SV 08 Ricklingen
 | |
| Full name | Sportverein 1908 Ricklingen e.V. |
|---|---|
| Union | German Rugby Federation |
| Founded | 1908 |
| Location | Hanover, Germany |
| Ground(s) | Am Mühlenholzweg |
| Chairman |  Matthias Freitag |
| League(s) | Rugby-Regionalliga North (III) |
| 2011-12 | 1st |
| Official website | |
| 08ricklingen | |
The SV 08 Ricklingen is a German rugby union club from the Ricklingen suburb of Hanover. In the 2009-10 season, it plays in the Rugby-Regionalliga Lower Saxony, the third tier of German rugby. After having formed an on-the-field union with DSV 78 Hannover from 2003 to 2009 instead of fielding an independent team, the club left this partnership at the end of the 2008-09 season. Instead, it formed a partnership with TuS Wunstorf for the 2009-10 season. The team now plays as SG TuS Wunstorf/08 Ricklingen.
The club has three German rugby union championships to its name, won in 1950, 1960 and 1974.[1]
History
Ricklingen was formed on 6 August 1908, by twelve young men, as a rugby club. The club, for the most part, existed in the shadow of its local competitors, DSV 78 Hannover, TSV Victoria Linden and its bitter rival DRC Hannover, also from the suburb of Ricklingen.[2]
08, as the club is nicknamed, managed to win three German championships and two cup wins during its history. The clubs first title came in 1950, when the final against SC Neuenheim was won.[1] Ten years later, a second championship was won against TSV Handschuhsheim in 1960.[1]
The team then took part in the newly established European Cup, where it met teams like SCA Brussels, AC Hilversum and ASPTT Rabat, travelling to Morocco to play the later.
Ricklingen was part of the new Rugby-Bundesliga when it was formed in 1971. The club suffered a harsh loss in its first Bundesliga season when the club house burned down.
Despite the loss of its long time chairman Heinz Reinhotd in 1974, the club managed to win its third German championship that season.[1] Two players were still left in the team that had won the 1960 title as well.
Despite only finishing fourth in the Bundesliga North, the club managed to reach the German final once more in 1992 after defeating RG Heidelberg and DSV 78 in the knock-out stage. Against TSV Victoria Linden, 08 was heavily outclassed in the final and lost 3-59.
In 1996, Ricklingen found itself in legal trouble with the German rugby association, the DRV. The reason was that the club had not played a Bundesliga game against VfR Döhren because the referee had not turned up. A long-drawn legal battle ended with the club being forcefully relegated from the Bundesliga in 1997.
After this forced relegation, the club lost a great number of players and was unable to return to former heights. After a number of seasons in the 2nd Bundesliga North/East it was decided to form a on-the-field union with DSV 78. After some initial sceptisism, this was well accepted within the club. After winning the 2nd Bundesliga North/East in 2009, the club decided to leave the partnership.
Instead, it teamed up with TuS Wunstorf for the 2009-10 season, now playing in the tier three Rugby-Regionalliga Lower Saxony under the name of SG TuS Wunstorf/08 Ricklingen.
Club honours
- German rugby union championship
- Champions: 1950, 1960, 1974
- Runners up: 1973, 1992
- German rugby union cup
- Winner: 1970, 1978
- Runners up: 1984, 1989
Recent seasons
Recent seasons of the club:[3]
| Year | Division | Position |
| 1997-98 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II) | 6th |
| 1998-99 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 3rd |
| Rugby-Bundesliga North/East qualification round | 6th | |
| 1999–2000 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 5th |
| 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East qualification round | 2nd | |
| 2000-01 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 4th |
| 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East qualification round | 2nd | |
| 2001-02 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 4th |
| 2002-03 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 6th |
| 2003-09 | see DSV 78/08 Ricklingen | |
| 2009-10 | Rugby-Regionalliga Lower Saxony (III) | 4th |
| 2010-11 | Rugby-Regionalliga North (III) | 2nd |
| 2011–12 | Rugby-Regionalliga North | 1st |
- 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.
References
- ^ a b c d Die Deutschen Meister der Männer Template:De icon DRV website, accessed: 1 April 2010
- ^ Download of a report about the club in the Hannoverschen Sportmagazins Template:De icon accessed: 24 January 2009
- ^ RugbyWeb Ergebnisarchiv Template:De icon rugbyweb.de - Results archive, accessed: 24 July 2012