2012–13 Rugby-Bundesliga

The 2012–13 Rugby-Bundesliga was the 42nd edition of this competition and the 93rd edition of the German rugby union championship. In the Rugby-Bundesliga, twenty-two teams played in, initially, four regional divisions, the first stage of the competition. The season started on 25 August 2012 and finished with the championship final on 15 June 2013, interrupted by a winter break from 25 November to 3 March.[1][2] The regular season finished on Wednesday 1 May and the play-offs started on the following weekend, 4 May, and the German championship final was held on 15 June 2013.[3]

2012–13 Rugby-Bundesliga
Countries Germany
 Luxembourg
ChampionsHeidelberger RK (9th title)

The defending champions were Heidelberger RK who defeated TV Pforzheim in the 2012 final to take out its eights championship and third in a row. Heidelberger RK took out the national championship once more, remaining unbeaten all season and defeating local rival SC Neuenheim 41–10 in the final.

Overview

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The league has been radically modified from the 2011–12 season. In 2011–12 the league operated with ten teams playing in a single division in a home-and-away format with semi-finals and a final at the end.[4] In 2012–13 the league has been expanded, initially to twenty-four teams, which were to play in four regional divisions of six teams each. In those each team would play the others in its division just once. However, two teams resigned from the league before the start of the season, reducing the number of clubs to twenty-two. The Berlin Grizzlies of the eastern division opted to form a team with the reserve side of USV Potsdam Rugby and play in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga instead.[5] DRC Hannover withdrew from the northern division just before the first game of the season, suffering from a lack of first team players and entered the tier three Rugby-Regionalliga instead for 2012–13.[6]

The first stage of the competition, the Vorrunde, will finish on 3 October 2012 after which the second stage will start, the Qualifikationsphase, in which the top four teams each from the southern and the western group play each other in one group while the top teams from the north and east play each other in another.[7] The finals series will be expanded from four to eight teams. The six teams not qualified for the Qualifikationsphase will enter the DRV-Pokal, the German rugby union cup, together with the top eight teams of the 2nd Bundesliga.[8] The 2nd Bundesliga teams not qualified for the DRV-Pokal will play for the Liga Pokal.[9]

In the second stage the teams within a group will play each other in a home-and-away format, with the teams that already played each other in the first stage carrying over those results. All sixteen clubs will qualify for the knock-out stage.[9]

One of the main aims of the reform was to reduce the number of kilometres traveled by individual teams and therefore reduce the travel expenses. Additionally, the 2nd Bundesliga was also expanded to 24 teams.[10][11][12]

Because of the enlargement of the league from ten to twenty-two (initially twenty-four) teams no club was relegated after the 2011–12 season but twelve clubs promoted:

Two clubs finished the regular season unbeaten, DSV 78 Hannover and Heidelberger RK. Of the sixteen clubs qualified for the play-offs three decided to cancel their first round match, the three bottom placed clubs in the north east, Berliner SV 92, Victoria Linden and USV Potsdam, with all three games awarded 50-0 to the opposition.[13] The quarter finals saw the south western clubs dominate with all four advancing teams being from that division and all north eastern clubs being knocked out.[14] The semi finals were heavily affected by bad weather, with both games, to be held in Heidelberg, being canceled and rescheduled.[15] The final saw Heidelberger RK defeat SC Neuenheim 41–10 to take out its ninth national championship and fourth consecutive one.

Bundesliga tables & results

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First stage

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In the first stage twenty-two clubs played in four groups. Within each group each team played the other just once. The best four teams in each group advanced to the second stage.[9]

North

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The table and results of the division:[16][17]

East

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The table and results of the division:[18][19]

West

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The table and results of the division:[20][21]

  • The game between RC Luxembourg and RC Aachen initially ended in a 21–0 win for Aachen but was later changed to a 50–0 victory for Luxembourg because RCA fielded two underaged players.[22]
  • The game between RC Luxembourg and ASV Köln Rugby was cancelled by both teams with both clubs being deducted two points.[23]

South

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The table and results of the division:[24][25]

Second stage

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In the second stage sixteen clubs played in two groups of eight clubs each. Within each group each team played the others home and away except for the match-ups that already had been played in the first round. The results of those were carried over. All teams in this stage qualified for the play-offs and were seeded according to the final standings.[9]

North-East

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The table and results of the division:[26]

South-West

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The table and results of the division:[27]

Denotes results carried over from first stage
  • Heusenstamm's home game against Mainz was played in Mainz as Heusenstamm's home ground was unfit to be played on due to weather conditions.[28]
  • Both games between Heusenstamm and Heidelberger RK were played at Heusenstamm.
  • TV Pforzheim deducted four points for insufficient number of youth teams.[29]
  • SC 1880 Frankfurt's home game against SC Neuenheim, originally ending 15–59, was awarded 50–0 to Frankfurt because Neuenheim fielded two ineligible players.[30] This decision was later reversed and the original result restored.[31]
  • RG Heidelberg's home game against RC Mainz was not played as Mainz canceled because of a lack of players. Game awarded 50–0 to Heidelberg.

Play-off stage

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In the play-offs the sixteen qualified clubs play a knock-out competition in single game format with the winner moving on to the next round. In the first round of the play-off the north-east division clubs play against the south-west division clubs.[9] The play-offs began on 4 May with the round of sixteen, followed by the quarter-finals on 25 May, semi finals on 1 June and the German championship final on 15 June 2013.[3] However, both semi final games, to be held in Heidelberg, had to be postponed because of bad weather,[15] and rescheduled for 12 June.

Round of 16 Quarter finals Semi finals Final
            
S1 Heidelberger RK 50
N8 Berliner SV 92 Rugby 0
S1 Heidelberger RK 66
S5 SC 1880 Frankfurt 0
N4 FC St. Pauli Rugby 13
S5 SC 1880 Frankfurt 30
S1 Heidelberger RK 51
S3 TV Pforzheim 9
N2 Berliner Rugby Club 84
S7 ASV Köln Rugby 7
N2 Berliner Rugby Club 7
S3 TV Pforzheim 49
S3 TV Pforzheim 50
N6 USV Potsdam Rugby 0
S1 Heidelberger RK 41
S2 SC Neuenheim 10
N1 DSV 78 Hannover 131
S8 RC Mainz 3
N1 DSV 78 Hannover 7
S4 RG Heidelberg 13
S4 RG Heidelberg 103
N5 SC Germania List 10
S4 RG Heidelberg 18
S2 SC Neuenheim 32
S2 SC Neuenheim 50
N7 TSV Victoria Linden 0
S2 SC Neuenheim 36
N3 RK 03 Berlin 10
N3 RK 03 Berlin 45
S6 RK Heusenstamm 34
  • The Berliner SV 92, Victoria Linden and USV Potsdam all cancelled their first round play-off games, citing a lack of players, with all three games awarded 50-0 to the opposition.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Rugby Spielpläne - 2012/2013 Archived 2019-05-06 at the Wayback Machine (in German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 16 September 2012
  2. ^ 1. Bundesliga (in German) totalrugby.de, accessed: 16 September 2012
  3. ^ a b Rugby Spielpläne - 2012/2013: BL Meisterrunde (in German) rugbyweb.de, accessed: 2 May 2013
  4. ^ Rugby Spielpläne - Archiv 2011/2012 – 1. Bundesliga (in German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 16 September 2012
  5. ^ DRV veröffentlicht Vorrunden-Spielpläne für 1. und 2. Bundeslig (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 7 August 2012, accessed: 16 September 2012
  6. ^ DRC Hannover vor Neuanfang in der Regionalliga Nord (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 5 September 2012, accessed: 16 September 2012
  7. ^ Bundesligaausschusssitzung bestätigt Bundesliga-Gruppen (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 4 August 2012, accessed: 16 September 2012
  8. ^ TotalRugby Review: 1. Bundesliga - 4. Spieltag (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 16 September 2012, accessed: 17 September 2012
  9. ^ a b c d e Rugby-Bundesliga: Wie geht es nach der Vorrunde weiter? (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 19 September 2012, accessed: 20 September 2012
  10. ^ DRT 2012: Ligareform kommt / Vertrag mit DRV-Vermarkter wird überprüft (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 16 July 2012, accessed: 24 July 2012
  11. ^ DRT (in German) DRV website, published: 16 July 2012, accessed: 24 July 2012
  12. ^ Rugby-Vizemeister TV Pforzheim will 2013 den Titel holen Archived 2014-10-14 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Pforzheimer Zeitung, published: 9 May 2012, accessed: 24 July 2012
  13. ^ a b Bundesliga-Achtelfinals: Spielabsagen in Meisterrunde und DRV-Pokal (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 2 May 2013, accessed: 5 May 2013
  14. ^ TotalRugby Review: Meisterrunde - Viertelfinale (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 26 May 2013, accessed: 7 June 2013
  15. ^ a b UNWETTER: Alle Rasenplätze in Heidelberg gesperrt / Halbfinalspiele fallen aus! (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 31 May 2013, accessed: 2 June 2013
  16. ^ Rugby Spielpläne - 2012/2013 – 1. Bundesliga Nord (in German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 16 September 2012
  17. ^ Herren: Bundesliga Nord (in German) DRV website, accessed: 16 September 2012
  18. ^ Rugby Spielpläne - 2012/2013 – 1. Bundesliga Ost (in German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 16 September 2012
  19. ^ Herren: Bundesliga Ost (in German) DRV website, accessed: 16 September 2012
  20. ^ Rugby Spielpläne - 2012/2013 – 1. Bundesliga West (in German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 16 September 2012
  21. ^ Herren: Bundesliga West (in German) DRV website, accessed: 16 September 2012
  22. ^ TotalRugby Vorschau: 1. Bundesliga - 4. Spieltag (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 13 September 2012, accessed: 16 September 2012
  23. ^ TotalRugby Review: 1. Bundesliga - 5. Spieltag (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 23 September 2012, accessed: 29 September 2012
  24. ^ Rugby Spielpläne - 2012/2013 – 1. Bundesliga Süd (in German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 16 September 2012
  25. ^ Herren: Bundesliga Süd (in German) DRV website, accessed: 16 September 2012
  26. ^ Rugby Spielpläne - 2012/2013 – BL Meisterrunde Nord/Ost (in German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 29 September 2012
  27. ^ Rugby Spielpläne - 2012/2013 – BL Meisterrunde Süd/West (in German) www.rugbyweb.de, accessed: 29 September 2012
  28. ^ TotalRugby Review: Meisterrunde - 6. Spieltag (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 3 March 2013, accessed: 5 March 2013
  29. ^ Sportgericht: Pforzheim verliert 4 Punkte am Grünen Tisch (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 12 March 2013, accessed: 22 April 2013
  30. ^ +++ UPDATE +++ TotalRugby Review: Meisterrunde (10. Spieltag) (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 22 April 2013, accessed: 24 April 2013
  31. ^ Erfolg für den SC Neuenheim, Schiedsgericht kassiert Urteil des Sportgerichts (in German) totalrugby.de, published: 30 April 2013, accessed: 2 May 2013
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