The FV 1897 Linden is a German

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club from

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. As well as rugby, the club also offers other sports, such as

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

. The club has four German rugby union championships to its name, won in 1932, 1937, 1940 and 1978 but has not appeared in a championship final since 1980.Die Deutschen Meister der Männer
''DRV'' website - German champions (men), accessed: 15 April 2010 In recent seasons, the club has not fielded a team in competitive senior rugby.

History

FV 1897 Linden was formed on 2 September 1897 as a football club. In March 1898, the club then switched codes and adopted rugby as its sport instead but retained its name '' Fussball Verein''. ''FV'' made its first trip to a German championship final in 1932, defeating

RG Heidelberg The RG Heidelberg (''german: Rudergesellschaft Heidelberg'', literally "Heidelberg Rowing Club") is a German rugby union club from Heidelberg, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers the sport of rowing. ...

6-5. It lost the 1934 final to fellow Hanover club

VfR Döhren The VfR Döhren is a German rugby union club from Hanover, playing in the Regionalliga North, the third tier of rugby in Germany. It plays in partnership with SV Odin Hannover, as ''SG SV Odin/VfR Döhren''. The club has three German rugby un ...

before winning its second title, again beating RG Heidelberg, in 1937. A third championship was won in 1940, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when

Eintracht Frankfurt Rugby The Eintracht Frankfurt Rugby is a German rugby union club from Frankfurt am Main, currently playing in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga, the second tier of rugby in Germany. It is part of a larger club, the Eintracht Frankfurt, which also offers other s ...

was defeated 19-6. It took the club 38 years to appear in another final, when, in 1978,

TSV Handschuhsheim The TSV Handschuhsheim is a German rugby union club from Heidelberg, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like association football, handball and tennis. History The club was formed in 188 ...

was beaten 24-16 and ''FV's'' fourth and so far last championship was won. It made one more finals appearance, in 1980, but this time RG Heidelberg triumphed 16-10. In between those two finals, it appeared in the 1979 German rugby union cup final, where it lost to

DSV 78 Hannover DSV 78 Hannover, founded as ''DFV Hannover'' in 1878, is Germany's oldest rugby club. The club played in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga under the name DSV 78/08 Ricklingen, having formed an on-the-field union with SV 08 Ricklingen, another club from ...

. The club has since disappeared from the Rugby-Bundesliga and not fielded a side in competitive senior rugby, but continues to be listed as a member of the Lower Saxony Rugby Federation.List of member clubs
Lower Saxony Rugby Federation website, accessed: 16 April 2010

Club honours

* German rugby union championship ** Champions: 1932, 1937, 1940, 1978 ** Runners up: 1934, 1980 * German rugby union cup ** Runners up: 1979

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linden, FV Rugby union clubs in Germany 1897 establishments in Germany Rugby clubs established in 1897 Rugby union in Hanover