The German rugby union cup (German: DRV-Pokal) is the premier cup competition for men in the sport of Rugby Union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

In October 2009, it was proposed to discontinue both men's cup competitions after 2010, meaning, both the DRV-Pokal and the league cup will not be played anymore after this season. However, this proposal was not carried out.

History

The DRV-Pokal was established in 1962 under the guidance of the chaiman of the DRV, Heinz Reinhold. Originally, the trophy for the winner was a picture of the Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburg Gate is a former city gate and one of the most well-known landmarks of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city centre at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which...

, an important symbol of the cold war

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 days in Germany.

In October 2010, the board of the German rugby federation proposed to discontinue both cup competitions after 2010. This decision required formal approval at the annual conference of the DRV, which was not granted.

Modus

In 2008-09, 16 teams took part in the final rounds of the competition, played in knock-out format. The games are played as single rounds with one club having the home advantage. The final was played on 1 May 2008.

In 2010-11, the competition was played in a different format, with four teams playing a final-four tournament in October 2010.

Cup finals

Season	Winner	Runner-Up	Result
1961-62	SV Odin Hannover	TSV Victoria Linden	3-0
1962-63	SV Odin Hannover	TSV Victoria Linden	0-0 1
1963-64	SC Neuenheim	TSV Victoria Linden	9-6
1964-65	TSV Victoria Linden	VfR Döhren	9-3
1965-66	TSV Victoria Linden	SC Elite Hannover	11-9
1966-67	RG Heidelberg	SV Odin Hannover	9-3
1967-68	SC Germania List	SV Odin Hannover	11-9
1968-69	DSV 78 Hannover	TSV Victoria Linden	9-6
1969-70	SV 08 Ricklingen	DSV 78 Hannover	14-11
1970-71	SC Germania List	TSV Victoria Linden	15-0
1971-72	DSV 78 Hannover	TSV Victoria Linden	17-7
1972-73	Heidelberger RK	DSV 78 Hannover	18-9
1973-74	DSV 78 Hannover	RG Heidelberg	17-3
1974-75	SC Neuenheim	RG Heidelberg	15-0
1975-76	Heidelberger RK	TSV Victoria Linden	36-6
1976-77	SC Germania List	RG Heidelberg	22-6
1977-78	SV 08 Ricklingen	TSV Handschuhsheim	6-0
1978-79	DSV 78 Hannover	FV 1897 Linden	16-3
1979-80	SC Germania List	RG Heidelberg	7-3
1980-81	DSV 78 Hannover	DRC Hannover	28-12
1981-82	TSV Victoria Linden	RG Heidelberg	9-3
1982-83	DSV 78 Hannover	Berliner RC	17-3
1983-84	DSV 78 Hannover	SV 08 Ricklingen	14-10
1984-85	DSV 78 Hannover	TSV Victoria Linden	9-3
1985-86	RG Heidelberg	DRC Hannover	13-3
1986-87	not held
1987-88	SC Neuenheim	Berliner RC	16-0
1988-89	TSV Victoria Linden	SV 08 Ricklingen	13-9
1989-90	DSV 78 Hannover	RG Heidelberg	13-6
1990-91	TSV Victoria Linden	SC Neuenheim	14-10
1991-92	TSV Victoria Linden	SC Neuenheim	9-6
1992-93	TSV Victoria Linden	DSV 78 Hannover	15-12
1993-94	SC Neuenheim	TSV Victoria Linden	24-15
1994-95	RG Heidelberg	SC Neuenheim	26-6
1995-96	DSV 78 Hannover	RG Heidelberg	17-9
1996-97	RG Heidelberg	DRC Hannover	37-13
1997-98	DSV 78 Hannover	SC Neuenheim	29-23
1998-99	SC Neuenheim	DSV 78 Hannover	16-9
1999-2000	SC Germania List	DSV 78 Hannover	18-8
2000-01	SC Neuenheim	TSV Victoria Linden	25-7
2001-02	DRC Hannover	SC Neuenheim	18-11
2002-03	DRC Hannover	Heidelberger RK	68-3
2003-04	RG Heidelberg	DRC Hannover	23-20
2004-05	TSV Handschuhsheim	DRC Hannover	21-18
2005-06	DRC Hannover	RG Heidelberg	25-21
2006-07	SC 1880 Frankfurt	RG Heidelberg	18-13
2007-08	TSV Handschuhsheim	RG Heidelberg	24-23
2008-09	SC 1880 Frankfurt	TSV Handschuhsheim	56-24
2009-10	SC 1880 Frankfurt	SC Neuenheim	20-12
2010-11	Heidelberger RK	SC 1880 Frankfurt	29-0

Source:

• ¹ Victoria declined to take part in a rematch after a 0-0 score after extra time.

Winners

As of 2009, this is the standing in the all-time winners list of the German cup:

Club	Cup wins
DSV 78 Hannover	11
TSV Victoria Linden TSV Victoria Linden The TSV Victoria Linden is a German rugby union club from the Linden suburb of Hannover, currently playing in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports, such as triathlon and athletics....	7
SC Neuenheim SC Neuenheim The SC Neuenheim is a German rugby union club from Heidelberg, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Having won nine men's and twelve women's German championships as of 2004, the club is one of the most accomplished in Germany.-History:...	6
SC Germania List SC Germania List The SC Germania List is a German rugby union club from the List suburb of Hanover, currently playing in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like tennis, gymnastics and handball....	5
RG Heidelberg RG Heidelberg The RG Heidelberg is a German rugby union club from Heidelberg, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers the sport of rowing.-History:The club was formed on 4 June 1898 as a rowing club...	5
Heidelberger RK Heidelberger RK The Heidelberger Ruderklub is a German rowing club and rugby union club from Heidelberg, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga....	3
SC 1880 Frankfurt SC 1880 Frankfurt The SC 1880 Frankfurt is a German rugby union club from Frankfurt am Main, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like lacrosse, tennis and field hockey....	3
DRC Hannover DRC Hannover The DRC Hannover is a German rugby union club from Hannover, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. The club should not be confused with the DRC 1884 Hannover, a rowing club and a separate entity.-History:...	3
SV Odin Hannover SV Odin Hannover The SV Odin Hannover is a German rugby union club from Hanover, currently playing in the Regionalliga North. Apart from rugby, the club also offers other sports like association football, gymnastics and handball....	2
SV 08 Ricklingen SV 08 Ricklingen 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...	2
TSV Handschuhsheim 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:...	2

External links

• DRV website German rugby federation website