RK 03 Berlin explained

Teamname:RK 03 Berlin
Fullname:Rugby Klub 03 Berlin
Countryflag:Germany
Founded:1967 (BSG Post Rugby)
2003 (RK 03)
Ground:Stadion Buschallee
Chairman:Marc Berger
Coach:Falk Duwe
Captain:Lucas Hinds-Johnson
Position:Rugby-Bundesliga North/East, 1st
Url:http://rugbyklub03.berlin//
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The RK 03 Berlin is a German rugby union club from Berlin, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga.

The club was formed in 2003, when the rugby department of the Post SV Berlin left the club. Post SV Rugby itself had been formed in 1967 as BSG Post Berlin Rugby.[1]

History

Post SV Rugby

PSV's rugby department had been formed in 1967 in what was then East Germany, under the name of BSG Post Berlin Rugby.[2]

Post Rugby took part in the East German championship, the DDR Rugby-Oberliga. It celebrated its greatest success in this league in the last decade of its existence, finishing third from 1985 to 1988, followed by two runners-up finishes in 1989 and 1990. Throughout its history, the club also provided a number of East German rugby internationals.

In 2003, the clubs rugby department left Post SV to form its own club, the RK 03 Berlin.

RK 03

PSV had last been playing in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East in 2002-03 and RK took its place there, winning the league in its first attempt. After a 28-23 victory over South/West champion BSC Offenbach, the team earned promotion to the Bundesliga.

A seventh place in the first division in 2004-05 proved not enough and RK was relegated immediately, having won only one out of its fourteen games and losing the relegation match to DSV 78/08 Ricklingen 12-14.[3] The season after, in the 2nd Bundesliga, the club won the league once more but lost the championship final to SC 1880 Frankfurt. In the following promotion match with now Bundesliga side DSV 78/08 another loss meant another year in the second tier.[4]

In 2006-07, RK only came second in the 2nd Bundesliga but the season after, 2007-08, it won its division once more and a 22-6 win over ASV Köln Rugby earned it a second Bundesliga promotion.[5]

In 2008-09, the club was struggling against relegation, finishing in eight place, its rival for league survival being bottom of the table side DRC Hannover. DRC accepted direct relegation at the end of the season, making the relegation final unnecessary, meaning, RK 03 will be playing in the Bundesliga for another season.[6]

On 19 January 2009, the club received the long-awaited approval from the city of Berlin to upgrade its facilities, allowing, among other things, the instalment of flood lights.

With the Australian Allan Nugent, RK 03 hired a new coach for the 2009-10 season, relieving player-coach and captain Christian Lill from some of his duties, as he is also in charge of the German under-18 team.[7]

The 2011-12 season saw the club finish above local rival BRC for the first time, in 8th place and thereby condemning the other Berlin club to a relegation spot.[8] RK 03 finished second in their group in the 2012-13 season and qualified for the north/east division of the championship round, where it came third. The club was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the play-offs after a 10–36 loss to SC Neuenheim.

In 2013–14 the team qualified for the championship and the play-offs once more, defeating RK Heusenstamm 33–19 in the first round and losing to Heidelberger RK in the quarter-finals. In the 2014–15 season the club finished second in the north-east championship group and was knocked out by RG Heidelberg in the quarter-finals of the play-offs. In the 2015–16 season RK won the north/east division of the Bundesliga but lost to TV Pforzheim in the semi-finals of the play-offs.

Club honours

Men

Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the club:[9]

Men

Post SV

YearDivisionPosition
1998-99
2nd Bundesliga North/East qualification round2nd - Promoted
1999–2000 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II)4th
2nd Bundesliga North/East qualification round1st
2000-01 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East2nd
Bundesliga qualification round3rd
2001-022nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East1st
2002-032nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East2nd

RK 03

YearDivisionPosition
2003-042nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II)1st - Promoted
2004-05Rugby-Bundesliga (I)7th - Relegated
2005-062nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II)1st
2006-072nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East2nd
2007-082nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East1st - Promoted
2008-09Rugby-Bundesliga (I)8th
2009–10Rugby-Bundesliga 7th
2010–11Rugby-Bundesliga8th
2011–12Rugby-Bundesliga8th
2012–13Rugby-Bundesliga qualification round – East2nd
Rugby-Bundesliga championship round – North-East3rd - Quarter finals
2013–14Rugby-Bundesliga qualification round – East2nd
Rugby-Bundesliga championship round – North-East3rd — Quarter-finals
2014–15Rugby-Bundesliga qualification round – East1st
Rugby-Bundesliga championship round – North-East2nd — Quarter finals
2015–16Rugby-Bundesliga North-East1st — Semi finals

Women

YearDivisionPosition
2004-05
2005-06Regionalliga East (III)1st
2006–07Regionalliga East 1st
2007–08Regionalliga East 1st
2008–09Regionalliga East 1st
2009–10Regionalliga East 1st
2008–09Women's 2nd Rugby Bundesliga (II)4th
2009–10Women's 2nd Rugby Bundesliga7th

Rugby internationals

In Germany's 2006–08 European Nations Cup campaign, no player from the club was called up for the national team, while, in the 2008–10 campaign, Lukas Rosenthal, Benjamin Ulrich and Lukas Hinds-Johnson were new additions to the German team, selected from the RK 03 squad.

In the 2010–012 European Nations Cup campaign, Lukas Hinds-Johnson was again called up for Germany.

The club, under the name of BSG Post, also produced the following East German internationals:

Coaches

Recent coaches of the club:

NamePeriod
Christian Lill- 2009
Allan Nugent 2009–2010
Lofty Stevenson 2010-11
Allan Nugent 2011–12
Christian Lill 2012-2017
Maxi Bonanno 2017-2022
Alvaro Ruiz del Real 2022-2023
Falk Duwe 2023-

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.postsv-rugby.de/ Post SV Berlin Rugby - Archiv
  2. http://www.postsv-rugby.de/ Post SV Berlin rugby website
  3. http://www.rugbyweb.de/index.php?archive=2004-05&league=5 Rugby-Bundesliga table 2004-05
  4. http://www.rugbyweb.de/index.php?archive=2005-06&league=23 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga table 2005-06
  5. http://www.rugbyweb.de/index.php?archive=2007-08&league=81 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga table 2007-08
  6. http://www.rugby-journal.de/index.php/basis/meldung/drc_hannover_verzichtet_auf_bundesliga-playdown/ DRC Hannover verzichtet auf Bundesliga-Playdown
  7. http://www.totalrugby.de/content/view/1854/41/ TotalRugby kurz nachgefragt... beim RK 03 Berlin
  8. http://www.rugbyweb.de/index.php?league=BL1 Rugby-Bundesliga 2011-12
  9. http://www.rugbyweb.de/archive/index.php RugbyWeb Ergebnisarchiv