German Rugby Federation
| Deutscher Rugby-Verband | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sport | Rugby union |
| Founded | 1900 |
| WR affiliation | 1988 |
| Rugby Europe affiliation | 1934 |
| President | Klaus Blank |
| Men's coach | Kobus Potgieter |
| Women's coach | Susanne Wiedemann |
| Website | www.rugby-verband.de |
The German Rugby Federation (German: Deutscher Rugby-Verband or DRV) is the governing body for rugby union in Germany. It organizes the German national team and the three league divisions: the Rugby-Bundesliga, the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga and the Rugby-Regionalliga. It was founded on November 4, 1900, in Kassel, and is the oldest national rugby union in continental Europe. After the Second World War, the DRV was restored on May 14, 1950.
The DRV publishes the Deutsches Rugby-Journal with 11 editions per year. It is the official organ of the federation.
Prior to its foundation several initiatives were taken to syndiacte the German clubs. When the efforts of the north German clubs failed in 1886, DFV Hannover 1878 joined the "German Football and Cricket federation", while the southern clubs opted for the "South German Football Union". Despite the well pronounced individualism of the clubs, representatives from Heidelberg and from FV Stuttgart 93, the later VfB Stuttgart, met in Februar 1898 for the first Rugby-Day (German: Rugby-Tag) in Frankfurt. Led by Professor Dr. Edward Hill Ulrich this group went on looking for closer contact to the north German clubs. Additional Rugby-Days followed in August 1898 and September 1899. It wasn't until the fifth of this gatherings, taking place in Hannover, that 19 clubs formally decided on a joint operation to form a German Rugby Football Union under the governing body of the German Football Association. On the 4th of November 1901, only one year after the foundation the Rugby-Football Federation made the decision to leave the association football players and form the self-governed German Rugby Federation.
In 2000 the German Rugby Federation celebrated its centenary. Centenary celebrations included a banquet in the Heidelberg Castle and the hosting of the European leg of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Heidelberg, in which the German team came close to upsetting Ireland, who had Gordon D'Arcy in their line-up. The tournament was won by the Welsh team, which featured Andy Marinos and Arwel Thomas.
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