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 | Ay Yıldızlar (The Crescent Stars) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Turkish Rugby Federation | ||
| Head coach | Niall Doherty | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 83 (as of 4 November 2024) | ||
| Highest | 83 (4 November 2024) | ||
| Lowest | 94 (29 January 2024) | ||
| First international | |||
(19 April 2012) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
(23 November 2013) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
(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
editRugby Europe
edit- 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
edit- 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
editBelow is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Turkey national XV at test level up until 4 October 2025, updated after match with
Bulgaria.
| Opponent | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0% | |
| 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 28.57% | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% | |
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0% | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% | |
| 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16.67% | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | |
| Total | 37 | 13 | 23 | 1 | 35.14% |
See also
edit- Rugby union in Turkey
- Samoa national rugby union team
- 2024 mid-year rugby union tests
- Test match (rugby union)
- Hurricanes (rugby union)
- List of South Africa rugby union test matches
- 2006 June rugby union tests
- Mid-year rugby union internationals
- World Rugby Rankings
- Rugby Europe
- List of women's international rugby union test matches
- 2018 June rugby union tests
- Autumn rugby union internationals