2010–11 Rugby-Bundesliga

The 2010–11 Rugby-Bundesliga was the 40th edition of this competition and the 91st edition of the German rugby union championship. In the Rugby-Bundesliga, the first division, nine teams played a home-and-away season with a finals round between the top four teams at the end. The season started on 28 August 2010 and finish with the championship final on 28 May 2011, interrupted by a winter break from December to late February. Cold weather and heavy snow falls however meant that the last game before the winter break was played already on 6 November 2010.Spieltag witterungsbedingt komplett abgesagt Rugby-Journal, published: 2 December 2010, accessed: 22 December 2010

The championship was won by Heidelberger RK, the defending champion, who defeated SC 1880 Frankfurt 12-9 in the final, marking the third season in a row that these two teams played each other in the championship game, being the only two professional sides in German rugby.Getränke-Hersteller gegen Gold-Händler Offenbach-Post, published: 28 May 2011. accessed: 21 August 2011 Heidelberg had won the 2010 final while Frankfurt triumphed in 2009. It as the eighth championship for HRK. The two finalists of 2009 and 2010 are the only two clubs in Germany considered professional, the remaining clubs and players are all amateurs.TotalRugby Interview mit Hannover 78s neuem/alten Trainer Carsten Segert totalrugby.de, published: 27 February 2011, accessed: 5 March 2011

Below the Rugby-Bundesliga sits the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga, which is divided into two divisions with ten teams each. With the RC Luxembourg, a team from Luxembourg, a non-German side competes in the league in 2010-11, the club having joined the German league system in 2009.Karlsruhe und Luxemburg steigen in die 2.Liga Süd auf totalrugby.de, published: 6 July 2009, accessed: 19 March 2010

In the 2nd Bundesliga, TV Pforzheim won the championship and promotion without dropping a game, while northern champion TSV Victoria Linden declined promotion for a second year in a row.

Overview The 2009-10 modus is identical to the previous season. However, the competition had been reduced from ten to nine teams, after the withdrawal of the ASV Köln Rugby during last season and no team from the 2nd Bundesliga accepting promotion.ASV Köln verkündet Rückzug aus der Rugbybundesliga totalrugby.de, published: 16 April 2010, accessed: 17 April 2010 Like in 2008-09, the top four teams qualify for the finals. The two semi-finals winners then contested the championship final.

At the bottom end of the table, nominally the last two teams are relegated while the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga champions are promoted, however, this is subject to the 2nd Bundesliga champions accepting promotion and a decision on the league strength for 2011-12. In February 2011, the DRV decided that the league would continue to play with ten teams in the future.Es bleibt bei 10 Vereinen in der Bundesliga totalrugby.de, published: 9 February 2011, accessed: 5 March 2011

As a sign of the gap between the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga, TSV Victoria Linden, who only won the 2009-10 North/East division in the last round of the championship, declined promotion, citing the additional cost of travelling and the limited player pool as their reason. The South/West champion, Stuttgarter RC, also declined promotion because of the loss of eight first-team players at the end of the season, originally leaving the Bundesliga with only eight clubs for the next season.Victoria Linden verzichtet auf den Bundesligaaufstieg , totalrugby.de, published: 27 May 2010, accessed: 29 May 2010RC gewinnt Zweitligameisterschaft - verzichtet aber dennoch auf den Aufstieg , totalrugby.de, published: 31 May 2010, accessed: 1 June 2010 DSV 78 protested the decision to reduce the league to eight teams again and thereby relegating the club,Abstieg von Hannover 78 besiegelt - Bundesligasaison 2010/2011 mit nur 8 Mannschaften totalrugby.de, published: 8 June 2010. accessed: 14 June 2010 and was ultimately permitted to stay in the league.

In the 2nd Bundesliga, SC Siemensstadt and TV Pforzheim are new teams for 2010-11, while FT Adler Kiel Rugby and RC Mainz were relegated. A third team, the Karlsruher SV Rugby, withdrew from the league during the 2009-10 season.

After suffering nine defeats in eleven games, the SC Siemensstadt withdrew its team from the North/East division of the 2nd Bundesliga in March 2011.Rückzug DRV website, accessed: 1 April 2011

Bundesliga table The final standings in the table: ClubPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstDifferenceBonuspointsPoints1 Heidelberger RK 16 15 0 1 924 120 804 15 752 SC 1880 Frankfurt 16 14 0 2 849 237 612 12 683 TSV Handschuhsheim 16 11 0 5 468 439 29 9 534 RG Heidelberg 16 9 0 7 512 264 248 8 445 SC Neuenheim 16 9 0 7 380 395 -15 8 446 Berliner Rugby Club 16 7 0 9 281 471 -190 6 347 DSV 78 Hannover 16 4 0 12 265 594 -329 4 208 RK 03 Berlin 16 2 0 14 195 688 -493 2 109 RK Heusenstamm 16 1 0 15 183 849 -666 3 7 Relegated: None, league expanded to ten teams in 2011-12 Promoted: TV Pforzheim

Bundesliga results The results of the Bundesliga in 2010–11:Rugby Spielpläne - Archiv 2010/2011: 1. Bundesliga www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 21 August 2011 Club HRK SCF TSV RGH SCN BRC DSV RKB RKH Heidelberger RK — 36–6 44–9 19–10 31–7 74–18 84–0 60–5 112–0 SC 1880 Frankfurt 16–14 — 72–35 43–29 19–17 57–0 80–0 92–17 69–12 TSV Handschuhsheim 10–64 29–22 — 18–9 13–22 50–24 41–10 44–15 47–21 RG Heidelberg 17–27 21–30 13–20 — 28–24 16–9 43–16 47–12 84–0 SC Neuenheim 3–53 7–81 25–33 13–32 — 51–13 31–26 27–11 51–7 Berliner Rugby Club 0–71 10–22 23–25 18–14 8–14 — 32–20 25–15 29–12 DSV 78 Hannover 0–48 5–84 40–31 8–17 10–18 13–14 — 19–13 53–11 RK 03 Berlin 12–87 5–49 17–38 0–50 15–43 7–37 32–22 — 11–10 RK Heusenstamm 7–100 0–107 18–25 7–82 15–27 10–21 15–23 38–8 —

Key Home win Draw Away win

Player statistics

Try scorers The leading try scores in the Rugby-Bundesliga 2010–11 season were (10 tries or more): PlayerClubTries Caine Elisara Heidelberger RK 27 Keiran Manawatu SC 1880 Frankfurt 26 Shalva Didebashvili SC Neuenheim 15 Mustafa Güngör RG Heidelberg 13 Pieter Jordaan Heidelberger RK 13 Sean Armstrong Heidelberger RK 12 Wayne Hughson SC 1880 Frankfurt 12 Tim Kasten Heidelberger RK 12 Alexander Pipa TSV Handschuhsheim 12 Manasah Sita SC Neuenheim 12 Anjo Buckman Heidelberger RK 11 Steffen Liebig Heidelberger RK 11 Peniasi Loco Tokacece SC 1880 Frankfurt 10

Point scorers The leading point scores in the 2010–11 Rugby-Bundesliga season were (100 points or more): PlayerClubPoints Keiran Manawatu SC 1880 Frankfurt 282 Fabian Heimpel RG Heidelberg 167 Steffen Liebig Heidelberger RK 143 Caine Elisara Heidelberger RK 137 Matthias Pipa TSV Handschuhsheim 133 Pieter Jordaan Heidelberger RK 109

Per club The top try and point scorers per club were: ClubPlayerTriesPlayerPoints Berliner RC1. Bundesliga 2010/2011 - Mannschaftskader Berliner RC totalrugby.de, accessed: 21 August 2011 Sebastian Freund 4 Christian Schubert 76 RK 03 Berlin1. Bundesliga 2010/2011 - Mannschaftskader RK 03 Berlin totalrugby.de, accessed:21 August 2011 Christian Lill 5 Marc Lowdon 73 SC 1880 Frankfurt1. Bundesliga 2010/2011 - Mannschaftskader SC 1880 Frankfurt totalrugby.de, accessed: 21 August 2011 Keiran Manawatu 26 Keiran Manawatu 282 TSV Handschuhsheim1. Bundesliga 2010/2011 - Mannschaftskader TSV Handschuhsheim totalrugby.de, accessed: 21 August 2011 Alexander Pipa 12 Matthias Pipa 133 DSV 78 Hannover1. Bundesliga 2010/2011 - Mannschaftskader DSV 78 Hannover totalrugby.de, accessed: 21 August 2011 Benjamin Simm Pascal Fischer 4 Marvin Dieckmann 80 RG Heidelberg1. Bundesliga 2010/2011 - Mannschaftskader RG Heidelberg totalrugby.de, accessed: 21 August 2011 Mustafa Güngör 13 Fabian Heimpel 167 Heidelberger RK1. Bundesliga 2010/2011 - Mannschaftskader Heidelberger RK totalrugby.de, accessed: 21 August 2011 Caine Elisara 27 Steffen Liebig 143 RK Heusenstamm1. Bundesliga 2010/2011 - Mannschaftskader RK Heusenstamm totalrugby.de, accessed: 21 August 2011 Torsten Krapscha 5 Pascal Schuster 53 SC Neuenheim1. Bundesliga 2010/2011 - Mannschaftskader SC Neuenheim totalrugby.de, accessed: 21 August 2011 Shalva Didebashvili 15 Lars Eckert 54

Semi-finals and final

Semi-finals

Final The 2011 final of the Rugby-Bundesliga was a closely contested game. Frankfurt lead the game from early on until almost the end of regular time. A late try by New Zealander Jesse Westerlund however equalised Frankfurt's lead, followed by a conversion by South African Pieter Jordaan. A desperate attack by Frankfurt in injury time was not rewarded and Heidelberg was able to defend its narrow lead and thereby its German title.Bericht vom Final-WE DRV website, published: 28 May 2011, accessed: 21 August 20111. Bundesliga 2011/2012 - Spielbericht - Finale totalrugby.de, published: 28 May 2011, accessed: 21 August 2011

SC 1880 FRANKFURT: FB 15 Keiran Manawatu RW 14 Carlos Soteras MerzOC 13 Mark Sztyndera IC 12 Graham SmithLW 11 Sam Leung-Wai FH 10 Jason CampellSH 9 Chad ShepherdN8 8 Timo Vollenkemper OF 7 Peniasi Loco TokaceceBF 6 Eugene Smith RL 5 Alexander Hauck LL 4 Daniel Preussner TP 3 Josh Keys HK 2 John PareangaLP 1 Sam BiddlesSubstitutes:LW Anton Ewald BF Benjamin Krimer LL Rolf Wacha TP Chad Slaby N8 Jannis Läpple Coach: Aaron SatchwellHEIDELBERGER RK: FB 15 Steffen Liebig RW 14 Christopher Neureuther OC 13 Rafael Pyrasch IC 12 Pieter Johannes JordaanLW 11 Anjo Buckman FH 10 Jesse WesterlundSH 9 Sean ArmstrongN8 8 Caine Elisara OF 7 Kehoma Brenner BF 6 Tim KastenRL 5 Julio David RodriguezLL 4 Dan Armitage TP 3 Patrick Schliwa HK 2 Alexander Widiker LP 1 Arthur Zeiler Substitutes:LL Benjamin Danso RW Christopher LiebigLP Alexander Biskupek Coach: Kobus Potgieter

2nd Bundesliga tables

South/West The final standings in the table: ClubPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstDifferenceBonuspointsPoints1 TV Pforzheim 18 18 0 0 1,229 177 1,052 18 902 RC Luxembourg 18 14 0 4 476 244 232 8 643 München RFC 18 9 2 7 408 352 56 12 524 TSV Handschuhsheim II 18 10 0 8 414 435 -21 11 515 Heidelberger RK II 18 10 0 8 516 454 62 10 506 ASV Köln Rugby 18 8 1 9 446 414 32 11 457 SC 1880 Frankfurt II 18 6 0 12 400 532 -132 8 328 RG Heidelberg II 18 6 2 10 370 569 -199 5 319 Stuttgarter RC 18 4 1 13 267 698 -431 6 2210 StuSta München 18 2 0 16 191 842 -651 1 9 Promoted to Bundesliga: TV Pforzheim Relegated from Bundesliga: none Relegated from 2nd Bundesliga: Stuttgarter RC, StuSta München, RG Heidelberg II1 Promoted to 2nd Bundesliga: RC Aachen, Heidelberger TV, RC Mainz 1 Five days before the 2011-12 seasons start, the RG Heidelberg withdrew its reserve team from the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West, citing inability to guarantee a full player squad for the whole season.RG Heidelberg zieht Reserveteam aus der 2. Bundesliga Süd zurück totlarugby.de, published: 22 August 2011, accessed: 29 August 2011

North/East The final standings in the table: ClubPlayedWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstDifferenceBonuspointsPoints1 TSV Victoria Linden 16 13 1 2 618 251 367 13 672 FC St Pauli Rugby 16 12 1 3 528 250 278 14 643 SC Germania List 16 12 0 4 460 249 211 10 584 RU Hohen Neuendorf 16 9 1 6 430 298 132 12 505 USV Potsdam 16 7 1 8 501 427 74 6366 SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren 16 5 0 11 221 581 -360 3 237 DRC Hannover 16 5 0 11 231 505 -274 2 228 Berliner RC II 16 4 0 12 249 492 -243 5 219 Hamburger RC 16 3 0 13 239 424 -185 5 1710 SC Siemensstadt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promoted to Bundesliga: none Relegated from Bundesliga: none Relegated from 2nd Bundesliga: SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren2, SC Siemensstadt1 Promoted to 2nd Bundesliga: Welfen Braunschweig, Berliner SV 92 1 SC Siemensstadt withdrew in March 2011, its record being expulsed. 2 Team withdrew from league.

2nd Bundesliga final

References

External links rugbyweb.de - Rugby-Bundesliga table & results Totalrugby.de - Bundesliga table & results