Heidelberger RK
Encyclopedia
The Heidelberger Ruderklub (Heidelberger RK or HRK for short) is a German
rowing
club and rugby union
club from Heidelberg
, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga
.
The club is one of only two professional rugby clubs in Germany, the other being SC 1880 Frankfurt
. The turn to professionalism in a sport otherwise fully amateur in Germany was made possible through the support of Hans-Peter Wild
, who owns a soft drink manufacturing buisness.
The game of rugby was introduced in the club in the early 1890s by Edward Hill Ullrich, who was partly of English descend and had a great love of "English" games, translating the rules of rugby into German. It is from this beginnings that the HRK claims to be the oldest rugby club in Germany. This is true in the sense that its the oldest rugby-playing club in Germany but other clubs have an older rugby department.
The club had a golden era in the late 1920s, when it reached the German championship final three years in a row, winning the title in 1927 and 1928.
After years of stagnation and a lack of home ground, the HRK formed a youth department and moved to the Sportgelände an der Speyererstraße in 1961, which is still its current home. This development soon bore fruit and the club earned three championships in the 1970s, also qualifying for the new Rugby-Bundesliga
in 1971. The club continued to be a force in German rugby well into the 80's, earning its last championship in 1986.
After a period of decline, it found itself in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga, where it was promoted from back to the first division in 1997. After a short stint in this league, the team had to return to the 2nd Bundesliga in 2000, where it was to remain for the next couple of seasons.
The club dominated the 2nd Bundesliga South/West in 2004-05, winning all 16 regular season games, the largest win being a 146-5 victory over BSC Offenbach. In the final against the North/East champion DSV 78/08 Ricklingen
, a 18-6 victory meant promotion back to the Bundesliga.
Since then, the club has existed as a lower table side in the league, sitting just above the relegation zone. In 2008-09
, the clubs performance has much improved and a second place saw the team return to the German finals for the first time in over 20 years. In the semi-finals, the club beat SC Neuenheim
, to reach its first national championship final since 1986, where it narrowly lost 11-8 to SC 1880 Frankfurt
. The following season, HRK finished third in the league but reached the final once more, this time defeating SC 1880 39-22 in extra time, to earn its first national championship since 1986. It repeated this achievement in 2010-11 when it defeated Frankfurt once more in a closely fought final, winning 12-9. Having won the men's national cup and sevens championship as well as the national championship and sevens championship with the women's, the HRK took out all five available national titles in 2010-11.
In 2011-12, the club will also take part in the North Sea Cup, a European Cup competition made up of two clubs each from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
The clubs reserve side has played for many years in the league below, the 2nd Bundesliga South/West.
The club also has a successful women's team, which plays at the highest level in Germany, the Women's Rugby Bundesliga
, but it took the team until 2010 to win a national championship at this level. It has however won the national sevens championship in the past.
's 2006–08 European Nations Cup campaign
, no player from the club was called up for the national team.
In the 2008–10 campaign
, Anjo Buckman
, Christopher Liebig
, Steffen Liebig
, Patrick Schliwa
and Tim Kasten
were new additions to the clubs list of internationals.
In the 2010–12 campaign
, Raphael Pyrasch
, Pieter Jordaan, Alexander Widiker
, Arthur Zeiler
, Daniel Armitage, Sean Armstrong
and Kehoma Brenner
were all new additions to the club's list of German internationals, while Patrick Schliwa, Anjo Buckman, Steffen Liebig and Tim Kasten appeared again.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
club and rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club from Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga
Rugby-Bundesliga
The Rugby-Bundesliga is the highest level of Germany's rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation.The league is predominantly amateur, with only two of the ten clubs in the league being professional outfits,the SC 1880 Frankfurt and Heidelberger RK.-History:The German rugby...
.
The club is one of only two professional rugby clubs in Germany, the other being SC 1880 Frankfurt
SC 1880 Frankfurt
The SC 1880 Frankfurt is a German rugby union club from Frankfurt am Main, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like lacrosse, tennis and field hockey....
. The turn to professionalism in a sport otherwise fully amateur in Germany was made possible through the support of Hans-Peter Wild
Hans-Peter Wild
Hans-Peter Wild is a German entrepreneur and lawyer. He is the owner and chairman of Rudolf WILD GmbH & Co. KG, which, according to company information, is the world's largest private manufacturer of natural flavor ingredients for food products and beverages.-Biography:Hans-Peter Wild was born in...
, who owns a soft drink manufacturing buisness.
History
The clubs origins date back to 1872, when, on 9 May, the Deutschen Flaggen-Club Heidelberg was formed, a rowing club. In the early days, several rowing clubs were formed in Heidelberg and disappeared again, but the remaining ones merged in 1875 to form the Heidelberger Ruderclub, under the leadership of the Flaggen-Club.The game of rugby was introduced in the club in the early 1890s by Edward Hill Ullrich, who was partly of English descend and had a great love of "English" games, translating the rules of rugby into German. It is from this beginnings that the HRK claims to be the oldest rugby club in Germany. This is true in the sense that its the oldest rugby-playing club in Germany but other clubs have an older rugby department.
The club had a golden era in the late 1920s, when it reached the German championship final three years in a row, winning the title in 1927 and 1928.
After years of stagnation and a lack of home ground, the HRK formed a youth department and moved to the Sportgelände an der Speyererstraße in 1961, which is still its current home. This development soon bore fruit and the club earned three championships in the 1970s, also qualifying for the new Rugby-Bundesliga
Rugby-Bundesliga
The Rugby-Bundesliga is the highest level of Germany's rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation.The league is predominantly amateur, with only two of the ten clubs in the league being professional outfits,the SC 1880 Frankfurt and Heidelberger RK.-History:The German rugby...
in 1971. The club continued to be a force in German rugby well into the 80's, earning its last championship in 1986.
After a period of decline, it found itself in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga, where it was promoted from back to the first division in 1997. After a short stint in this league, the team had to return to the 2nd Bundesliga in 2000, where it was to remain for the next couple of seasons.
The club dominated the 2nd Bundesliga South/West in 2004-05, winning all 16 regular season games, the largest win being a 146-5 victory over BSC Offenbach. In the final against the North/East champion DSV 78/08 Ricklingen
DSV 78/08 Ricklingen
The DSV 78/08 Ricklingen was a German rugby union team from the Ricklingen suburb of Hannover, playing in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East in 2008-09. The team was an on-the-field union of DSV 78 Hannover and SV 1908 Ricklingen, two successful clubs in themselves...
, a 18-6 victory meant promotion back to the Bundesliga.
Since then, the club has existed as a lower table side in the league, sitting just above the relegation zone. In 2008-09
Rugby-Bundesliga 2008-09
-Overview:The 2008-09 modus was somewhat different from the previous season. The competition had been expanded from eight to nine teams. The final, which used to be determined by the top-two teams of the regular season was now played by the two winners of the semi-finals which pair the first placed...
, the clubs performance has much improved and a second place saw the team return to the German finals for the first time in over 20 years. In the semi-finals, the club beat SC Neuenheim
SC Neuenheim
The SC Neuenheim is a German rugby union club from Heidelberg, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Having won nine men's and twelve women's German championships as of 2004, the club is one of the most accomplished in Germany.-History:...
, to reach its first national championship final since 1986, where it narrowly lost 11-8 to SC 1880 Frankfurt
SC 1880 Frankfurt
The SC 1880 Frankfurt is a German rugby union club from Frankfurt am Main, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like lacrosse, tennis and field hockey....
. The following season, HRK finished third in the league but reached the final once more, this time defeating SC 1880 39-22 in extra time, to earn its first national championship since 1986. It repeated this achievement in 2010-11 when it defeated Frankfurt once more in a closely fought final, winning 12-9. Having won the men's national cup and sevens championship as well as the national championship and sevens championship with the women's, the HRK took out all five available national titles in 2010-11.
In 2011-12, the club will also take part in the North Sea Cup, a European Cup competition made up of two clubs each from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
The clubs reserve side has played for many years in the league below, the 2nd Bundesliga South/West.
The club also has a successful women's team, which plays at the highest level in Germany, the Women's Rugby Bundesliga
Women's Rugby Bundesliga
The Women's Rugby Bundesliga is the top national competition for women's rugby union football clubs in Germany. The competition started in 1988 and the most successful teams are the SC Neuenheim and the FC St. Pauli....
, but it took the team until 2010 to win a national championship at this level. It has however won the national sevens championship in the past.
Current squad
Men
- German rugby union championshipGerman rugby union championshipThe German rugby union championship was established in 1909 and has since been played, with exceptions, annually. It is the highest competition in Germany in the sport of Rugby Union.-Men:...
- Champions: 1927, 1928, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1986, 2010, 2011
- Runners up: 1929, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1985, 2009
- German rugby union cupGerman rugby union cupThe German rugby union cup is the premier cup competition for men in the sport of Rugby Union in Germany.In October 2009, it was proposed to discontinue both men's cup competitions after 2010, meaning, both the DRV-Pokal and the league cup will not be played anymore after this season...
- Winner: 1973, 1976, 2011
- Runners up: 2003
- German sevens championship
- Champions: 2011
- 2nd Bundesliga
- Champions: 1997, 2005
Women
- German rugby union championship
- Champions: 2010, 2011
- Runners up: 2007, 2009
- German sevens championship
- Champions: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011
Men: First team
| Year | Division | Position |
| 1997-98 | Rugby-Bundesliga Rugby-Bundesliga The Rugby-Bundesliga is the highest level of Germany's rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation.The league is predominantly amateur, with only two of the ten clubs in the league being professional outfits,the SC 1880 Frankfurt and Heidelberger RK.-History:The German rugby... (I) |
8th |
| 1998-99 | Rugby-Bundesliga South/West | 5th |
| Bundesliga qualification round | 3rd | |
| 1999-2000 | Rugby-Bundesliga South/West | 5th |
| Bundesliga qualification round | 5th — Relegated | |
| 2000-01 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West (II) | 5th |
| 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West qualification round | 1st | |
| 2001-02 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West | 3rd |
| 2002-03 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West | 2nd |
| 2003-04 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West | 2nd |
| 2004-05 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West | 1st — Promoted |
| 2005-06 | Rugby-Bundesliga (I) | 6th |
| 2006-07 Rugby-Bundesliga 2006-07 The Rugby-Bundesliga 2006-07 was the 36th edition of this competition and the 87th edition of the German rugby union championship. The season went from 26 August 2006 to 12 May 2007, ending with the championship final.-Overview:... |
Rugby-Bundesliga | 7th |
| 2007-08 Rugby-Bundesliga 2007-08 The Rugby-Bundesliga 2007-08 was the 37th edition of this competition and the 88th edition of the German rugby union championship. The season went from 25 August 2007 to 31 May 2008, ending with the relegation final.-Overview:... |
Rugby-Bundesliga | 6th |
| 2008-09 Rugby-Bundesliga 2008-09 -Overview:The 2008-09 modus was somewhat different from the previous season. The competition had been expanded from eight to nine teams. The final, which used to be determined by the top-two teams of the regular season was now played by the two winners of the semi-finals which pair the first placed... |
Rugby-Bundesliga | 2nd — Runners up |
| 2009–10 Rugby-Bundesliga 2009–10 -Overview:The 2009-10 modus was somewhat different from the previous season. The competition had been expanded from nine to ten teams. It marks the first time since introduction of the single-division Bundesliga in 2001, that ten teams competed in the league. This change of modus was decided upon... |
Rugby-Bundesliga | 3rd — Champions |
| 2010–11 Rugby-Bundesliga 2010–11 -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. Like in 2008-09, the top four teams qualify for... |
Rugby-Bundesliga | 1st — Champions |
| 2011–12 | Rugby-Bundesliga |
- Until 2001, when the single-division Bundesliga was established, the season was divided in autumn and spring, a Vorrunde and Endrunde, whereby the top teams of the Rugby-Bundesliga would play out the championship while the bottom teams together with the autumn 2nd Bundesliga champion would play for Bundesliga qualification. The remainder of the 2nd Bundesliga teams would play a spring round to determine the relegated clubs. Where two placing's are shown, the first is autumn, the second spring.
Men: Reserve team
| Year | Division | Position |
| 2006–07 | Rugby-Regionalliga Rugby-Regionalliga The Rugby-Regionalliga is the third-highest level of Germany's Rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation. Its set below the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga... (III) |
2nd |
| 2007–08 | Rugby-Regionalliga | 1st — Promoted |
| 2008–09 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West (II) | 8th |
| 2009–10 Rugby-Bundesliga 2009–10 -Overview:The 2009-10 modus was somewhat different from the previous season. The competition had been expanded from nine to ten teams. It marks the first time since introduction of the single-division Bundesliga in 2001, that ten teams competed in the league. This change of modus was decided upon... |
2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West | 8th |
| 2010–11 Rugby-Bundesliga 2010–11 -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. Like in 2008-09, the top four teams qualify for... |
2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West | 5th |
| 2011–12 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West |
Women
| Year | Division | Position |
| 2004-05 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 5th |
| 2005-06 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 3rd |
| 2006–07 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 2nd — Runners up |
| 2007–08 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 3rd |
| 2008–09 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 2nd — Runners up |
| 2009–10 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga Women's Rugby Bundesliga The Women's Rugby Bundesliga is the top national competition for women's rugby union football clubs in Germany. The competition started in 1988 and the most successful teams are the SC Neuenheim and the FC St. Pauli.... |
1st — Champions |
Rugby internationals
In GermanyGermany national rugby union team
Germany is a third-tier Rugby Union playing nation. Germany currently plays at the second level of European rugby but has never managed to qualify for the Rugby World Cup...
's 2006–08 European Nations Cup campaign
Germany at the 2006–08 European Nations Cup
Germany at the 2006–08 European Nations Cup was the first time since 1981 that the German national rugby union team reached highest level of FIRA rugby, the European Nations Cup, by winning its group, the Division 2A in 2006–08....
, no player from the club was called up for the national team.
In the 2008–10 campaign
Germany at the 2008–10 European Nations Cup
Germany at the 2008–10 European Nations Cup was the first time since 1981 that the German national rugby union team competed at the highest level of FIRA rugby, the European Nations Cup, during 2008-10....
, Anjo Buckman
Anjo Buckman
Anjo Buckman is a German international rugby union player, playing for the Heidelberger RK in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team....
, Christopher Liebig
Christopher Liebig
Christopher Liebig is a German international rugby union player, playing for the Heidelberger RK in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team....
, Steffen Liebig
Steffen Liebig
Steffen Liebig is a German international rugby union player, playing for the Heidelberger RK in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team....
, Patrick Schliwa
Patrick Schliwa
Patrick Schliwa is a German international rugby union player, playing for the Heidelberger RK in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team....
and Tim Kasten
Tim Kasten
Tim Kasten is a German international rugby union player, playing for the Heidelberger RK in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team.He plays rugby since 1986....
were new additions to the clubs list of internationals.
In the 2010–12 campaign
Germany at the 2010–12 European Nations Cup
Germany at the 2010–12 European Nations Cup sees a return of the German national rugby union team to the ENC Second Division, having been relegated without a win from the First Division in 2008–10...
, Raphael Pyrasch
Raphael Pyrasch
Raphael Pyrasch is a German international rugby union player, playing for the Heidelberger RK in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team....
, Pieter Jordaan, Alexander Widiker
Alexander Widiker
Alexander Widiker is a German international rugby union player, playing for Heidelberger RK in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team....
, Arthur Zeiler
Arthur Zeiler
Arthur Zeiler is a German international rugby union player, playing for the Heidelberger RK in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team....
, Daniel Armitage, Sean Armstrong
Seán Armstrong
Seán Armstrong is an Irish Gaelic Footballer from Galway. Armstrong plays his club football with Salthill-Knocknacarra and county football for the Galway Football Panel since 2005....
and Kehoma Brenner
Kehoma Brenner
Kehoma Brenner is a German international rugby union player, playing for the Heidelberger RK in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team....
were all new additions to the club's list of German internationals, while Patrick Schliwa, Anjo Buckman, Steffen Liebig and Tim Kasten appeared again.