2010–11 Rugby-Bundesliga

2010–11 Rugby-Bundesliga
Countries	Germany  Luxembourg
Champions	Heidelberger RK (8th title)
Promoted	TV Pforzheim
Relegated	none, expansion of league
Top point scorer	Keiran Manawatu (282)
Top try scorer	Caine Elisara (27)
← 2009–10 2011–12 →

The 2010–11 Rugby-Bundesliga was the 40th edition of this competition and the 91st edition of the German rugby union championship. In the Rugby-Bundesliga, the first division, nine teams played a home-and-away season with a finals round between the top four teams at the end. The season started on 28 August 2010 and finish with the championship final on 28 May 2011, interrupted by a winter break from December to late February. Cold weather and heavy snow falls however meant that the last game before the winter break was played already on 6 November 2010.^[1]

The championship was won by Heidelberger RK, the defending champion, who defeated SC 1880 Frankfurt 12-9 in the final, marking the third season in a row that these two teams played each other in the championship game, being the only two professional sides in German rugby.^[2] Heidelberg had won the 2010 final while Frankfurt triumphed in 2009. It as the eighth championship for HRK. The two finalists of 2009 and 2010 are the only two clubs in Germany considered professional, the remaining clubs and players are all amateurs.^[3]

Below the Rugby-Bundesliga sits the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga, which is divided into two divisions with ten teams each. With the RC Luxembourg, a team from Luxembourg, a non-German side competes in the league in 2010-11, the club having joined the German league system in 2009.^[4]

In the 2nd Bundesliga, TV Pforzheim won the championship and promotion without dropping a game, while northern champion TSV Victoria Linden declined promotion for a second year in a row.

DSV 78 Hannover

Berliner RC

RK 03 Berlin

RG Heidelberg
Heidelberger RK
TSV Handschuhsheim
SC Neuenheim

RK Heusenstamm

SC Frankfurt

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Location of teams in the Rugby-Bundesliga 2010-11

The 2009-10 modus is identical to the previous season. However, the competition had been reduced from ten to nine teams, after the withdrawal of the ASV Köln Rugby during last season and no team from the 2nd Bundesliga accepting promotion.^[5] Like in 2008-09, the top four teams qualify for the finals. The two semi-finals winners then contested the championship final.

At the bottom end of the table, nominally the last two teams are relegated while the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga champions are promoted, however, this is subject to the 2nd Bundesliga champions accepting promotion and a decision on the league strength for 2011-12. In February 2011, the DRV decided that the league would continue to play with ten teams in the future.^[6]

As a sign of the gap between the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga, TSV Victoria Linden, who only won the 2009-10 North/East division in the last round of the championship, declined promotion, citing the additional cost of travelling and the limited player pool as their reason. The South/West champion, Stuttgarter RC, also declined promotion because of the loss of eight first-team players at the end of the season, originally leaving the Bundesliga with only eight clubs for the next season.^[7][8] DSV 78 protested the decision to reduce the league to eight teams again and thereby relegating the club,^[9] and was ultimately permitted to stay in the league.

In the 2nd Bundesliga, SC Siemensstadt and TV Pforzheim are new teams for 2010-11, while FT Adler Kiel Rugby and RC Mainz were relegated. A third team, the Karlsruher SV Rugby, withdrew from the league during the 2009-10 season.

After suffering nine defeats in eleven games, the SC Siemensstadt withdrew its team from the North/East division of the 2nd Bundesliga in March 2011.^[10]

The final standings in the table:

• Relegated: None, league expanded to ten teams in 2011-12
• Promoted: TV Pforzheim

The results of the Bundesliga in 2010–11:^[11]

The leading try scores in the Rugby-Bundesliga 2010–11 season were (10 tries or more):

Player	Club	Tries
Caine Elisara	Heidelberger RK	27
Keiran Manawatu	SC 1880 Frankfurt	26
Shalva Didebashvili	SC Neuenheim	15
Mustafa Güngör	RG Heidelberg	13
Pieter Jordaan	Heidelberger RK	13
Sean Armstrong	Heidelberger RK	12
Wayne Hughson	SC 1880 Frankfurt	12
Tim Kasten	Heidelberger RK	12
Alexander Pipa	TSV Handschuhsheim	12
Manasah Sita	SC Neuenheim	12
Anjo Buckman	Heidelberger RK	11
Steffen Liebig	Heidelberger RK	11
Peniasi Loco Tokacece	SC 1880 Frankfurt	10

The leading point scores in the 2010–11 Rugby-Bundesliga season were (100 points or more):

Player	Club	Points
Keiran Manawatu	SC 1880 Frankfurt	282
Fabian Heimpel	RG Heidelberg	167
Steffen Liebig	Heidelberger RK	143
Caine Elisara	Heidelberger RK	137
Matthias Pipa	TSV Handschuhsheim	133
Pieter Jordaan	Heidelberger RK	109

The top try and point scorers per club were:

Club	Player	Tries	Player	Points
Berliner RC[12]	Sebastian Freund	4	Christian Schubert	76
RK 03 Berlin[13]	Christian Lill	5	Marc Lowdon	73
SC 1880 Frankfurt[14]	Keiran Manawatu	26	Keiran Manawatu	282
TSV Handschuhsheim[15]	Alexander Pipa	12	Matthias Pipa	133
DSV 78 Hannover[16]	Benjamin Simm Pascal Fischer	4	Marvin Dieckmann	80
RG Heidelberg[17]	Mustafa Güngör	13	Fabian Heimpel	167
Heidelberger RK[18]	Caine Elisara	27	Steffen Liebig	143
RK Heusenstamm[19]	Torsten Krapscha	5	Pascal Schuster	53
SC Neuenheim[20]	Shalva Didebashvili	15	Lars Eckert	54

The 2011 final of the Rugby-Bundesliga was a closely contested game. Frankfurt lead the game from early on until almost the end of regular time. A late try by New Zealander Jesse Westerlund however equalised Frankfurt's lead, followed by a conversion by South African Pieter Jordaan. A desperate attack by Frankfurt in injury time was not rewarded and Heidelberg was able to defend its narrow lead and thereby its German title.^[21][22]

SC 1880 FRANKFURT: FB 15 Keiran Manawatu RW 14 Carlos Soteras Merz OC 13 Mark Sztyndera IC 12 Graham Smith LW 11 Sam Leung-Wai  3' FH 10 Jason Campell SH 9 Chad Shepherd N8 8 Timo Vollenkemper  63' OF 7 Peniasi Loco Tokacece BF 6 Eugene Smith  52' RL 5 Alexander Hauck LL 4 Daniel Preussner  54' TP 3 Josh Keys  63' HK 2 John Pareanga LP 1 Sam Biddles Substitutes: LW Anton Ewald  3' BF Benjamin Krimer  52' LL Rolf Wacha  54' TP Chad Slaby  63' N8 Jannis Läpple  63' Coach: Aaron Satchwell

HEIDELBERGER RK: FB 15 Steffen Liebig RW 14 Christopher Neureuther  77' OC 13 Rafael Pyrasch IC 12 Pieter Johannes Jordaan LW 11 Anjo Buckman FH 10 Jesse Westerlund SH 9 Sean Armstrong N8 8 Caine Elisara OF 7 Kehoma Brenner BF 6 Tim Kasten RL 5 Julio David Rodriguez LL 4 Dan Armitage  40' TP 3 Patrick Schliwa HK 2 Alexander Widiker 45' to 55' LP 1 Arthur Zeiler  88' Substitutes: LL Benjamin Danso  40' RW Christopher Liebig 77' LP Alexander Biskupek  88' Coach: Kobus Potgieter

The final standings in the table:

• Promoted to Bundesliga: TV Pforzheim
• Relegated from Bundesliga: none
• Relegated from 2nd Bundesliga: Stuttgarter RC, StuSta München, RG Heidelberg II¹
• Promoted to 2nd Bundesliga: RC Aachen, Heidelberger TV, RC Mainz
• ¹ Five days before the 2011-12 seasons start, the RG Heidelberg withdrew its reserve team from the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West, citing inability to guarantee a full player squad for the whole season.^[23]

The final standings in the table:

• Promoted to Bundesliga: none
• Relegated from Bundesliga: none
• Relegated from 2nd Bundesliga: SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren², SC Siemensstadt¹
• Promoted to 2nd Bundesliga: Welfen Braunschweig, Berliner SV 92
• ¹ SC Siemensstadt withdrew in March 2011, its record being expulsed.^[10]
• ² Team withdrew from league.

• rugbyweb.de - Rugby-Bundesliga table & results (in German)
• Totalrugby.de - Bundesliga table & results (in German)