- DSV 78/08 Ricklingen
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DSV 78/08 Ricklingen 
Union German Rugby Federation Founded 1878 (DSV)
1908 (SV 08)Location Hannover, Germany Chairman 
Günter Küster (DSV) Matthias Freitag (SV 08)Coach(es) Sven GabbeiLeague(s) 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga 2008-09 1st 
Team kitThe DSV 78/08 Ricklingen was a German rugby union team from the Ricklingen suburb of Hannover, playing in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East in 2008-09. The team was an on-the-field union of DSV 78 Hannover and SV 1908 Ricklingen, two successful clubs in themselves. The two clubs continued to exist as separate entities.
In March 2009, the SV Ricklingen announced it would leave the union with the DSV 78 and not field a senior mens team in the future, instead concentrating on its youth program.[1] This left the DSV 78 to field its own side in the Rugby-Bundesliga 2009-10.
Contents
History
DSV 78 Hannover
Main article: DSV 78 Hannover
DSV 78's traditional colors The club was formed on 14 September 1878 as Deutschen Fußball-Verein Hannover gegründet 1878. Under the leadership of Ferdinand-Wilhelm Fricke, then only 15 years old, 24 young men formed the first football or rugby club in the country, a distinction was not made in Germany back then.[2][3] The move was inspired by watching, and occasionally joining the players of the English Hannover Football-Club.
The first proper game of rugby however was not played until 1883, when "England" played "Germany" in Hannover on 17 October.[4]
In 1899, Fricke discovered an ideal spot for the club to play at, Am Schnellen Graben, still the home of DFV today. A year later, the Verband Hannoverscher Fußball-Vereine (Association of Hanover football clubs) was formed and DFV won its first championship.
In 1909, the club adopted field hockey as another sport. In 1913, the DFV reached its first German championship final but lost to SC 1880 Frankfurt. Shortly after, the events of the First World War bring the activities of the club almost to a halt. Of the club members to lose their live in the war, Hermann Löns, "The Poet of the Heath", is the best known.[5]
On 17 January 1927, the founding father of the club, F.W. Fricke, died. A year later, the club played in its second German final, and lost once more. In 1929, the club changed its name to Deutscher Sportverein Hannover gegr. 1878 e.V., reflecting the fact that it didn't play football but rugby.
During the Second World War, the clubs facilities suffered heavily from allied bombing raids and in 1945, the club house was in ruins.[6]
In the post-war years, the DSV managed to rebuilt its facilities and in 1949 it reopened its club house.
On 7 June 1964, Germanys oldest rugby club finally earned its first German championship, beating FC St. Pauli 11-0 in Offenbach am Main.[7]
78 won two more championships, in 1968 and 1970, before the Rugby-Bundesliga was established in 1971. The club was part of the new league but did not achieve highly in its first ten years.
Its fourth national championship came in 1982, when RG Heidelberg was beaten 15-6. The club was to play in seven championship finals in a row from then on, winning the first four and then losing three. With a years interruption in 1989, the team returned for another championship in 1990. After another championship in 1991, DSV reached the final for a last time in 1993.
In the German Cup, the club continued to be successful, winning it in 1996 and 1998 and making final appearances in the two years after.
Up until the merger with SV 08 Ricklingen, the DSV 78 continued to be a top side in German rugby.
SV 08 Ricklingen
Main article: SV 08 Ricklingen
Logo of SV 08 Ricklingen
SV was formed on 6 August 1908, by twelve young men, as a rugby club. The club, for the most part, existed in the shadow of its local competitors, DSV 78, TSV Victoria Linden and its bitter rival DRC Hannover, also from the suburb of Ricklingen.[8]
08, as the club is nicknamed, managed to win three German championships and two cup wins during its history. The clubs first title came in 1950, when the final against SC Neuenheim was won. Ten years later, a second championship was won against TSV Handschuhsheim in 1960.
The team then took part in the newly established European Cup, where it met teams like SCA Brussels, AC Hilversum and ASPTT Rabat, travelling to Morocco to play the later.
In March of 1964, Ricklingen played an historic match against the Dartmouth College Rugby Football Club from the sister town of Hanover, New Hampshire, which became the first American college team to play a rugby match in continental Europe. Ricklingen won that game 11-3 before a large gathering that included the Lord Mayor of Hannover.
Ricklingen was part of the new Rugby-Bundesliga when it was formed in 1971. The club suffered a harsh loss in its first Bundesliga season when the club house burned down.
Despite the loss of its long time chairman Heinz Reinhotd in 1974, the club managed to win its third German championship that season. Two players were still left in the team that had won the 1960 title as well.
Despite only finishing fourth in the Bundesliga North, the club managed to reach the German final once more in 1992 after defeating RG Heidelberg and DSV 78 in the knock-out stage. Against TSV Victoria Linden, 08 was heavily outclassed in the final and lost 3-59.
In 1996, Ricklingen found itself in legal trouble wit the German rugby association, the DRV. The reason was that the club had not played a Bundesliga game against VfR Döhren because the referee had not turned up. A long-drawn legal battle ended with the club being forcefully relegated from the Bundesliga in 1997.
After this forced relegation, the club lost a great number of players and was unable to return to former heights. After a number of seasons in the 2nd Bundesliga North/East it was decided to form a on-the-field union with DSV 78. After some initial skepticism, this is well accepted within the club now.
DSV 78/08 Ricklingen
2nd Bundesliga Final 2009The merger of the two teams brought the club little luck, suffering relegation from the Bundesliga in its first season. The team managed to compensate for it in the following season by earning promotion back up.
DSV 78/08 could not achieve to establish itself in the first division, having to play against relegation and eventually dropping back down in 2007.
In 2007-08, back in the 2nd Bundesliga North/East, the team only managed to finish fourth.[9]
In its last season, 2008-09, the team had much improved and won the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East and a promotion to the Bundesliga. In May they played a final game for the 2nd Bundesliga championship against the South/East winners SC Franfurt 1880 II. They lost 24:10.[10]
With Benjamin Krause and Rafael Pyrasch, the club had two players called up for the Germany national rugby union team in 2008, the only German second division side to do so. During the final championship game in 2009 these players were not avalilable since they played at the London Sevens for the German Sevens-Rugby national Team.
Club honours
DSV 78 Hannover
- German rugby union championship
- Champions: 1964, 1968, 1970, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1991
- Runners up: 1913, 1928, 1966, 1971, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1993
- German rugby union cup
- Winner: 1969, 1972, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1996, 1998
- Runners up: 1970, 1973, 1993, 1999, 2000
SV 08 Ricklingen
- German rugby union championship
- Champions: 1950, 1960, 1974
- Runners up: 1973, 1992
- German rugby union cup
- Winner: 1970, 1978
- Runners up: 1984, 1989
DSV 78/08 Ricklingen
- 2nd Bundesliga
- Runners-up: 2005, 2009
Recent seasons
DSV 78 Hannover
Year Division Position 1998-99 Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (I) 3rd Bundesliga championship round 4th 1999-2000 Rugby-Bundesliga North/East 3rd Bundesliga championship round 4th 2000-01 Rugby-Bundesliga North/East 2nd Bundesliga championship round 6th 2001-02 Rugby-Bundesliga 6th 2002-03 Rugby-Bundesliga 3rd SV 08 Ricklingen
Year Division Position 1998-99 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II) 3rd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East qualification round 6th 1999-2000 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East 5th 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East qualification round 2nd 2000-01 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East 4th 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East qualification round 2nd 2001-02 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East 4th 2002-03 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East 6th DSV 78/08 Ricklingen
Year Division Position 2003-04 Rugby-Bundesliga (I) 8th 
2004-05 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II) 1st 2005-06 Rugby-Bundesliga (I) 7th 2006-07 Rugby-Bundesliga 8th 2007-08 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II) 4th 2008-09 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East 1st - 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 placings are shown, the first is autumn, the second spring.
Final squad 2008–2009
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-IRB nationality.
Player Position Union Jannis Schax Hooker GermanyBabak Roushanian Hooker GermanyBenjamin Krause Prop GermanyAdam Klin Prop GermanyDavid-Michael Runkel Prop GermanyTill Fischhöfer Prop GermanyBenjamin Marx Prop GermanyIvan Ralevic Prop GermanySoner Atar Prop GermanyLutz Wiechers Lock GermanyMark Gordon Lock 
EnglandTzwen Trinkert Flanker GermanyMaik Germershausen Flanker GermanyFlorian Weber Flanker GermanyPhilipp Ehbrecht Flanker GermanyWaldemar Klöckner Flanker GermanyDavid Clegg Flanker EnglandPlayer Position Union Rafael Pyrasch Scrum-half GermanyRobert Caungwood Fly-half 
South AfricaBenjamin Simm Centre GermanyKolja Preuss Centre GermanySteven Bouajiala Centre GermanyChristopher Kopp Centre GermanyMartin Smith Centre EnglandSascha Grieß Wing GermanyAndré Körner Wing GermanyJulian Fischhöfer Wing GermanyJohannes Dziuba Wing GermanyKilian Dahlem Wing GermanyGeorg Glasewald Wing GermanyLucas Quentin Wing GermanyNikolas Sommer Wing GermanyFlorian Zia Wing GermanyWill Gough Fullback GermanyFritz Wilhelms Fullback GermanyMarwin Dieckmann Fullback GermanyExternal links
- (German) SV 1908 Ricklingen Official website
- (German) DSV 78 Hannover Official website
- Lower Saxony rugby association
Sources
References
- ^ Spielgemeinschaft SG 1908 Ricklingen/DSV 1878 wird aufgelöst (German) Rugby-Journal, accessed: 18 March 2009
- ^ Die große Tat des Ferdinand-Wilhelm Fricke (German) DSV 78 website - History, accessed: 24 January 2009
- ^ Hanover '78: Germany's Oldest Field Sports Club City of Hiroshima website (Partner city of Hannover) - Article on Hannover 78, accessed: 25 January 2009
- ^ 130 JAHRE SPORT BEI HANNOVER 78 - ein gestraffter Überblick (German) DSV 78 website - Chronic: 1883, accessed: 24 January 2009
- ^ 130 JAHRE SPORT BEI HANNOVER 78 - ein gestraffter Überblick (German) DSV 78 website - Chronic: 1914, accessed: 24 January 2009
- ^ 130 JAHRE SPORT BEI HANNOVER 78 - ein gestraffter Überblick (German) DSV 78 website - Chronic: 1945, accessed: 24 January 2009
- ^ 130 JAHRE SPORT BEI HANNOVER 78 - ein gestraffter Überblick (German) DSV 78 website - Chronic: 1964, accessed: 24 January 2009
- ^ Download of a report about the club in the Hannoverschen Sportmagazins (German) accessed: 24 January 2009
- ^ 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga table 2007-08 rugbyweb.de, accessed: 24 January 2009
- ^ Rugby Journal online. "SC Franfurt zum sechsten Mal Meister", Christian Düncher - 23.05.09. Retrieved on 2011-02-28.
Categories:- Defunct German rugby union clubs
- Sports clubs established in 1878
- Rugby clubs established in 1878
- Rugby union in Hanover
- German rugby union championship
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