
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