Hungary national rugby league team

Magyar Bulls RLFC

Full name	Magyar Bulls Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)	Bulls
Founded	2011
Location	Budapest, Hungary
Ground(s)	Széktói Stadion, Kecskemét
Coach(es)	Adam Nunn (player-coach)
Captain(s)	Zsolt Habocki
Top scorer	Scott Torrance - 8 (1 T, 2 Cons)
League(s)	RLEF (Rugby League Europe Federation)
Team kit
Official website
www.magyarbullsrlfc.blogspot.com

The Hungary national rugby league team represents Hungary in the sport of rugby league football. They made their international debut on July 23rd in the 2011 European Bowl tournament. [1]

History and setting up

Magyar Bulls RLFC, Hungary's National Rugby League team was founded in Budapest in May 2011 by members of the Budapest Exiles RFC, keen to try rugby league and with an open invitation to other teams in Hungary to send players - all with the objective of honouring an invitation to play in the CEE European Bowl competition vs. the Czech Republic.

From small beginnings on a Monday evening, on Margit Island, in the middle of the Danube, the squad has grown to be able to select a nucleus of 20 players to play against the Czech Republic on the 23rd July. The pull of playing international RL has seen enquiries to train and play from a number of other clubs in Hungary as well as players of Hungarian origin who have travelled back to play from Italy and the UK.

2011 Squad

The current squad has a mix of nationalities, all of whom have qualified for Hungary on residency basis if not originally Hungarian and includes players from Hungary, the UK, France, Italy, South Africa and Venezuela. The 2011 squad is coached by Adam Nunn, originally from the UK but who has been the founder of Rugby League in Hungary, and is captained by Zsolt Haboczki. It also features a father and son combination in the form of Lajos and Matyas Bihari (affectionately know as Majom and Kis Majom (Hungarian for Monkey and Little Monkey)).

The 20 man training squad in full

Name	Position	Name	Position
Imre Szalontai	Full Back/Wing	Federico Sciotti	Fullback/Wing
Scott Torrance	Full Back/Wing	Mehdi Benaniba	Centre/Wing/Half-back
Nandor Szabo	Centre/Wing	Laszlo Harangozo	Centre/Second-row forward
Gergo Zubornyak	Centre/Wing	Adam Nunn	Stand-off/Loose forward
Peter Fustos	Hooker/Half Back	Joel Jimenez	Hooker/Half Back
Zsolt Haboczki (Captain)	Prop/Second-row forward	Lajos Bihari	Prop
Geza Juhas	Prop	Laszlo Dekany	Prop
Phil Angel	Hooker/Half Back	Geza Goleth	Second-row forward/Centre
Matyas Bihari	Loose Forward/Centre	Andre Brand	Second row forward/Loose forward
Luca Tramontin	Second-row forward	Cedric Gaidet	Prop/Second-row forward

Back row - Nunn, Juhas, Gaidet, Bihari M, Bihari L, Haboczki, Brand, Harangozo, Goletz, Dekany, Szalontai

Front row - Zubornyak, Benaniba, Jimenez, Angel, Torrance, Fustos, Szabo, Sciotti

Affiliations

RLEF - Rugby League Europe Federation

International Match Results

vs.	Date	Location	Score	Result	Tries	Cons	Pens/DGs	MoM	Match Report
Czech Republic	23 July 2011	Kecskemet, Hungary	16-38	Lost	Torrance, Bihari L, Angel	Torrance x 2	N/A	Bihari M and Jimenez	23rd July Photos
Belgrade Selection	31st July	Kecskemet	0-44	Lost	N/A	N/A	N/A	Bihari M	Photos

Scorer of the first ever points for the Hungarian Rugby League was Scott Torrance

Cap Number and playing record

Cap Number	Name	Total Caps	Total Points
1	Imre Szalontai	2	0
2	Federico Sciotti	2	0
3	Gergo Zubornyak	2	0
4	Laszlo Harangozo	2	0
5	Scott Torrance	2	8
6	Adam Nunn	2	0
7	Peter Fustos	1	0
8	Lajos Bihari	2	4
9	Joel Jimenez	2	0
10	Zsolt Haboczki	2	0
11	Geza Goletz	2	0
12	Andre Brand	2	0
13	Matyas Bihari	2	0
14	Luca Tramontin	1	0
15	Cedric Gaidet	2	0
16	Phil Angel	1	4
17	Nandor Szabo	2	0
18	Arno Franken	1	0
19	Mehdi Benaniba	1	0
20	Geza Juhas	1	0

Domestic Clubs

September 2011 saw the creation of the first domestic rugby league club in Hungary, with the formation of the Danube River Pirates RLFC - the rugby league arm of the Budapest Exiles. The club has been involved in the development of the game on a local level, having played against the Belgrade Selection in their first game and is now open to invitations to tour, or play against touring teams from across Europe.

References

• RLEF (Rugby League Europe Federation)[2]
• "An appetite for Rugby League?" - Forty-Twenty Magazine - article dated 30 June (pages 38–39)- Adam Nunn and Phil Caplan
• "Reality Czech" - Rugby League World magazine - article dated August 2011 (pages 65–67) - Tom Coates

External links

• Magyar Bulls RLFC blog page [3]
• Magyar Bulls RLFC Youtube channel [4]
• RLEF (Rugby League Europe Federation News site - Squad announcement [5]
• RLEF (Rugby League Europe Federation News site - Official match report for the first game [6]