‘One Belgium’ take inspiration from Hockey in bid to make first World Cup

With a combination of French flair and Flemish pragmatism, Belgium’s national men’s rugby team is hoping to emulate the success of Hockey in the Lowland country.

The Black Devils are currently one place behind their long-standing, all-time best of 21st in the World Rugby Rankings, having achieved a best-ever finish of fifth at the Rugby Europe Men’s Championship back in March.

A superb 31-10 win in Amsterdam against border rivals Netherlands maintained their dream of a maiden Rugby World Cup appearance, as it resulted in them booking their place at the Final Qualification Tournament, which begins in Dubai this weekend.

Belgium will have to beat Namibia, Brazil and Samoa in the space of 10 days at The Sevens Stadium if they are to claim the 24th and final ticket to Australia. You can catch all the live action from the Final Qualification Tournament on RugbyPass TV.

However, their journey to this point properly began just over two years ago when Belgium Rugby Federation President, Michiel Leysen, instigated a more collaborative approach between the French and Flemish regional rugby bodies.

This has led to a more efficient pooling of resources, making the Black Devils more attractive to commercial sponsors, for one, as well as helping the unity of the team on the pitch, as noted by long-serving captain Jens Torf.

“You can see that in our game, it used to be a weakness, but now it is a strength, having the Federation being united, the players are now united, it is really good,” said Torf, one of a handful of Flemish speakers in a team that has a predominently French accent.

The overarching Belgium Rugby Federation was effectively run by four volunteers when Leysen came on board six years ago, but it’s on a much sounder footing now, run professionally, and with the two full-time Directors of the French and Flemish Leagues, which operate on a budget of circa €1.5m each, also serving as CEOs of the Federation.

The Red Lions Hockey team’s rise from being also-rans to first-time Olympic champions three years ago was used as an example of what the Black Devils could achieve if they pulled together, and the clubs from the north and the south bought into the vision.

“The regional sporting bodies were obliged to create these separate (French and Flemish) entities (to access funding), and Hockey was the last sport to separate. They separated on paper but, in reality, they collaborated as one entity,” said Leysen.

“The reality is they have one vision and they use their resources to get behind one plan, and now they are Olympic champions (beating Australia in a penalty shootout). So we copied their model.

“The previous President for Hockey in Belgium, Marc Coudron, he was President for 16 years, and he’s now part of our board,” explained Leysen.

“We asked him to join us, to guide us. They did it in 20 years, this road to success, and we said we wanted to do it quicker, in a couple of years.

“He said where rugby is today in Belgium it was where Hockey was exactly 20 years ago when you look to the number of employees, sponsors and players. There were around 15,000 players (currently there are 13,500 rugby players) and there are now 60,000 playing Hockey, so is has quadrupled.”

It is hoped that qualification for the Rugby World Cup, which has never been done before, would have a similar effect on rugby back home.

“That would be something, a great legacy to leave behind for Belgium rugby, for the youngsters, so they can believe in their dreams and help rugby in Belgium take the next step,” acknowledged Torf.