Germany national rugby league team

Infobox rugby league nation
Name = Germany
Badge = German Rugby League
Badge_size = 100px
Coach = Uwe Jansen
Association = Rugby League in Germany
Region = Europe
Captain = Tom Learoyd-Lahrs
Home Stadium = Signal Iduna Park
pattern_la1 =
pattern_b1 = _Germany
pattern_ra1 =
leftarm1 = 2A0030
body1 = 2A0030
rightarm1 = 2A0030
shorts1 = 2A0030
socks1 = 2A0030
First game = Germany 34-32 Austria
Largest win = Germany 38-24 Estonia
Largest loss = Italy 58-26 Germany (2008-06-13)

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 addition to this rugby league is being played at school boy level in eight schools in the Heidelberg and Heilbronn area of Germany.

Popularity

The popularity of rugby league in Germany is rising. Over 80 adult players and over 300 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.

National team

The captain of the national side is Leo Berngruber and the national coach Uwe Jansen.

As well as playing friendlies and one-off games, the German national team has participated in two tournaments.

In the Central Europe Development Tri-Nations in 2006 they won both of their matches narrowly beating Austria in Bad Reichenhall in front of over 350 people. They then beat Estonia in Talinn to seal victory of the competition.

In 2007 they took part in the RLEF European Shield where they ended up second. They were beaten in Heidelberg by a strong Serbia side but beat the Czech Republic in Prague.

In 2008 they take part in the RLEF European Shield where they lost the first match against Italy.

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]