- München RFC
-
München RFC 
Full name München Rugby Football Club e.V. Union German Rugby Federation Founded 1977 Location Munich, Germany Chairman Helmut Kraiger Coach(es) 
Rory DonoghueLeague(s) 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West 2010–11 3rd 
Team kitOfficial website www.munich-rugby.de The München RFC is a German rugby union club from Munich, currently playing in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West.
Contents
History
While rugby had been played in Munich and Bavaria before the interception of the MRFC in 1977, four clubs existed in the city in the 1920s and 1930s,[1] the club's game on 10 June 1978 was the first proper game of rugby played in the city of Munich in almost 50 years.[2]
Rugby had been in hibernation in Bavaria since the days of the Nazis and when US soldiers in the garrison of Augsburg formed a team in 1974, it was the first post-war rugby club to be formed in Bavaria.[3] After a number of other military teams were formed in the following years, MRFC became the first civilian club to be formed in the state in 1977, by British exiles, mostly from Wales. The club was formed in a pub in the Isarvorstadt and played its first game that autumn.[4]
The first game it played in Munich, in June 1978, was against the Bad Tölz US Army and it took another year to play its first German opponent, RC Rottweil, on 30 June 1979. Not until 1985 was a second non-military team established in Bavaria, the rugby department of TuS Fürstenfeldbruck.
The club was officially registered in 1982 and in July 1983 attained incorporated status (German: e.V.). However, it could not obtain a regular home ground in Munich and had to play its matches in Fürstenfeldbruck.
Due to Bavaria neither having a league nor a rugby federation in those days, the club had to join the Regionalliga in neighbouring Baden-Württemberg in 1984.
In 1990, the club's long term coach, Rory Donoghue, signed up and a generation change was carried out within it. A quick result of this was the winning of the South German Championship in 1991.
MRFC finally obtained a home ground within Munich, Am Hedernfeld and was promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga South in 1992, where it only lasted for one season.
After two seasons back in tier three, the club once more won promotion to the second division in 1995. A year later, the club became one of the founding members of the Bavarian Rugby Federation, the RVBY.
In 1998, the club celebrated promotion to the Rugby-Bundesliga for the first time, only to be denied a licence and having to stay in division two.
In 2000, the MRFC finally reached the top-tier of German rugby through a third place in the Bundesliga qualification round. Its first season in the new league was reasonably successful and any other year, a second place in the spring qualification round would have been enough to hold on to its league place but a restructuring of the German league system, but the move from two to a single division Bundesliga meant, RFC had to return to the 2nd Bundesliga.
The club's greatest success to date, the championship in the 2nd Bundesliga in 2002, won against North/East champion Post SV Berlin, meant promotion back to the elite league.
Again, the stay in the Bundesliga lasted for only one season and the team was relegated back down immediately, without a win and 14 losses.
Since then, the club has been playing in the 2nd Bundesliga South/East as a mid-table side. In 2004, it was joined there by local rival StuSta München. Another promotion to the Bundesliga was not in sight in 2008-09 either, with the team coming fourth in the league once more.
Since 2002, the club also has a women's team and with Yvonne Schwarzkopf its first German international.
In 2009, the club is still searching for a more suitable home ground. A move to the suburbs, to Truedering, fell through however. The club's shirt sponsor in 2008-09 is EADS.
Club honours
- 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga
- Champions: 2002
- 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West
- Champions: 2002
- Runners-up: 2010
Recent seasons
Men
First team
Year Division Position 1998-99 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West (II) Bundesliga qualification round 4th 1999-2000 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West 3rd Bundesliga qualification round 3rd — Promoted 2000-01 Rugby-Bundesliga South/West (I) 4th Bundesliga qualification round 2nd — Relegated 2001-02 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West (II) 1st — Promoted 2002-03 Rugby-Bundesliga (I) 8th — Relegated 2003-04 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West (II) 3rd 2004-05 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West 3rd 2005-06 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West 3rd 2006-07 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West 6th 2007-08 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West 5th 2008-09 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West 4th 2009–10 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West 2nd 2010–11 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West 3rd 2011–12 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West - 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.
Rserve team
Year Division Position 2001-02 Rugby-Regionalliga Bavaria (III) 4th 2002-03 Rugby-Regionalliga Bavaria 3rd 2003-04 Rugby-Regionalliga Bavaria 4th 2004-05 Rugby-Regionalliga Bavaria 5th 2005-06 Rugby-Regionalliga Bavaria 4th 2006–07 Rugby-Regionalliga Bavaria 5th 2007–08 Rugby-Regionalliga Bavaria 4th 2008–09 Rugby-Regionalliga Bavaria 4th 2009–10 Rugby-Regionalliga Bavaria 7th 2010–11 Rugby-Regionalliga Bavaria 4th Women
Year Division Position 2002-03 Women's Rugby Bundesliga (I) 4th 2003-04 Women's Rugby Bundesliga 4th — Relegated 2004-05 2005-06 Women's 2nd Rugby Bundesliga (II) 3rd 2006–07 Women's 2nd Rugby Bundesliga 4th 2007–08 Women's 2nd Rugby Bundesliga 3rd 2008–09 Women's 2nd Rugby Bundesliga 6th 2009–10 Women's 2nd Rugby Bundesliga 6th References
- ^ History of Bavarian Rugby Bavarian rugby association website, accessed: 25 January 2009
- ^ The History of München RFC MRFC website, accessed: 25 January 2009
- ^ History of Bavarian Rugby Bavarian rugby association website, accessed: 25 January 2009
- ^ The History of München RFC MRFC website, accessed: 25 January 2009
External links
- Official website
- Bavarian rugby association
- MRFC team info at totalrugby.de
- Tables and results of German rugby on rugbyweb.de
2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West · 2011–12 clubs RC Aachen • SC 1880 Frankfurt II • TSV Handschuhsheim II • Heidelberger RK II • Heidelberger TV • ASV Köln Rugby • RC Luxembourg • RC Mainz • München RFCList of clubsRugby-Regionalliga · 2011–12 clubs Baden-Württemberg Heidelberger TV II • Karlsruher SV Rugby • RC Konstanz • TV Pforzheim II • TSB Ravensburg • RC Rottweil • Stuttgarter RC IIBavaria Augsburg RFC • RFC Bad Reichenhall • TV Memmingen • München RFC II • StuSta München II • RC Regensburg 2000East RK 03 Berlin II • Berliner RC III • Berliner SC • Stahl Brandenburg Rugby • RV Dresden • Stahl Hennigsdorf Rugby • RU Hohen Neuendorf II • USV Jena • RC Leipzig • SG Grizzlies/Potsdam • SC Siemensstadt • Veltener RCHesse TG 75 Darmstadt • SC Frankfurt 1880 III • URC Gießen 01 • SG Hausen/Babenhausen • RK Heusenstamm II • TSV Krofdorf-Gleiberg • RU Marburg • BSC OffenbachNorth Union 60 Bremen • Bremen 1860 • SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren • Hamburg Exiles RFC • DSV 78 Hannover II • FC Schwalbe Hannover • FT Adler Kiel Rugby • 08 Ricklingen/Wunstorf • FC St. Pauli Rugby II • SG Jesteburg/GeesthachtNorth Rhine-Westphalia RC Aachen II • RFC Dortmund • ASV Köln Rugby II • RC Hürth • Grashof RC Essen • RT Münster • WMTV SolingenRhineland-Palatinate DJK Andernach • TuS Hochspeyer • RC Luxembourg II • RC Mainz II • Ramstein Rogues RFC II • RC Worms • Stade Sarrois RugbyList of rugby union clubs in GermanyWomen's Rugby Bundesliga · 2011–12 clubs North SG Berliner SV/SC Berlin • SC Germania List • SG Marburg/Gießen • SG Mitteldeutsches Rugby • FC St. Pauli RugbySouth Heidelberger RK • ASV Köln Rugby • München RFC • SC Neuenheim • SG Rhein-Main • Stuttgarter RCList of clubsCategories:- German rugby union clubs
- Sports clubs established in 1977
- Rugby clubs established in 1977
- Rugby union in Munich
- 1977 establishments in West Germany
- 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
