The RC Mainz is a German

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...

 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...

 club from Mainz

Mainz

Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...

, currently playing in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West.

History

Rugby in Mainz dates back to 1997, when a rugby department was formed in the 1. FC Vorwärts Orient Mainz. Two years later, in 1999, this rugby department formed the current RC Mainz.

The club competed at the third tier of German club rugby at the time, the Rugby-Regionalliga

Rugby-Regionalliga

The Rugby-Regionalliga is the third-highest level of Germany's Rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation. Its set below the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga...

. Oddly, it took part in two of the Regionalligas local divisions, Hesse

Hesse

Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

 and Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

. The city of Mainz is located in Rhineland-Palatinate, but just across the river from Hesse.

In the 2001-02 season, the club celebrated its first success, promotion to the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga. In this league, it was able to survive for only one season, being promptly relegated back to the third division again.

The team achieved promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga once more when it won the Regionalliga Rhineland-Palatinate, as well as the Regionalliga Hesse. The club was saved from relegation after its first season there when the league was enlarged and has since improved in its performance.

The club suffered relegation in 2010 but bounced straight back, finishing runners-up in the new 3rd Liga South/West

3rd Liga South/West

The 3rd Liga South/West is the third-highest level of Germany's Rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation. It is set below the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West, the second tier of rugby in Southern Germany, and above the Rugby-Regionalliga, the fourth tier.The league...

 and returning to the 2nd Bundesliga.

Club honours

• Rugby-Regionalliga Rhineland-Palatinate
  Rugby-Regionalliga
  The Rugby-Regionalliga is the third-highest level of Germany's Rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation. Its set below the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga...
  
  
  • Champions: 2002, 2004, 2007

• Rugby-Regionalliga Hesse
  Rugby-Regionalliga
  The Rugby-Regionalliga is the third-highest level of Germany's Rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation. Its set below the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga...
  
  
  • Champions: 2007

Recent seasons

Year	Division	Position
2001-02	Rugby-Regionalliga Rhineland-Palatinate (III)	1st — Promoted
2002-03	2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West (II)	7th — Relegated
2003-04	Rugby-Regionalliga Rhineland-Palatinate (III)	1st
2004-05	Rugby-Regionalliga Rhineland-Palatinate
2005-06	Rugby-Regionalliga Rhineland-Palatinate/Hesse Rugby-Regionalliga The Rugby-Regionalliga is the third-highest level of Germany's Rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation. Its set below the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga...  (III)	2nd
2006–07	Rugby-Regionalliga Rhineland-Palatinate Rugby-Regionalliga Hesse	1st — Promoted
2007–08 Rugby-Bundesliga 2007–08 The Rugby-Bundesliga 2007-08 was the 37th edition of this competition and the 88th edition of the German rugby union championship. The season went from 25 August 2007 to 31 May 2008, ending with the relegation final.-Overview:...	2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West (II)	9th
2008–09	2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West	7th
2009–10 Rugby-Bundesliga 2009–10 -Overview:The 2009-10 modus was somewhat different from the previous season. The competition had been expanded from nine to ten teams. It marks the first time since introduction of the single-division Bundesliga in 2001, that ten teams competed in the league. This change of modus was decided upon...	2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West	9th — Relegated
2010-11	3rd Liga South/West 3rd Liga South/West The 3rd Liga South/West is the third-highest level of Germany's Rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation. It is set below the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West, the second tier of rugby in Southern Germany, and above the Rugby-Regionalliga, the fourth tier.The league...  (III)	2nd — Promoted
2011–12	2nd Rugby-Bundesliga South/West

External links

Official website RC Mainz club info at totalrugby.de