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How so? Was there ever really potential for rugby growth in other European countries? Personally I always thought Rugby was the team sport that was most suited to the german psyche; a game requiring precision, cohension and efficiency, it was basically made for them!
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Definitely! If only they'd take it up! Sure there were pretty good teams in the past like the Bremen Police team which would play the British Army (stationed in Bremen as part of
ye olde British Army of the Rhine) on a regular basis but on a national level, the Germans just haven't gotten into it. They've taken to Gridiron in more numbers (average crowd of 20,000 to Berlin thunder games in NFL Europa's last season) than had been expected. 20,000 per game?! In only 16 years of the game touching down in Europe?! That is phenomenal development, something which we should take note of when approaching the development of the game overseas.
In the end, Rugby should suit a range of European nations down to a tee but for some reason Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway just haven't taken the bait. It is rather strange that nations like Portugal are developing the game at a faster pace than the likes of Germany and nobody can fathom a reason as to why! [/b][/quote]
Funnily enough, I was somewhat introduced to rugby union in Germany while I was there at school for a year during high school at the "Englische Institut" in Heidelberg in the southwest of the country. The institute had a school team that competed at the national level and there were numerous clubs around as well.
If only the British had solely themselves occupied Germany after WWII or both wars for that matter, who knows where rugby might be at this point...Heidelberg in southern Germany which is one of the few places where rugby is played quite a bit and rugby posts are quite prominent in the landscape. Most of these clubs were founded and flourished due to British influence. The same holds true for Hannover, the other rugby 'center' in Germany where British connections from soldiers stationed there for the royals kicked off the game over a century ago. Since then there have also been French, South African and Antipodeans supporting and playing the game while working or stationed in Germany.
Personally I'm not a fan of American Football, but the game has had moderate success in Germany at the grassroots, amateur and semi-pro level with the German Football League which attracts moderate attendances sometimes around 10,000 or more. Of course money has been poured into this development plus the exposure of the failed NFLE.
I only wish the phenomenon with the growth of rugby in southwest France could have occured in Germany as the game was introduced in a similar fashion.
I visit the German rugby union website frequently and there is some progress being made with more of the national team playing in France for top amateur or D2 clubs - plus Rugby is being shown a bit more frequently on TV nowadays with the Six Nations being televised and even a German national team test or two. Plus there seems to be more work being done in the schools. However, what really needs to happen is more media exposure - which was the case in Heidelberg on a local level where newspapers and even television media covered the club and youth scene and national team games.
Despite these small triumphs rugby of either code is still largely unknown to all but a small number of Germans. As far as team sports, Soccer gets the blanket coverage, then Handball and then maybe ice hockey, AF, and numerous other sports are ahead.
Perhaps one day....'tis but a dream.