Stahl Brandenburg Rugby 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 it ...

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

from

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

, currently playing in the Rugby-Regionalliga East A. The club, located in former

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, used to be part of the

BSG Stahl Brandenburg BSG Stahl Brandenburg is a German association football club based in Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg. History The club was formed in 1950 as ''BSG Einheit Brandenburg'' and played its earliest seasons in the II division of East German foo ...

, a multi-sports club formed in November 1950. ''Stahl'' was home, apart from rugby, to a football department, now the

FC Stahl Brandenburg BSG Stahl Brandenburg is a German association football club based in Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg. History The club was formed in 1950 as ''BSG Einheit Brandenburg'' and played its earliest seasons in the II division of East German foo ...

, as well as a large number of other sports. ''Stahl'',

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

for steel, took its name from its association with the local steelworks.

History

Rugby union came first to the city of Brandenburg in 1958, when an international between the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

was played there.Geschichte
Stahl Brandenburg Rugby - History, accessed: 11 April 2010 The following year, in 1959, a rugby department was formed at the ''Thälmannwerft'', a

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

company, as part of the ''BSG Motor Nord''. The ''Thälmannwerft'', and ''BSG Motor Nord'', were closed in 1961-62 and the rugby players moved to the ''BSG Stahl Brandenburg''. The team took part in the

East German rugby union championship The East German rugby union championship was a rugby union competition in the German Democratic Republic, commonly referred to as East Germany. The competition was first held in 1952 and had its last edition in 1990, being terminated by the events ...

without actually winning a championship, coming closest in 1988, when it finished runners-up to Stahl Hennigsdorf. The club also managed to provide five players to the East Germany national team. With the German reunion, the club lost many players and was in real danger of having to close its rugby department, but managed to avoid this drastic step. The team competed at third-tier level in the following years, the local division of the

Rugby-Regionalliga The Rugby Regionalliga is the third-highest level of Germany's Rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation. It is set below the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga and is organised in eight regional divisions. Since 2010, the ''Regiona ...

, until 2000, when a second place in the league and a good performance in the promotion round meant qualification to the tier-two 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East. ''Stahl'' suffered relegation from this league in 2002 but returned in 2005 after a championship in the Regionalliga. It played two more seasons in the 2nd Bundesliga before returning to the Rugby-Regionalliga East A again in 2007, where it plays today.

Club honours

** Runners up: 1988 * Rugby-Regionalliga East A ** Champions: 2005

Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the club:RugbyWeb Ergebnisarchiv
rugbyweb.de - Results archive, accessed: 24 July 2012

References

External links

*
Official website
*
Stahl Brandenburg Rugby club info at totalrugby.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenburg, Stahl Rugby German rugby union clubs East German rugby union clubs Rugby clubs established in 1959 Rugby union in Brandenburg Sport in Brandenburg an der Havel 1959 establishments in East Germany