2014–15 Rugby-Bundesliga

2014–15 Rugby-Bundesliga
Countries  Germany
Champions Heidelberger RK (12th title)
Promoted none
Relegated

TSV Victoria Linden

SG Siemensstadt/Grizzlies

Berliner SV 92 Rugby

RC Aachen

Heidelberger TV

The 2014–15 Rugby-Bundesliga was the 44th edition of this competition and the 95th edition of the German rugby union championship. In the Rugby-Bundesliga, twenty-one teams played in, initially, four regional divisions, the first stage of the competition, followed by a championship round of sixteen clubs and, finally, the play-offs consisting of twelve teams. The season started on 30 August 2014 and finished with the championship final on 16 May 2015 in Heidelberg, interrupted by a winter break from December to late February. Nominally the league should consist of twenty-four teams however only twenty-one fulfilled the licensing requirements for 2014–15.[1]

The defending champions were Heidelberger RK who defeated TV Pforzheim in the 2014 final to take out its tenth championship and fifth in a row. Heidelberger RK remained unbeaten throughout the 2013–14 regular season, as it had been all throughout the 2012–13 Rugby-Bundesliga season, having last lost in the Bundesliga on 1 November 2011, when HRK was beaten 26–24 by TV Pforzheim. Heidelberg took out its sixth consecutive title and twelfth overall when it defeated Pforzheim 53–27 in the final once more, capping another season without defeat. The club thereby also equaled a championship record, becoming the second club after Victoria Linden to win six consecutive titles.[2]

It was to be the last edition with twenty four clubs as the annual general meeting of the DRV in July 2015 decided to reduce the league to sixteen clubs from the 2015–16 season onwards.[3]

Overview

The league saw only minor changes compare to the previous season, having played at full strength of 24 clubs in 2013–14 instead of only 21 in 2014–15. The 08 Ricklingen/Wunstorf withdrew from the league during the 2013–14 season, while TuS 95 Düsseldorf, RC Mainz, Veltener RC and USV Potsdam Rugby were relegated from the competition. New in the league were RU Hohen Neuendorf and SG Siemensstadt/Grizzlies.

The first stage of the competition, the Vorrunde, nominally saw four six-team groupes in which each team played the other five just once, however the western group played with only four temas and the northern group with only five. This stage finished in late September after which the second stage started, the Qualifikationsphase, in which the top teams each from the southern and the western group play each other in one group while the top teams from the north and east play each other in another. The fourth placed team from each division would play the fifth placed in the opposite group to determine the last two places in the second round. The five teams not qualified for the Qualifikationsphase entered the DRV-Pokal, the German rugby union cup, together with the top eight teams of the 2. Bundesliga. The 2. Bundesliga teams not qualified for the DRV-Pokal in turn played for the Liga Pokal.

In the second stage the teams within a group would play each other in a home-and-away format, with the teams that already played each other in the first stage carrying over those results. Of the sixteen clubs the best six in each group now qualified for the knock-out stage. The knock-out stage was played in a single-game format with the higher seeded team enjoying home advantage and the winner advancing to the next round.

Bundesliga tables & results

First stage

In the first stage twenty-one clubs played in four groups. Within each group each team played the other just once. The best three teams advanced directly to the second stage while the teams placed fourth and fifth had to play a qualifying decider.

North

The division table:[4][5]

Club Played W D L PF PA Diff BP Points
1 DSV 78 Hannover 4 4 0 0 193 35 158 420
2 SC Germania List 4 2 0 2 165 79 86 513
3 FC St. Pauli Rugby 4 2 0 2 75 137 –62 19
4 Hamburger RC 4 1 0 3 57 136 –79 15
5 TSV Victoria Linden 4 1 0 3 54 157 –103 04

East

The division table:[4][6]

Club Played W D L PF PA Diff BP Points
1 RK 03 Berlin 5 5 0 0 286 32 254 424
2 Berliner Rugby Club 5 4 0 1 164 29 135 521
3 SG Siemensstadt/Grizzlies 5 3 0 2 118 123 –5 210
4 RU Hohen Neuendorf 5 2 0 3 87 146 –59 210
5 Berliner SV 92 Rugby 5 1 0 4 43 256 –213 04
6 RC Leipzig 5 0 0 5 57 169 –112 11

West

The division table:[4][7]

Club Played W D L PF PA Diff BP Points
1 RK Heusenstamm 3 3 0 0 159 20 139 315
2 SC 1880 Frankfurt 3 2 0 1 101 64 37 210
3 ASV Köln Rugby 3 1 0 2 28 98 –71 04
4 RC Aachen 3 0 0 3 25 131 –106 00

South

The division table:[4][8]

Club Played W D L PF PA Diff BP Points
1 Heidelberger RK 5 5 0 0 346 8 338 525
2 TV Pforzheim 5 4 0 1 291 90 201 418
3 RG Heidelberg 5 3 0 2 97 166 –69 214
4 SC Neuenheim 5 2 0 3 122 127 –5 210
5 TSV Handschuhsheim 5 1 0 4 57 198 –141 15
6 Heidelberger TV 5 0 0 5 28 352 –324 0–4

Qualifying matches

Three qualifying matches were held to determine the last three clubs to enter the second stage. Nominally the fourth placed club in the southern division played the fifth placed team in the western division and the fourth placed western club the fifth placed southern team. However, as the western division had only four clubs the fourth placed team in the south received a bye and direct entry into the championship round. The same system applied to the northern and eastern division where the league strength required both games to take place. The winners of the three games advanced to the second stage while the losers had to enter the DRV-Pokal.

North-East

11 October 2014
Hamburger RC 94 – 6 Berliner SV 92

11 October 2014
RU Hohen Neuendorf 33 – 27 TSV Victoria Linden

South-West

12 October 2014
RC Aachen 0 – 52 TSV Handschuhsheim

Second stage

In the second stage sixteen clubs played in two groups of eight clubs each. Within each group each team played the others home and away except for the match-ups that already had been played in the first round. The results of those were carried over. The best six teams in each group qualified for the play-offs and were seeded according to the final standings. The second round concluded on 18 April 2015 and was followed by the play-offs.

North-East

The division table:[10][11]

Club Played W D L PF PA Diff BP Points
1 DSV 78 Hannover 12 12 0 0 703 94 609 1260
2 RK 03 Berlin 12 9 0 3 437 193 244 743
3 SC Germania List 12 7 0 5 346 281 65 1139
4 Berliner Rugby Club 12 6 0 6 260 280 -20 832
5 Hamburger RC 12 5 0 7 200 371 -171 222
6 FC St. Pauli Rugby 12 3 0 9 179 418 -239 113
7 RU Hohen Neuendorf 12 0 0 12 76 564 -488 11

South-West

The division table:[11][13]

Club Played W D L PF PA Diff BP Points
1 Heidelberger RK 14 14 0 0 1,038 93 945 1470
2 TV Pforzheim 14 12 0 2 800 203 597 1359
3 SC Neuenheim 14 9 0 5 374 284 90 541
4 RG Heidelberg 14 8 0 6 343 397 -54 638
5 TSV Handschuhsheim 14 5 0 9 203 445 -242 525
6 RK Heusenstamm 14 4 0 10 322 454 -132 824
7 SC 1880 Frankfurt 14 4 0 10 193 634 -441 420
8 ASV Köln Rugby 14 0 0 14 95 858 -763 00

Play-off stage

In the play-offs the twelve qualified teams played four rounds. The best two clubs in each division received a bye for the first round and entered in the quarter finals stage. The first round was played on 25 April, the quarter finals were held on 2 May and the semi finals on 9 May. The final of the German championship was held on 16 May:[14]

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
                           
    Hanover, 2 May        
Heidelberg, 25 April
  DSV 78 Hannover   21
  SC Neuenheim   83 Pforzheim, 10 May
    SC Neuenheim   42  
  Hamburger RC   3     TV Pforzheim   41
  Pforzheim, 2 May
Berlin, 25 April     SC Neuenheim   14  
  TV Pforzheim   47
  Berliner Rugby Club   0 Heidelberg, 16 May
    RK Heusenstamm   14  
  RK Heusenstamm   49     TV Pforzheim   27
  Heidelberg, 2 May
Hanover, 25 April     Heidelberger RK   53
  Heidelberger RK   104
  SC Germania List   20 Heidelberg, 9 May
    TSV Handschuhsheim   0  
  TSV Handschuhsheim   24     Heidelberger RK   55
  Berlin, 2 May
Heidelberg, 25 April     RG Heidelberg   5  
  RK 03 Berlin   14
  RG Heidelberg   78
    RG Heidelberg   23  
  FC St. Pauli Rugby   0  

DRV-Pokal tables & results

The five worst clubs in the first stage of the Bundesliga entered the DRV-Pokal for 2014–15, together with the eight best clubs from the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga. The DRV-Pokal ranks as a second tier to the German championship but also functioned as a qualifying competition for the 2015–16 Rugby-Bundesliga. The modus for the DRV-Pokal was the same as for the German championship, with a second stage with two divisions of, nominally, eight teams, followed by the play-offs made up of the best twelve teams, with the top two in each division receiving a bye for the first round.

Group stage

North-East

The division table:[15]

Club Played W D L PF PA Diff BP Points
1 RC Leipzig 12 10 1 1 524 146 378 1153
2 DSV 78 Hannover II 12 9 0 3 424 140 284 743
3 TSV Victoria Linden 12 8 1 3 332 189 143 842
4 Berliner SV 92 Rugby 12 5 0 7 189 434 -245 323
5 Veltener RC 12 4 0 8 201 342 –141 521
6 Bremen 1860 12 4 0 8 245 285 –40 420
7 Berliner Rugby Club II 12 1 0 11 91 470 –379 13

South-West

The division table:[16]

Club Played W D L PF PA Diff BP Points
1 Heidelberger TV 10 9 0 1 388 105 283 840
2 RC Rottweil 10 8 0 2 260 79 181 638
3 RC Luxembourg 10 5 0 5 178 228 -50 323
4 RC Aachen 10 3 1 6 208 215 -7 519
5 StuSta München 10 3 1 6 203 254 -51 216
6 TGS Hausen 10 1 0 9 93 449 -356 11

Play-off stage

The 2014–15 final was played on 23 May 2014 in Heidelberg. The play-offs for the DRV-Pokal started on 25 April 2015:[17]

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
                           
    Leipzig, 2 May        
Luxembourg, 25 April
  RC Leipzig   27
  RC Luxembourg   50 Leipzig, 9 May
    RC Luxembourg   19  
  Veltener RC   0     RC Leipzig   5
  Rottweil, 2 May
Berlin, 25 April     RC Rottweil   17  
  RC Rottweil   60
  Berliner SV 92 Rugby   40 Heidelberg, 23 May
    Berliner SV 92 Rugby   0  
  TGS Hausen   15     RC Rottweil   12
  Hanover, 2 May
Aachen, 25 April     Heidelberger TV   30
  DSV 78 Hannover II   24
  RC Aachen   38 Heidelberg, 9 May
    RC Aachen   17  
  Bremen 1860   10     Heidelberger TV   20
  Heidelberg, 2 May
Hanover, 25 April     DSV 78 Hannover II   0  
  Heidelberger TV   41
  TSV Victoria Linden   10
    StuSta München   20  
  StuSta München   17  

References

  1. Rugby Spielpläne - 2014/2015 (German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 8 October 2014
  2. Heidelberger RK holt sich den sechsten Meistertitel in Folge (German) totalrugby.ce, published: 16 May 2015, accessed: 17 May 2015
  3. Rugby-Bundesliga startet am Wochenende in ihre 45. Saison - Spielmodus erneut reformiert (German) totalrugby.de, published: 27 August 2015, accessed: 12 September 2015
  4. 1 2 3 4 Bundesliga 2014–15 — Regular Season www.scoresway.com, accessed: 8 October 2014
  5. Rugby Spielpläne - 2014/2015 – 1. Bundesliga Nord (German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 8 October 2014
  6. Rugby Spielpläne - 2014/2015 – 1. Bundesliga Ost (German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 8 October 2014
  7. Rugby Spielpläne - 2014/2015 – 1. Bundesliga West (German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 8 October 2014
  8. Rugby Spielpläne - 2014/2015 – 1. Bundesliga Süd (German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 8 October 2014
  9. DRV hat die Bundesligalizenzen für die Saison 2014/15 erteilt (German) totalrugby.de, published: 6 August 2014, accessed: 8 October 2014
  10. Rugby Spielpläne - 2014/2015 – BL Meisterrunde Nord/Ost (German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 9 October 2014
  11. 1 2 Bundesliga 2014–15 — Championship Round www.scoresway.com, accessed: 9 October 2014
  12. TotalRugby-Vorschau: Bundesliga-Meisterrunde 11. April (German) totalrugby.de, published: 10 April 2015, accessed: 13 April 2015
  13. Rugby Spielpläne - 2014/2015 – BL Meisterrunde Süd/West (German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 9 October 2014
  14. Rugby Spielpläne - 2014/2015 – BL Meisterrunde (German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 30 March 2015
  15. Rugby Spielpläne - 2014/2015 – BL DRV-Pokal Nord/Ost (German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 21 April 2015
  16. Rugby Spielpläne - 2014/2015 – BL DRV-Pokal Süd/West (German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 21 April 2015
  17. BL DRV-Pokal rugbyweb.de, Play-offs to the DRV-Pokal, accessed: 21 April 2015

External links

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