Rugby league in Germany

Infobox sports league
logo=
pixels=150px
sport=Rugby league
founded=2004
ceo=Simon Cooper (President)
teams=6
champion=none
website= [http://www.rugby-league.de Rugby League Deutschland]

=History=
Rugby league was formally introduced into Germany in August 2004 with the formation of Rugby League Deutschland. Prior to that it had been played informally by players from English-speaking associations such as British servicemen and students.

The first ever game didn't take place until nearly 12 months later when on the 23rd July the Heidelberg Sharks beat München RLFC 72-64 in a 9-a-side game played in Heidelberg. Since then clubs such as Bad Reichenhall [http://www.rfcbadreichenhall.de/] and Innsbruck have also played matches.

In 2005 there was the first match between a Germany XIII and a touring Scottish Students side. This was a catalyst for Germany enetering in 2006 in their first full international tournament the Central Europe Development Tri-Nations and then subsequently in the RLEF European Shield in 2007 and 2008.

In addition to the first class rugby league the game is also being played at the school boy level in a couple of schools in the Heidelberg and Heilbronn area of Germany.

=Popularity=The popularity of rugby league in Germany is rising, although rugby of any form is still very much unknown by Germans. Over 80 adult players and over 200 children were introduced to the game in 2006, with these numbers sure to rise over the 2007 season.

The Germans' participation in several tournaments against Eastern Europe opposition has generated an interest within Germany for the game of rugby league. There are also a lot of rugby league players with German descent in the NRL and Queensland Cup.

=Domestic rugby league=In 2008 the first domestic season will take place. These will be built around three established teams that have been playing. This competition format will allow new players from across central Germany to have an opportunity to play and experience rugby league in Germany.

Teams

Currently there are six established rugby league teams in Germany:
* Rohrbach Hornets (Heidelberg)
* RC Bad Reichenhall (Bad Reichenhall)
* Karlsruhe
* Franconian Pigs (Nürnberg)
* Rheinland (Hürth)
* Heidelberg Sharks
* PfortzheimAnd one team that plays in the Midlands Merit League competition in England based on ex-pat and German heritage players:
* German Exiles

Domestic competition

The proposed domestic competition is to be based around Heidelberg and Karlsruhe area of Germany.

! Group
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Rohrbach Hornets
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Karlsruhe
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PfortzheimNine-a-side events will be held in Bad Reichenhall in South East Bavaria and also in Hürth near Bonn.

Bundesland of Origin

In 2007 a State (Bundesland) of Origin style concept has also been introduced with two regional teams representing Bavaria and Central Germany. The weekend of this game is also used to bring everyone together for a training session and for the Coach and selectors to see all players in one place and also to have a meeting. The first such game was played in 2007 in Nürnberg.
* 15 December - Bavaria 44-32 Central Germany - Nürnberg, Germany

=National Team=

The current captain of the national side is Leo Berngruber and coaching team of Uwe Jansen and Dan Stocks.

As well as playing friendlies and one-off games, the German national team has participated in two tournaments. In the 2006 Germany participated in the Central Europe Development Tri-Nations along with Austria and Estonia. Germany won both of their matches narrowly beating Austria in Bad Reichenhall in front of over 350 people. They then travelled to Tallin and beat Estonia to seal victory and outright first place of the competition.

In 2007 they took part in the RLEF European Shield along with the Czech Republic and Serbia. In this tournament they took out second place. They were beaten in Heidelberg by a strong Serbia side but recovered and beat a tough Czech Republic team in Prague by 22 points.

In 2008 Germany will once again be participating in the RLEF European Shield with the Czech Republic and newcomers Italy. Serbia were promoted to a group with Russia and Lebanon on their strong performance in 2007. The games will be held in Padova, Italy, Prague, Czech Republic and Frankfurt, Germany. There are also games proposed against Serbia and an RLEF XIII, but are yet to be confirmed.

The first weekend of August each year is being set aside for a game against the Czech Republic, no matter if facing each other in a tournament or not. Also plans are to have friendlies against Austria, though in 2007 this game fell through.

Results of the German National Team

Some results for Germany in Rugby League (XIII).

2005

* 31st July - Germany XIII 13-28 Scottish Students - München, Germany

2006

Central Development Tri-Nations
* 13 June - Italy 58-26 Germany - Padova Italy
* 2 August - Germany 62-20 Czech Republic - Karlsruhe, GermanyOther games

* 9 August - Germany vs. RLEF XIII - Bad Reichenhall, Germany, TBCGerman State of Origin
* 13/14 December - Central Germany vs. Bavaria - Nürnberg, Germany

Players that have represented Germany

At the moment the criteria for representing Germany is to have played in one of the domestic teams or the German Exiles. The current list is of staff and players that have played for Germany in the full internationals.

German National Team Honours

* 2006 - Central development Tri-Nations Champions. Germany's first piece of silver ware.
* 2007 - 4 August. The Keinhorst brothers, Kristian, Markus, Jimmy and Nick set a new world record by being selected in the same game against the Czech Republic in Prague.

=Board Of Rugby League Deutschland=

* President: Simon Cooper
* Vice-President: Uwe Jansen
* Director of Rugby: David Griffiths
* Treasurer: Leo Berngruber
* Secretary: Florian Rittner
* Other Board Members: Will Stocks, Danny Stocks, Bob Doughton
* Sponsors: Alpenstoff Beer, Macqaurie Banking Group, Hintsteiner Garage, Steeden

Famous German Rugby League Players

Leo Berngruber (Captain of Germany)Anthony Seibold (Germany, Hull KR, Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders)

External links

* [http://www.rugby-league.de German Rugby League website]
* [http://www.rlef.eu.com Rugby League European Federation website]
* [http://www.rlif.org Rugby League International Federation website]