VfR Döhren
Encyclopedia
The VfR Döhren is a German
rugby union
club from Hanover
, playing in the Regionalliga North
, the third tier of rugby in Germany. It plays in partnership with SV Odin Hannover
, as SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren.
The club has three German rugby union championship
to its name, won in 1933, 1934 and 1959.
in the club.
During the Second World war club actives were going on until 1943, when as an effect of the strategig bombing
of Hannover the club's pitch was destroyed. In December 1945 Allied Control Council
issued the "Directive 23-Limitation and Demilitarization of Sport in Germany" which led to the termination of all German sports clubs. In Döhren only one club was allowed afterwards which served as the governing body for all sport activities. All three Döhren-based rugby clubs (FC Schwalbe Hannover
, 06 Döhren, VfR Döhren) had to join. Due to relaxation of the policies on sport activities in 1947 FC Schwalbe became an independent club again. In the same year VfR Döhren and 06 Döhren merged and the still valid name "Verein für Rasenspiele 1906" was created.
Döhren's first national title came in 1933, when it beat RG Heidelberg
3-0. The following year, 1934, it repeated its success, this time beating fellow Hanover club FV 1897 Linden
8-3.
The club did not play in another national final after that for the next 25 years. In 1959, once more against RG Heidelberg, VfR won its third national championship with a 10-5 victory. It made one more finals appearance in 1965, this time in the German rugby union cup
, where it lost to TSV Victoria Linden
.
Starting with the celebration of the 50ties anniversary in 1956, the club established a tight friendship with the DHfK Leipzig. In the same year a first trip to Leipzig was organised, followed by two mutual visits each year. In 1960 the match scheduled in Hannover happened to be an encounter of the officiating national champions VfR (Federal Republic of Germany in 1959) and DHfK Leipzig (champion of the German Democratic Republic in 1958, no championship title battled in 1959). VfR started advertising this match as a pan-German championship but had to paste over the words DDR-Meister by order of the DRV.
In recent seasons, the club has not been as successful. It formed a partnership with FC Schwalbe Hannover
for some time in the late 1990s and the two clubs fielded a combined team. The side played in the Rugby-Bundesliga
once more from 1999 but was relegated with the restructuring of the league in 2001. VfR fielded its own, independent side again, now in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East, where it lasted until 2005 before being relegated to the tier-three Rugby-Regionalliga Lower Saxony
, where it earned promotion from in 2007.
In 2007 however, instead of playing in the 2nd Bundesliga, it was forced to form a partnership again, now with SV Odin Hannover
, as SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren. In its first season, 2007–08, VfR teamed up with Odin's second team in the Regionalliga but since then, the two clubs field a combined side in both the first and second team. The first team of this partnership plays its home games in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga at Odin, while the reserve side in the Regionalliga plays at VfR. Despite their struggling senior section the club revitalised the junior section after the millennium. The efforts in these area were more successful and led to two consecutive national junior championship titles in the under 10 age group in 2008 and 2009.
The SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren was withdrawn from the 2nd Bundesliga in 2011 and instead entered the tier-three Regionalliga North
for the following season.
The season 2011/12 will see the SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren playing in the Rugby-Regionalliga North. Despite beeing eligible for playing another season the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East the clubs decided to ask for relegation.
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...
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 Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, playing in the Regionalliga North
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...
, the third tier of rugby in Germany. It plays in partnership with SV Odin Hannover
SV Odin Hannover
The SV Odin Hannover is a German rugby union club from Hanover, currently playing in the Regionalliga North. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like association football, gymnastics and handball....
, as SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren.
The club has three German rugby union championship
German rugby union championship
The 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:...
to its name, won in 1933, 1934 and 1959.
History
The club was founded on the 13th of May 1906. At that time the club's name was "Sportverein Strauss Döhren" including a reference to the village of Döhren in the outskirts of Hanover, Germany. In 1912 the club could buy its first own ground. During the 1st World War no rugby was played and 24 club members died in action. In February 1919 the club was reinstalled and renamed to 'Verein für Rasenspiele e.V. Hannover-Döhren'. For a few months during 1919 association football was played during a cooperation with the football club "Favorit Wülfel". In order to enable self-supply with groceries the clubs ground had been converted into allotment gardens. After compensation of the gardeners the ground was reclaimed in 1920. The next decade was characterised by continuous growth, especially in the junior section. In 1929 the expansion ideas led to the introduction of a women gymnastic section. By 1930 men an women were also playing fistballFistball
Fistball is a sport which is of European origin and is similar to volleyball in that player tries to hit a ball over a net.-History:The earliest known written mention of the game is by Roman Emperor Gordian III and dates to the year 240. Rules for an Italian version of fistball were recorded by...
in the club.
During the Second World war club actives were going on until 1943, when as an effect of the strategig bombing
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
of Hannover the club's pitch was destroyed. In December 1945 Allied Control Council
Allied Control Council
The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known in the German language as the Alliierter Kontrollrat and also referred to as the Four Powers , was a military occupation governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany after the end of World War II in Europe...
issued the "Directive 23-Limitation and Demilitarization of Sport in Germany" which led to the termination of all German sports clubs. In Döhren only one club was allowed afterwards which served as the governing body for all sport activities. All three Döhren-based rugby clubs (FC Schwalbe Hannover
FC Schwalbe Hannover
The FC Schwalbe Hannover is a German rugby union club from Hanover, currently playing in the Rugby-Regionalliga Lower Saxony. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like tennis, basketball and boxing...
, 06 Döhren, VfR Döhren) had to join. Due to relaxation of the policies on sport activities in 1947 FC Schwalbe became an independent club again. In the same year VfR Döhren and 06 Döhren merged and the still valid name "Verein für Rasenspiele 1906" was created.
Döhren's first national title came in 1933, when it beat RG Heidelberg
RG Heidelberg
The RG Heidelberg is a German rugby union club from Heidelberg, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers the sport of rowing.-History:The club was formed on 4 June 1898 as a rowing club...
3-0. The following year, 1934, it repeated its success, this time beating fellow Hanover club FV 1897 Linden
FV 1897 Linden
The FV 1897 Linden is a German rugby union club from Hanover. As well as rugby, the club also offers other sports, such as American football and gymnastics....
8-3.
The club did not play in another national final after that for the next 25 years. In 1959, once more against RG Heidelberg, VfR won its third national championship with a 10-5 victory. It made one more finals appearance in 1965, this time in the German rugby union cup
German rugby union cup
The 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...
, where it lost to TSV Victoria Linden
TSV Victoria Linden
The TSV Victoria Linden is a German rugby union club from the Linden suburb of Hannover, currently playing in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports, such as triathlon and athletics....
.
Starting with the celebration of the 50ties anniversary in 1956, the club established a tight friendship with the DHfK Leipzig. In the same year a first trip to Leipzig was organised, followed by two mutual visits each year. In 1960 the match scheduled in Hannover happened to be an encounter of the officiating national champions VfR (Federal Republic of Germany in 1959) and DHfK Leipzig (champion of the German Democratic Republic in 1958, no championship title battled in 1959). VfR started advertising this match as a pan-German championship but had to paste over the words DDR-Meister by order of the DRV.
In recent seasons, the club has not been as successful. It formed a partnership with FC Schwalbe Hannover
FC Schwalbe Hannover
The FC Schwalbe Hannover is a German rugby union club from Hanover, currently playing in the Rugby-Regionalliga Lower Saxony. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like tennis, basketball and boxing...
for some time in the late 1990s and the two clubs fielded a combined team. The side played 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...
once more from 1999 but was relegated with the restructuring of the league in 2001. VfR fielded its own, independent side again, now in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East, where it lasted until 2005 before being relegated to the tier-three Rugby-Regionalliga Lower Saxony
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...
, where it earned promotion from in 2007.
In 2007 however, instead of playing in the 2nd Bundesliga, it was forced to form a partnership again, now with SV Odin Hannover
SV Odin Hannover
The SV Odin Hannover is a German rugby union club from Hanover, currently playing in the Regionalliga North. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like association football, gymnastics and handball....
, as SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren. In its first season, 2007–08, VfR teamed up with Odin's second team in the Regionalliga but since then, the two clubs field a combined side in both the first and second team. The first team of this partnership plays its home games in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga at Odin, while the reserve side in the Regionalliga plays at VfR. Despite their struggling senior section the club revitalised the junior section after the millennium. The efforts in these area were more successful and led to two consecutive national junior championship titles in the under 10 age group in 2008 and 2009.
The SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren was withdrawn from the 2nd Bundesliga in 2011 and instead entered the tier-three Regionalliga North
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...
for the following season.
Club honours
- 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: 1933, 1934, 1959
- 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...
- Runners up: 1965
- German rugby union junior cup
- Champions: 1985, 2009
Recent seasons
| Year | Division | Position |
| 1997-98 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II) | 3rd |
| 1998-99 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 4th |
| Bundesliga qualification round | 3rd — Promoted | |
| 1999–2000 | Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (I) | 6th |
| Bundesliga qualification round | 5th | |
| 2000-01 | Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 6th |
| Bundesliga qualification round | 11th — Relegated | |
| 2001-02 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II) | 7th |
| 2002-03 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 5th |
| 2003-04 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 2nd |
| 2004-05 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 7th — Relegated |
| 2005-06 | Rugby-Regionalliga Lower Saxony 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) |
|
| North/East championship round | 4th | |
| 2006–07 | Rugby-Regionalliga Lower Saxony (III) | 3rd |
| North/East championship round | 1st | |
| 2007–08 | Rugby-Regionalliga Lower Saxony (autumn) | 3rd |
| Rugby-Regionalliga Lower Saxony (spring) | 2nd | |
| 2008–09 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 5th |
| 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 North/East | 5th |
| 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 North/East | 6th — Relegated |
- 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.
- Since 2007, the club competes in partnership with SV Odin HannoverSV Odin HannoverThe SV Odin Hannover is a German rugby union club from Hanover, currently playing in the Regionalliga North. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like association football, gymnastics and handball....
as SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren.
The season 2011/12 will see the SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren playing in the Rugby-Regionalliga North. Despite beeing eligible for playing another season the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East the clubs decided to ask for relegation.