First international successfully staged in Turkey

Turkey has staged their first ever international as their Under-21s fell to a 26-4 defeat to Serbia in Istanbul.

The visitors raced into a 20-0 lead at half-time at the Ataturk Sport stadium, with the outstanding Vladimir Milutinovic scoring all but four of their points thanks to four tries and three goals. Luka Raskovic got their other touchdown.

But the young Turks were superb in the second period. Selim Agirbas scored their try on the hour to much celebration.

Turkey Rugby League Association president Gurol Yildiz said: “Playing our first-ever international match against an experienced Serbian team, our boys stood tall.

“I’m very proud of every player and our coaching staff. As we continue to build rugby league in Turkey, we look forward to playing more international matches.”

Serbian Rugby League Federation general secretary Slobodan Manak added: “On behalf of the Serbian RLF I thank the Turkish RL for hosting us and it was a great pleasure to help them make history.

“The core of our team will play at the Under-19s European Championship in Belgrade from August 4 to 12, 2018, and this was great test for them in the build-up.”