The Kenya Rugby League National Team has been ranked by the Official International Rugby League (IRL).
Kenya is rated 31st out of 51 teams, with a percentage of 3. Kenya’s position comes months after they made their first international debut in the Middle East African Rugby League.
Third in MEA Championship
Edward Rombo’s charges finished third in the Middle East African Rugby League competition held in September following a 16-0 win against Cameroon in the third-place playoffs. They had earlier lost with a 26-6 loss to Ghana in the Middle East Rugby League championship semi-final played at the Legon Stadium, University of Accra, Ghana.
Kenya was invited to replace Morocco in the MEA Rugby League competition after the North Africans were forced to leave due to governance difficulties.
Commenting on the development, Kenya Rugby League President Nyakwaka Adhere said:
“This a step in the right direction and Kenya Rugby League is ready to compete with the best teams in the world and put Kenya on the Global map through the game of Rugby league. ”
The local Rugby League competitions are set to return on schedule in 2023.
How rankings are calculated
The Official International Rugby League (IRL) World Rankings are based on each country’s performance in the current season as well as the three previous seasons.
Points are granted to each side for each match based on the following factors: the outcome of the match (win, lose, or draw), the margin of victory (or defeat) – the higher the winning margin, the greater the value to the rankings.
The relative strength of the opposition encountered – playing a higher rated team is more valuable than facing a lower ranked team
The date of the match – more recent matches are weighted more heavily – a result in the last two years is worth double that of a result three years ago, and four times that of a result four years ago.
The significance of the match – World Cup matchups are rated first, followed by World Cup Qualifiers, Regional Championships, and one-off international matches in that order.
The points are then used to generate the Official World Rankings, which order the teams based on the number of points earned during the four-year period.
Only matches performed at the senior level between two certified members are counted for the rankings.
