2009–10 Rugby-Bundesliga

The 2009–10 Rugby-Bundesliga was the 39th edition of this competition and the 90th edition of the German rugby union championship. Ten teams played a home-and-away season with a finals round between the top four teams at the end. The bottom two teams are relegated. The season started on 29 August 2009 and finished with the championship final on 29 May 2010, interrupted by a winter break from early December to late March.[1]

2009–10 Rugby-Bundesliga
Countries Germany
 Luxembourg
ChampionsHeidelberger RK (7th title)
Promotednone
RelegatedASV Köln Rugby
Top point scorerFabian Heimpel (225)
Top try scorerAlexander Pipa (22)

The competition's defending champion was SC 1880 Frankfurt, who won it in the previous two seasons. In the 2010 final, SC 1880 lost to Heidelberger RK, the previous seasons runners-up, which won its first championship since 1986 and its seventh overall. The final was drawn 22-all after regular time and was decided in extra time, where HRK scored 17 unanswered points to be crowned German champions of the men, already having won the 2010 women's final earlier that year. The 2010 final was contested by the two teams expected to do so at the start of the season, SC 1880 and HRK being the only two teams in Germany considered professional.[2] The final was considered to have been of high niveau, with long-term German Bundestrainer Peter Ianusevici declaring it the best German championship final he had ever watched.[3]

Below the Rugby-Bundesliga sat 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 competed in the league in 2009-10. The inclusion of this side in the 2009 promotion round to the 2nd Bundesliga had caused some debate in regard to its legality, as the club had not qualified to do so through the German league system and was not a member of any of the German regional rugby federations. However, RC Luxembourg's application was declared valid in regard to the German Rugby Federation's rules and regulations and the team finished second in the promotion round, earning a place in the 2nd Bundesliga for 2009-10.[4]

Location of teams in the 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 on 19 July 2008 at the annual general meeting of the German rugby association, the DRV. It was decided to expand the league to ten teams for 2009-10. It was also then decided to introduce an extended play-off format.[5] All up, the number of season games in the Rugby-Bundesliga increases to 94 from 76.

Like in 2008-09, the top four teams qualified 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 were relegated while the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga champions are promoted, however, this was subject to the 2nd Bundesliga champions accepting promotion, which was not the case.

The defending champion in 2009-10 was SC 1880 Frankfurt, who beat Heidelberger RK in the 2008-09 final while the ASV Köln Rugby and DSV 78 Hannover were newly promoted to the league, having replaced the DRC Hannover. Suffering from a string of injuries, especially to its forward line, and heavy defeats during the season, ASV Köln Rugby made the decision in mid-April 2010, to withdraw from the Rugby-Bundesliga and not to play its five remaining matches. Köln thereby was automatically relegated from the league.[6]

In the 2nd Bundesliga, the winners of the two divisions were nominally promoted to the Bundesliga, unless they were reserve teams, in which case the right for promotion would have gone to the next-best non-reserve team. The bottom two teams in the 2nd Bundesliga faced the prospect of relegation to the Rugby-Regionalliga. In the South/West Division, the Karlsruher SV Rugby withdrew in March 2010, its record being expulsed.[7]

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, has also indicated that it would not take up promotion because of the loss of eight first-team players at the end of the season, leaving the Bundesliga with only eight clubs for the next season. It also meant, for the first time ever, that no club from Hanover would compete at the top level of German rugby.[8][9]

DSV 78 protested the decision to reduce the league to eight teams again and thereby relegating the club.[10] For the 2nd Bundesliga, this also meant, only one team each would be promoted to the two regional divisions, in the North/East, this was SC Siemensstadt, the club being directly promoted, while, in the South/West, TV Pforzheim won the promotion tournament of the five southern Regionalliga champions in Nuremberg on 12 June 2010.[11]

Bundesliga table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Difference Points
1SC 1880 Frankfurt16140271614357366
2RG Heidelberg16112351230720557
3Heidelberger RK16102457522135454
4TSV Handschuhsheim169253832929149
5SC Neuenheim169163473202747
6Berliner Rugby Club165011364414-5029
7RK 03 Berlin165110259589-33027
8RK Heusenstamm163013233719-48614
9DSV 78 Hannover162014156540-38410
10ASV Köln Rugby00000000

Bundesliga results
Club SCF RGH HRK TSV SCN BRC RKB RKH DSV ASV
SC 1880 Frankfurt — 40-6 33-16 29-6 20-23 23-14 59-8 84-0 68-5 50-0
RG Heidelberg 23-9 — 31-24 16-20 22-28 48-12 68-3 50-18 51-9 0-0
Heidelberger RK 3-5 34-34 — 16-12 20-20 27-13 61-5 43-3 74-10 65-0
TSV Handschuhsheim 15-22 13-13 7-37 — 23-20 25-11 10-10 38-24 33-8 59-0
SC Neuenheim 0-28 23-31 6-29 27-20 — 26-17 24-7 43-10 25-16 81-0
Berliner RC 5-94 12-18 25-17 10-14 18-20 — 51-19 77-21 39-5 0-0
RK 03 Berlin 12-57 26-39 7-73 19-61 17-12 23-18 — 36-19 34-3 51-10
RK Heusenstamm 7-102 21-34 10-63 12-54 14-29 19-17 31-28 — 24-18 25-15
DSV 78 Hannover 0-43 15-28 0-38 18-32 28-21 15-25 3-5 3-0 — 0-0
ASV Köln Rugby 0-0 0-77 0-0 8-79 5-53 3-24 0-97 3-49 0-22 —
  • ASV Köln Rugby played 13 of its 18 scheduled matches before withdrawing, results were later expulsed from the record.

Key
Home win Draw Away win Game not played

Player statistics

Try scorers

The leading try scores in the Rugby-Bundesliga 2009–10 season were (10 tries or more):

Player Club Tries
Germany Alexander Pipa TSV Handschuhsheim 22
Zimbabwe Manasah Sita SC Neuenheim 19
South Africa Pieter Johannes Jordaan Heidelberger RK 19
New Zealand Caine Elisara Heidelberger RK 19
Germany Bastian Himmer RG Heidelberg 15
Germany Mark Sztyndera SC 1880 Frankfurt 13
Germany Colin Grzanna Berliner RC 13
New Zealand Keiran Manawatu SC 1880 Frankfurt 13
Germany Christian Lill RK 03 Berlin 11
Germany Marten Strauch SC Neuenheim 11
New Zealand Jason Campell SC 1880 Frankfurt 10
Germany Tom Schilling RK 03 Berlin 10
Australia Sean Armstrong Heidelberger RK 10

Point scorers

The leading point scores in the Rugby-Bundesliga 2009–10 season were (100 points or more):

Player Club Points
Germany Fabian Heimpel RG Heidelberg 225
Germany Mark Sztyndera SC 1880 Frankfurt 133
Germany Thorsten Wiedemann Heidelberger RK 128
New Zealand Keiran Manawatu SC 1880 Frankfurt 128
Germany Pascal Schuster RK Heusenstamm 115
Germany Matthias Pipa TSV Handschuhsheim 113
Germany Colin Grzanna Berliner RC 111
Germany Alexander Pipa TSV Handschuhsheim 110

Per club

The top try and point scorers per club were:

Club Player Tries Player Points
Berliner RC[13] Germany Colin Grzanna 13 Germany Colin Grzanna 111
RK 03 Berlin[14] Germany Christian Lill 11 Germany Marc Lowdon 96
SC 1880 Frankfurt[15] Germany Mark Sztyndera 13 Germany Mark Sztyndera 133
TSV Handschuhsheim[16] Germany Alexander Pipa 22 Germany Matthias Pipa 113
DSV 78 Hannover[17] Germany Benjamin Simm 4 Germany Marvin Dieckmann 67
RG Heidelberg[18] Germany Bastian Himmer 15 Germany Fabian Heimpel 225
Heidelberger RK[19] South Africa Pieter Johannes Jordaan
New Zealand Caine Elisara		 19 Germany Thorsten Wiedemann 128
RK Heusenstamm[20] Germany Torsten Krapscha 5 Germany Pascal Schuster 115
ASV Köln Rugby[21] Seven players 1 Germany Tobias Sylvester 11
SC Neuenheim[22] Zimbabwe Manasah Sita 19 Germany Lars Eckert 56

Semi-finals and final

Semi-finals
2010-05-22
15:00
RG Heidelberg15 – 36Heidelberger RK
Try: Himmer (2) 72', 80'
Con: Heimpel 80'
Pen: Heimpel 10'		ReportTry: Armstrong, Liebig (2), Elisara
Con: Hamstra (2)
Pen: Hamstra (3)
Drop: Hamstra
Fritz-Grunebaum-Sportpark, Heidelberg
Attendance: 900
Referee: Dana Teargarden
2010-05-23
15:00
SC 1880 Frankfurt27 – 16TSV Handschuhsheim
Try: Manawatu 15', Hauck 75'
Con: Manawatu 76'
Pen: Manawatu (5)		ReportTry: Wetzel 35'
Con: Pipa 35'
Pen: Pipa (3) 15', 40', 49'
Sportanlage an der Feldgerichtstrasse, Frankfurt am Main
Attendance: 800
Referee: Dana Teargarden

Final
2010-05-29
14:00
SC 1880 Frankfurt22 – 39 (aet)Heidelberger RK
Try: Porter 47'
Con: Manawatu 47'
Pen: Manawatu (5) 21', 33', 60', 75', 80'+		ReportTry: Liebig 54', Hamstra 68', Jordaan 81', Keinhorst 98'
Con: Hamstra (2) 81', 98'
Pen: Hamstra (4) 20', 51', 65', 88'
Drop: Jordaan 34'
Sportanlage an der Feldgerichtstrasse, Frankfurt am Main
Attendance: 1,800
Referee: Frank Himmer
SC 1880 FRANKFURT:
FB15Anton Ewald downward-facing red arrow 51'
RW14Keiran Manawatu
OC13Mark Sztyndera downward-facing red arrow 106'
IC12Graham Smith
LW11Sam Leung-Wai
FH10Jason Campell
SH9Dennis Feidelberg
N88Ross Warrick yellow card 65' to 75'
OF7Andrew Porter
BF6Alexander Hauck downward-facing red arrow 110'
RL5Daniel Preussner downward-facing red arrow 51'
LL4Rolf Wacha downward-facing red arrow 84'
TP3Sam Biddles
HK2Michael Howells
LP1Syd Douglas
Substitutes:
RLChad Slaby upward-facing green arrow 51'
FBBevan Gray upward-facing green arrow 51' downward-facing red arrow 94'
N8Andrew Shaw upward-facing green arrow 94'
FBErik Podzuweit upward-facing green arrow 94'
OCAlexander Berwing upward-facing green arrow 106'
BFRico Schomacker upward-facing green arrow 110'
Coach:
New Zealand Aaron Satchwell
HEIDELBERGER RK:
FB15James Keinhorst downward-facing red arrow 110'
RW14Christopher Neureuther
OC13Steffen Liebig downward-facing red arrow 105'
IC12Pieter Johannes Jordaan
LW11Anjo Buckman downward-facing red arrow 71'
FH10Carlin Hamstra
SH9Sean Armstrong
N88Manuel Ballerin downward-facing red arrow 55'
OF7Carlo Schmidt downward-facing red arrow 51'
BF6Caine Elisara
RL5Julio David Rodriguez
LL4Dan Armitage
TP3Patrick Schliwa downward-facing red arrow 75'
HK2Alexander Biskupek
LP1Arthur Zeiler
Substitutes:
OFSydney Brenner upward-facing green arrow 51'
N8Ben Dubykupward-facing green arrow 55'
LWChristopher Liebig upward-facing green arrow 71'
TPAlexander Wiedemann upward-facing green arrow 75' downward-facing red arrow 105'
TPBenedikt Rehm upward-facing green arrow 105'
OCAndreas Götz upward-facing green arrow 105'
FBErkut Leventdurmus upward-facing green arrow 110'
Coach:
Australia Murray Archibald

2nd Bundesliga tables

South/West
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Difference Points
1Stuttgarter RC16130361019441663
2München RFC16121342425816658
3RC Luxembourg1612043092456453
4RG Heidelberg II168083112941741
5SC 1880 Frankfurt II1660103743284634
6StuSta München16718298391-9334
7TSV Handschuhsheim II165011243328-8525
8Heidelberger RK II165011202451-24917
9RC Mainz163013230512-28217
10Karlsruher SV Rugby00000000

North/East
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Difference Points
1TSV Victoria Linden178160265620245476
2USV Potsdam18150383819364574
3RU Hohen Neuendorf18130561424337163
4FC St Pauli Rugby18120659225134162
5SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren1811074123258749
6SC Germania List18918333465-13244
7DRC Hannover186012291486-19531
8Berliner RC II184014236682-44618
9FT Adler Kiel Rugby183015151736-58513
10Hamburger RC180117147687-5404

2nd Bundesliga final
2010-05-29
12:00
TSV Victoria Linden10 – 59Stuttgarter RC
Sportplatz an der Feldgerichtstraße, Frankfurt am Main

References
  1. Rugby Spielpläne - 2009-10 - 1. Bundesliga (in German) rugbyweb.de, accessed: 18 March 2010
  2. Société Générale Endspieltag: SC 80 vor Titel-Hattrick (in German) Rugby-Journal, published: 28 May 2010, accessed: 30 May 2010
  3. Heidelberger RK deutscher Meister 2010 (in German) Rugby-Journal, published: 29 May 2010, accessed: 30 May 2010
  4. Karlsruhe und Luxemburg steigen in die 2.Liga Süd auf (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 6 July 2009, accessed: 19 March 2010
  5. DRT beschließt Reform des Spielbetriebs Archived 2008-09-17 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Rugby Journal - Reforms 2008, accessed: 7 January 2009
  6. ASV Köln verkündet Rückzug aus der Rugbybundesliga (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 16 April 2010, accessed: 17 April 2010
  7. TotalRugby Review 2. Bundesliga: 12. Spieltag (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 28 March 2010, accessed: 30 March 2010
  8. Victoria Linden verzichtet auf den Bundesligaaufstieg (in German), totalrugby.de, published: 27 May 2010, accessed: 29 May 2010
  9. RC gewinnt Zweitligameisterschaft - verzichtet aber dennoch auf den Aufstieg (in German), totalrugby.de, published: 31 May 2010, accessed: 1 June 2010
  10. Abstieg von Hannover 78 besiegelt - Bundesligasaison 2010/2011 mit nur 8 Mannschaften (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 8 June 2010. accessed: 14 June 2010
  11. TV Pforzheim gewinnt das Aufstiegsturnier zur 2. Bundesliga Süd (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 13 June 2010. accessed: 14 June 2010
  12. The two regional 2nd Bundesliga champions declined promotion.
  13. 1. Bundesliga 2009/2010 - Mannschaftskader Berliner RC (in German) totalrugby.de, accessed: 18 May 2010
  14. 1. Bundesliga 2009/2010 - Mannschaftskader RK 03 Berlin (in German) totalrugby.de, accessed: 18 May 2010
  15. 1. Bundesliga 2009/2010 - Mannschaftskader SC 1880 Frankfurt (in German) totalrugby.de, accessed: 18 May 2010
  16. 1. Bundesliga 2009/2010 - Mannschaftskader TSV Handschuhsheim (in German) totalrugby.de, accessed: 18 May 2010
  17. 1. Bundesliga 2009/2010 - Mannschaftskader DSV 78 Hannover (in German) totalrugby.de, accessed: 18 May 2010
  18. 1. Bundesliga 2009/2010 - Mannschaftskader RG Heidelberg (in German) totalrugby.de, accessed: 18 May 2010
  19. 1. Bundesliga 2009/2010 - Mannschaftskader Heidelberger RK (in German) totalrugby.de, accessed: 18 May 2010
  20. 1. Bundesliga 2009/2010 - Mannschaftskader RK Heusenstamm (in German) totalrugby.de, accessed: 18 May 2010
  21. 1. Bundesliga 2009/2010 - Mannschaftskader ASV Köln (in German) totalrugby.de, accessed: 18 May 2010
  22. 1. Bundesliga 2009/2010 - Mannschaftskader SC Neuenheim (in German) totalrugby.de, accessed: 18 May 2010
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.