What if.... German rugby...

Is was reading an article the other day about French rugby and found out that after the 1931 Five Nations championship, France were expelled for 16 years, until 1947 due to breaking professionalism rules.
In the intervening years between 1932 and 1938 prior to World War 2, France played Internationals against it's near neighbours. Most notably Germany.

22 May 1938 France 8 - 5 Germany
15 May 1938 Romania 8 - 11 France
27 Mar 1938 Germany 3 - 0 France
17 Oct 1937 France 43 - 5 Italy
18 Apr 1937 France 27 - 6 Germany
01 Nov 1936 Germany 3 - 6 France
17 May 1936 Germany 14 - 19 France
24 Mar 1935 France 18 - 3 Germany
25 Mar 1934 Germany 9 - 13 France
26 Mar 1933 France 38 - 17 Germany
17 Apr 1932 Germany 4 - 20 France
19 Apr 1931 France 34 - 0 Germany

What I do note is the closing of the gap between Germany and France from 1936 on wards, so if not for World War 2 I wonder what chances Germany as well as France, would of been admitted back to the tournament, to create a new 6 Nations.
I think it's quite interesting when you look at other possible outcomes and see their consequences, I wonder where Germany rugby would be now if things had turned out slightly differently. During the war Germany played Italy in 1939 and 1940. They didn't play another international until 1990!

Just one of those thing eh? Would be great to have Germany a strong nation but it's still possible now. Just need to grow the sport slowly.

Interesting history, thanks for that.

The real question here is how much did this damage the German interest in the game?

playing France all the time no wonder they gave up on the game....

Rugby is quite popular in Germany. However its mainly on an ex-pats or students level.

They will make the usual track of using sevens (10s is also popular) to increase the standing of the 15 man game.

It won't be any time soon before the country is gripped like it.

Getting Argentina, Italy, Russia and Japan up to a consistent level domestically and internationally will represent real and realistic progress for the IRB. Countries like Germany and Spain and USA would be a bit behind them still.

red_stag wrote:Rugby is quite popular in Germany. However its mainly on an ex-pats or students level.

They will make the usual track of using sevens (10s is also popular) to increase the standing of the 15 man game.

It won't be any time soon before the country is gripped like it.

Getting Argentina, Italy, Russia and Japan up to a consistent level domestically and internationally will represent real and realistic progress for the IRB. Countries like Germany and Spain and USA would be a bit behind them still.

USA are 2 places ahead of Russia in the World Rankings.

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:

red_stag wrote:Rugby is quite popular in Germany. However its mainly on an ex-pats or students level.

They will make the usual track of using sevens (10s is also popular) to increase the standing of the 15 man game.

It won't be any time soon before the country is gripped like it.

Getting Argentina, Italy, Russia and Japan up to a consistent level domestically and internationally will represent real and realistic progress for the IRB. Countries like Germany and Spain and USA would be a bit behind them still.

USA are 2 places ahead of Russia in the World Rankings.

They are but I think the development of the game in Russia is stronger and they will quite a bit further ahead in 8 years time.

I'd bet my right and left arms that Russia emerge as a viable rugby nation before the USA though.

red_stag wrote:Getting Argentina, Italy, Russia and Japan up to a consistent level domestically and internationally will represent real and realistic progress for the IRB. Countries like Germany and Spain and USA would be a bit behind them still.

This is a good point. Well in terms of European rugby, if Italy and Russia can improve their domestic game so that become more competitive in trans-continental competition and self-sustaining, then maybe the iRB can help a nation like Germany or Spain set up sides and get them entered into other leagues like maybe one or two German sides in a new Italian league or something along those lines.

Its looking good. Realistically there is a fairly finite amount of teams who could challenge the current pecking order in our lifetime. If 3-4 of them take off then its real success.

Germany are several decades away from making inroads into the professional game.

Did any of yous read

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Rugby_Academy

The Wild Rugby Academy is a German rugby union institution in Heidelberg, focused on the development of the sport in the region and Germany. One of its main aims is to develop players for Germany to be able to participate in the 2015 Rugby World Cup,as well as to establish a German team in the European Challenge Cup, the Wild Titans.


It's one of the reasons I think that the Itialians will leave the Celtic League and form a European League with 4 Itialian teams 2 German (wild titans, and another curently planed in the North) and maybe 2 Romanian, in about 10 years.

Could they not call the German side a German name rather than some English moniker?

Wild is a surname - Hans Peter Wild.

Academy and Akademie (German) aren't too different.

I suspect the moniker helps drawing in expats which being honest are in many ways the hearbeat of rugby in Germany.

What about the Schalke Schweine? Or the Hamburg Hahnchen?

Stag,

Wasn't Wild or Academy I was talking about. It was Titans I was concerned with.

MBTGOG wrote:Stag,

Wasn't Wild or Academy I was talking about. It was Titans I was concerned with.

Technically "Titan" is Greek . But "Titanen" would be more German than "Titans".

Wild Titans is already in German.

Kiwireddevil wrote:

MBTGOG wrote:Stag,

Wasn't Wild or Academy I was talking about. It was Titans I was concerned with.

Technically "Titan" is Greek . But "Titanen" would be more German than "Titans".

No the plural of Titan is Titans.

red_stag wrote:

Kiwireddevil wrote:

MBTGOG wrote:Stag,

Wasn't Wild or Academy I was talking about. It was Titans I was concerned with.

Technically "Titan" is Greek . But "Titanen" would be more German than "Titans".

No the plural of Titan is Titans.

Sorry, I should remember never to rely on Wikipedia

Die Titanen (griechisch Τιτάνες , Einzahl: Titan griechisch Τιτάν ) sind in der griechischen Mythologie ein mächtiges Göttergeschlecht, das in der legendären Goldenen Ära herrschte

In Greek mythology, the Titans (Greek: Τιτάν - Ti-tan; plural: Τιτᾶνες - Ti-tânes) were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus, that ruled during the legendary Golden Age.

Maybe the mythological things are "Titanen", I dunno.

But certainly there are basketball/volleyball teams in Germany called Titans and I know that in the papers when they refer to large companys like Google they call them Titans.

Maybe its both.

red_stag wrote:I'd bet my right and left arms that Russia emerge as a viable rugby nation before the USA though.

Lets concentrate on getting Wales there first

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:

red_stag wrote:I'd bet my right and left arms that Russia emerge as a viable rugby nation before the USA though.

Lets concentrate on getting Wales there first

And surely Scotland would be next in line then

Was doing a bit of reading on them and they've changed their aim from the 2015 Rugby World Cup to the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

on the Titan thing I could be more Greman, Wild Stürmers

it means strikers and flankers and locks are called Flügelstürmer and Reihe-Stürmer,

maybe not Wild Stürmers sounds like they arn't playing as they want a payrise,

Maybe wild Jägers would be best

The Jager-bombs? Also how do you do an umlaut on the computer?

And when they win . . . . the Jägermeisters

What about the backs though. Nobody (not even Munster) are called the Forwards.

Also how do you do an umlaut on the computer?

Just copy and paste it from another article

but regardless of name, an acamady (think they'll be in next years almin) is good to bring on German rugby, especially if they create a second one.

Think that just playing in the almin won't be enough, really think the IRB should look to see if Wild Titans and Bucureşti Oaks. could enter the Itialian super 10.

They can also be done by holding ALT and pressing 1 3 2

another thing I notice in the Almin there is Bucharest Wolves I take it they are just a renamed Bucharest Oaks side