The RC Aachen 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

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

, currently playing in the 2e klasse, the 3 tier of Dutch Rugby after being promoted mid-seasob due to good results. From 2012 till 2015 Aachen played in

Rugby-Bundesliga The Rugby-Bundesliga is the highest level of the league system for rugby union in Germany, organised by the German Rugby Federation. The league is predominantly amateur, with only one club in the league being officially a professional outfit, t ...

History

The club was formed in 1980 and has made occasional appearances in the

2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West The 2. Rugby-Bundesliga is the second-highest level of Germany's Rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation. Its set below the Rugby-Bundesliga, the top-tier of German rugby, and above the Rugby-Regionalliga, the third ti ...

, the second tier of the German league system, playing at this level in 2000–01, 2006–07 and again in 2011–12. In between the club played in the tier three Rugby-Regionalliga North Rhine-Westphalia until becoming a founding member of the

3rd Liga South/West Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

in 2010. The team finished the 2011–12 season on a relegation rank in the 2nd Bundesliga but, courtesy to an expansion of the

from ten to 24 teams, was instead promoted to the first tier of German rugby, the Bundesliga. RCA finished sixth in their group in the 2012–13 season and failed to qualify for the championship round, instead entering the second tier DRV-Pokal, where it came fifth in the south/west division. The club advanced to the quarterfinals of the play-offs after opponent

USV Potsdam Rugby The USV Potsdam Rugby is a German rugby union club from Potsdam, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. It is part of a larger multi-sport club, the USV Potsdam, which also offers other sports like basketball, association football and ten ...

canceled their first round play-off game. In the quarterfinals it was knocked out by

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 1 ...

after a 0—107 defeat. The club once more qualified for the play-offs to the DRV-Pokal in 2013–14, where it lost to

Heidelberger TV The Heidelberger TV is a German rugby union club from Heidelberg, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like basketball, tennis and badminton. The club has three German rugby union champ ...

in the semifinals of the playoffs. In the 2014–15 season the club finished fourth in the south-west DRV-Pokal group and was knocked out by DSV 78 Hannover II in the quarterfinals of the play-offs after a first round victory over Bremen 1860. With the reduction of the Bundesliga from 24 to 16 clubs Aachen dropped back to the 2. Bundesliga in 2015. Former German captain Mustafa Güngör hails from Aachen and began his rugby career at the club in 1990.Mustafa Güngör
'' DRV'' website, accessed: 30 April 2012

Club honours

* Rugby-Regionalliga North Rhine-Westphalia ** Champions: 2002, 2006

Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the club:RugbyWeb Ergebnisarchiv
rugbyweb.de - Results archive, accessed: 31 August 2012 * 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 placing's are shown, the first is autumn, the second spring. In 2012 the Bundesliga was expanded from ten to 24 teams and the 2nd Bundesliga from 20 to 24 with the leagues divided into four regional divisions.

References

External links

Official website

RC Aachen team info at totalrugby.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aachen, Rc German rugby union clubs Rugby clubs established in 1980 Rugby union in North Rhine-Westphalia Sport in Aachen 1980 establishments in West Germany