2014–15 Rugby-Bundesliga


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.
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.
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.

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:
ClubPlayedWDLPFPADiffBPPoints
1DSV 78 Hannover440019335158420
2SC Germania List42021657986513
3FC St. Pauli Rugby420275137–6219
4Hamburger RC410357136–7915
5TSV Victoria Linden410354157–10304

The division table:
ClubPlayedWDLPFPADiffBPPoints
1RK 03 Berlin550028632254424
2Berliner Rugby Club540116429135521
3SG Siemensstadt/Grizzlies5302118123–5210
4RU Hohen Neuendorf520387146–59210
5Berliner SV 92 Rugby510443256–21304
6RC Leipzig500557169–11211

The division table:
ClubPlayedWDLPFPADiffBPPoints
1RK Heusenstamm330015920139315
2SC 1880 Frankfurt32011016437210
3ASV Köln Rugby31022898–7104
4RC Aachen300325131–10600

The division table:
ClubPlayedWDLPFPADiffBPPoints
1Heidelberger RK55003468338525
2TV Pforzheim540129190201418
3RG Heidelberg530297166–69214
4SC Neuenheim5203122127–5210
5TSV Handschuhsheim510457198–14115
6Heidelberger TV500528352–3240–4

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

South-West

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:
ClubPlayedWDLPFPADiffBPPoints
1DSV 78 Hannover121200703946091260
2RK 03 Berlin12903437193244743
3SC Germania List12705346281651139
4Berliner Rugby Club12606260280-20832
5Hamburger RC12507200371-171222
6FC St. Pauli Rugby12309179418-239113
7RU Hohen Neuendorf12001276564-48811

The division table:
ClubPlayedWDLPFPADiffBPPoints
1Heidelberger RK1414001,038939451470
2TV Pforzheim1412028002035971359
3SC Neuenheim1490537428490541
4RG Heidelberg14806343397-54638
5TSV Handschuhsheim14509203445-242525
6RK Heusenstamm144010322454-132824
7SC 1880 Frankfurt144010193634-441420
8ASV Köln Rugby14001495858-76300

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:

''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:
ClubPlayedWDLPFPADiffBPPoints
1RC Leipzig‡1210115241463781153
2DSV 78 Hannover II12903424140284743
3TSV Victoria Linden‡12813332189143842
4Berliner SV 92 Rugby‡12507189434-245323
5Veltener RC12408201342–141521
6Bremen 186012408245285–40420
7Berliner Rugby Club II12101191470–37913

The division table:
ClubPlayedWDLPFPADiffBPPoints
1Heidelberger TV‡10901388105283840
2RC Rottweil1080226079181638
3RC Luxembourg10505178228-50323
4RC Aachen‡10316208215-7519
5StuSta München10316203254-51216
6TGS Hausen1010993449-35611

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