The Hamburger SV Rugby is a German rugby union club from Hamburg, currently competing in the Rugby-Regionalliga Nord, the third tier of rugby in Germany. The team is part of a larger club, the Hamburger SV, which also offers other sports like association football, baseball and cricket.
History The HSV's Rugby department was founded on 16 October 1925 by track and field athletes of the club and external rugby players.
For the most part it has been stuck in the shadow of its local rival FC St. Pauli Rugby. However, over the years HSV managed to win the Hamburg championships twice: once in 1938 and another 40 years later in 1978. This feat earned the team a brief spell in the Rugby-Bundesliga, the highest division of the sport in Germany.Geschichte der HSV-Rugby Abteilung Hamburger SV Rugby website - History, accessed: 23 April 2010
In the 1990s, the club closed its rugby department because of a lack of members. In March 2006, the department was reestablished and a first team formed, consisting mainly (90%) of players who had not played rugby before.
In 2008 the team had to withdraw from the Regionalliga and was demoted to the Verbandsliga due to a lack of players. During the following years the team focused more on restructuring and less on results resulting in occasional victories and a successful campaign, which saw the team finish second in the Verbandsliga Nord in 2012/2013.Aktuelles Hamburger SV Rugby website - News, accessed: 23 April 2010
In the last season 2017 the HSV-Rugby won the Championship in the Verbandsliga Nord. HSV-Rugby run up to the third Division. Now they play in the Regionalliga Nord.
Current Season The team is currently continuing its revival and is permanently looking for new players, although the HSV Rugby team now counts more than 40 active members and players from several countries. In the last season 2017 the HSV-Rugby won the Championship in the Verbandsliga Nord. HSV-Rugby run up to the third Division. Now they play in the Regionalliga Nord. p
Club Honours Hamburg championship Champions: 1938, 1978 Verbandsliga Nord Champion 2017
Recent seasons Recent seasons of the club:RugbyWeb Ergebnisarchiv rugbyweb.de - Results archive, accessed: 24 July 2012 Year Division Position 2006–07 Rugby-Regionalliga North (III) 8th 2007–08 Rugby-Verbandsliga Nord (IV) 5th 2008–09 Rugby-Verbandsliga Nord 7th 2009–10 Rugby-Verbandsliga Nord 4th 2010–11 Rugby-Verbandsliga Hamburg 4th 2011–12 Rugby-Verbandsliga Nord 6th 2012–13 Rugby-Verbandsliga Nord 2nd 2013–14 Rugby-Verbandsliga Nord 5th2014-15Rugby-Verbandsliga Nord2015-16Rugby-Verbandsliga Nord7th2016-17Rugby-Verbandsliga Nord1st2017-18Rugby-Regionalliga Nord
References
External links Rugby section's official website Club's official website Hamburger SV Rugby club info at totalrugby.de