| Full name | FC St. Pauli Rugby | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | German Rugby Federation | |
| Founded | 1910 (club) 1933 (rugby department) |
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| Location | Hamburg, Germany | |
| Chairman | Dr. Nils Zurawski | |
| Coach(es) | Paul McGuigan | |
| Captain(s) | Julian Maury | |
| League(s) | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | |
| 2009–10 | 2nd | |
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| Official website | ||
| fcstpaulirugby.de/ | ||
The FC St. Pauli Rugby is a German rugby union club from Hamburg, currently playing in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East. The team is part of the multi-sport club FC St. Pauli, which also offers other sports like Association football, American football and Baseball.
While the men's team has had limited success over the years, St. Pauli's women are one of the most successful teams in Germany, having reached every championship final from 1995 to 2008 and winning eight out of the fourteen.[1]
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St Pauli 's rugby department was formed in 1933 when two Jewish brothers were forced to leave their club, the SV St. Georg, and joined FC St Pauli. In April 1933, the FC St Pauli board called for the formation of a rugby team and the clubs 6th football XI decided to switch codes and play rugby instead.[2]
It took the team over a year to achieve their first draw but it soon improved and won its first Nordmark championship, against bitter rival Hamburger SV Rugby. It repeated this success in 1938 and 1939.[2]
The club resumed playing rugby in 1947, at first against teams of the British occupation force in Germany, but soon in the Nordmark championship again, which it won uninterruptedly from 1948 to 1958.[2]
In the early 1960s, St Pauli faced strong opposition from local rival SV Polizei Hamburg and the Nordmark championship became a Hamburg-only competition after the last of the teams from Kiel was dissolved.[2]
The club's men's team reached its only German championship final in 1964, when it lost 0-11 to DSV 78 Hannover after having beaten favourites SC Neuenheim in Heidelberg in the semi-finals.[3]
FC St Pauli Rugby was one of the founding members of the new Rugby-Bundesliga in 1971 and, in the first three seasons, was a competitive side there. An ageing team and a slacking in the youth development lead to the clubs relegation in 1975, temporarily even setting a negative Bundesliga record with a 3-102 defeat against TSV Victoria Linden.[4]
Upon return to the Hamburg championship, the club faced strong competition from Hamburger SV, Hamburger RC and Hamburg Exiles RFC, but was able to win the local championship another eight times between 1976 and 1988. In this era, the club suffered from financial difficulties, brought upon by the professional football team.[4]
The year 1988 brought two important changes to the club. The men's team finally returned to the Rugby-Bundesliga, and a women's team was formed.[4]
The team managed to survive for only two seasons in the Bundesliga and earned another record defeat against Victoria Linden, this time a 0-113.[4]
Instead, the club's women's team begun to shine from 1995 onwards, earning its first German championship that year.[4]
While the women's team continued its success throughout the years, winning eight German championships until 2008, the men's side was able to establish itself on the second level of German rugby, the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga, where it plays as a mid-table side.[5]
| Year | Division | Position |
| 1997-98 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II) | 8th — Relegated |
| 1998-99 | Rugby-Regionalliga (III) | |
| 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East relegation round | 1st — Promoted | |
| 1999-2000 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East (II) | 1st |
| Bundesliga qualification round | 6th | |
| 2000-01 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 5th |
| 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East relegation round | 1st | |
| 2001-02 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 6th |
| 2002-03 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 3rd |
| 2003-04 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 5th |
| 2004-05 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 2nd |
| 2005-06 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 3rd |
| 2006–07 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 5th |
| 2007–08 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 3rd |
| 2008–09 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 4th |
| 2009–10 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 4th |
| 2010–11 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East | 2nd |
| 2011–12 | 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga North/East |
| Year | Division | Position |
| 2000-01 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga (I) | 1st — Champions |
| 2001-02 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 1st — Runners up |
| 2002-03 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 1st — Champions |
| 2003-04 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 2nd — Runners up |
| 2004-05 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 1st — Champions |
| 2005-06 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 1st — Champions |
| 2006–07 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 1st — champions |
| 2007–08 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 1st — Champions |
| 2008–09 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 3rd |
| 2009–10 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 4th |
| 2010–11 | Women's Rugby Bundesliga | 3rd |
In Germany's 2006–08 European Nations Cup campaign, FC St Pauli's captain Friedrich Michau was called up for the national team.
Horst Wohler, with 30 internationals, is the club's most capped player.[2]
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