Denmark national rugby union team

The Denmark national rugby union team is governed by Danish Rugby Union and has been playing international rugby since 1949.

Denmark
Shirt badge/Association crest
NicknameDanish Lions
UnionDansk Rugby Union
Head coachAndreas Robertson
CaptainMikkel Andresen
First colours
World Rugby ranking
Current72 (as of 4 November 2024)
Highest71 (1 October 2022)
Lowest77 (29 January 2024)
First international
Denmark Denmark 0 – 6 Sweden Sweden
(1949-10-23)
Biggest win
Denmark Denmark 127 – 5 Estonia Estonia
(2018-04-28)
Biggest defeat
Denmark Denmark 7 – 104 Russia Russia
(2000-05-13)

DRU now has nearly 2,500 members in more than 30 clubs.[1]

The DRU Superliga is the highest tier of the national rugby union competition in Denmark. Most of the national team's players play in the local league, however a handful of them play in amateur clubs in England, Sweden and France. There are no professional players that play for Denmark.

The national side is ranked 72nd in the world, as of 7th October 2024.[2]

The national side play in Rugby Europe's Conference division: https://www.rugbyeurope.eu/competitions/re-men-s-conference-2024-25 regularly playing sides like Finland and Norway.

History

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Rugby Union had been played in Denmark since 1931, but the Danish Rugby Union (DRU) wasn't formed until 1950. The DRU joined the Sports Confederation of Denmark and Rugby Europe in 1971. In 1974, the DRU co-founded the Nordic Rugby Union (now Scandinavian Rugby Union), and in 1988, the DRU joined the International Rugby Board.[3]

The Danish First XV, known as Drusse, participates every year in the European Nation Tournament. In Europe, Denmark is ranked as a second-division side.

Championship tournaments determine seeding for World Cup qualifying pools. Denmark debuted in World Cup competition in October 1992, during qualification for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. They have never qualified for the World Cup, however.

Overall Record

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Against Played Won Lost Drawn Win percentage
  Andorra 2 1 1 0 50%
  Armenia 2 0 2 0 0%
  Austria 6 5 1 0 83.33%
  Belgium 5 1 3 1 20%
  Bulgaria 1 0 1 0 0%
  Croatia 5 0 4 1 0%
  Czech Republic 2 0 2 0 0%
  Finland 2 2 0 0 100%
  Georgia 1 0 1 0 0%
  Germany 6 1 5 0 16.67%
  Hungary 4 3 1 0 75%
  Israel 3 2 1 0 66.67%
  Latvia 3 2 1 0 66.67%
  Lithuania 1 1 0 0 100%
  Luxembourg 2 2 0 0 100%
  Malta 2 1 1 0 50%
  Moldova 1 0 1 0 0%
  Morocco 1 0 1 0 0%
  Netherlands 10 0 9 1 0%
  Norway 13 11 1 1 84.62%
  Poland 3 0 3 0 0%
  Portugal 2 0 2 0 0%
  Russia 3 0 3 0 0%
  Serbia and Montenegro 2 0 2 0 0%
  Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0%
  Spain 1 0 1 0 0%
  Sweden 49 10 36 3 20.41%
   Switzerland 9 4 3 2 44.44%
  Ukraine 3 1 2 0 33.33%
  West Germany 3 0 3 0 0%
Total 150 48 93 9 32%

Current squad

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Starting line-up for the 2023-24 Rugby Europe Conference match against Finland.

  • Caps & age not updated.
  • Head coach: Andreas Robertson
  • Managers: Palle Andersen & Ruben Garcia Pedersen
  • Assistant coaches: Chris Adby & Rich Groom
  • Head Physio: August Enevoldsen

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Bulela Butsheke Prop 7   RK Speed
Marcus Borup Hooker 2   Chelmsford R.F.C.
Zak Underwood Prop 1   Hammersmith & Fulham RFC
Kenny Uddal Calmar Lock 20   Aarhus RK
Hamish Coventry Lock 6   Frederiksberg RK
Jeppe Maagaard Holm Flanker 23   RK Speed
Marius Fricault Flanker 2   RK Speed
Mikkel Andresen (c) Number 8 19   Kenilworth RFC
Thorbjorn Vestergaard Scrum-half 23   Aarhus RK
Oliver Hvass Fly-half 4   RK Speed
Victor Hounou Wing 5   RK Speed
Joshua Jensen Centre 41   Swindon RFC
Simon Maagaard Holm Centre 6   RK Speed
Rasmus Madum Wing 7   Frederiksberg RK
Mads Søgaard Jørgensen Fullback 2   RK Speed
Ali Kamil Prop 3   RK Speed
Nicholas Bertelsen Prop 1   RK Speed
Rasmus Brofeldt ?? 1   RK Speed
Adam van Geyzel ?? 1   Aarhus RK
Nils Hagen ?? 1   Lugi Lions RFC
Axel Örn Petursson Flanker 4   CSR-Nanok
Henry Miller ?? 0   Frederiksberg RK
Otto Käszner ?? 4   Frederiksberg RK

Recent call-ups

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The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.

Player Pos Date of birth (age) Caps Club Latest call-up
Emil Svinth Aagaard Hooker   Frederiksberg RK v.   Andorra, 30 September 2023
Michael Friis Larsen Prop   Aalborg RK v.   Andorra, 30 September 2023
Federico Haedo Flanker   San Isidro Club v.   Andorra, 30 September 2023
Dan Wiggins Scrum Half   Hitchin RFC v.   Andorra, 30 September 2023
Ben Wiggins Fly Half   Hitchin RFC v.   Andorra, 30 September 2023
Gerard Hounou Wing   RK Speed v.   Andorra, 30 September 2023
Alexandros Mintsioulis Hooker   Frederiksberg RK v.   Andorra, 30 September 2023

References

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  1. ^ "IRB Denmark". IRB.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-31. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  2. ^ "Men's Rankings | World Rugby". Archived from the original on 2019-08-18. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  3. ^ "DRU History". DRU. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
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